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Re: questions for Florida archivists, historians, librarians re: coco nut



When I talk about the tourist trade, I often talk about "kitsch" (I think
that's the spelling)....it's the term for this often-weird, shoddy, etc.
souvenirs.    The mailing of the coconut was often such a tourist
stunt, it was not rare, but also not that common either.   If the object
is indeed something that you want for a collection, then don't separate
the label, etc.   If you want to "record" the existence of the item, then
by all means, get photographs.

I'm trying to remember whether the Ripley's Believe-It-Or-Not museum
in St. Augustine has one of these cocoanuts.    There are very few
days that I don't say "thanks" that I'm an archivist and not a museum
curator.    But if I was a Florida curator, I would certainly have a
"tourist" collection.    I remember in 1956 or 1958 when my grandparents
returned from their Florida trip, bringing with them a stuffed alligator,
and sugar cane as souvenirs of their trip.   I also think there may have
been a couple of these "pressed wood" commemorative bowls, too.

My favorite Florida souvenir is a box (now empty) of salt water taffy.
I bought it at a souvenir stand because it was labelled in large letters,
SOUVENIR OF FLORIDA...but if you looked carefully at the box,
you discovered the taffy and packaging had come from South Carolina!!

Dean



Dean DeBolt
University Librarian
Special Collections and West Florida Archives
John C. Pace Library
University of West Florida
11000 University Parkway
Pensacola, FL  32514-5750
Tele:  850-474-2213;   Fax:  850-474-3338

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