Ethel’s Expo Notes

Ethel Esslinger, a retired school teacher and real estate agent of Spokane, sold this stationery set for Expo. I have not found much information about how she became involved in this enterprise, but the results are some of my favorite fair merchandise. The notepaper folds down in such a way that the trimmed edge forms the letter “W” in the “Welcome to Washington’s Expo ‘74” message. The Expo ‘74 colors are also used to depict a sprig of lilac, Spokane’s flower symbol. These stationery sets were evidently sold at the Crescent, the Bon Marche, Sears, and other locations.

Most intriguingly, the Expo seals that are included in packs of Ethel’s Expo Notes are not the Expo seals that appear in official Expo ‘74 souvenir packs. The seals in Ethel’s Expo Notes do not have the two different images of the Tule Mat Pavilion model that appeared in the souvenir packs. Instead, these images have been replaced with two identical images of the actual U.S. Pavilion. I do not know whether this means that the seal producers did a second printing with revised images, or whether Ethel noticed the presence of the Tule Mat Pavilion and made arrangements to replace these misleading images. I only know that we must never underestimate the power of an Ethel.

From Spokesman-Review, May 12, 1974, p. 62.

From July 14, 1974, Spokesman-Review, p. 26.

On the left, seals from the souvenir package. On the right, seals from Ethel’s Expo Notes.

On the left, seals from the souvenir package. On the right, seals from Ethel’s Expo Notes.