Found in Mom's Basement

Vintage hotel soaps

Found at ussiwojina's flikr photo stream.

I'm so grateful to all the people who take the time to save and collect vintage ephemera AND go through the bother of scanning it and posting it on the Web for all of us to enjoy.

Vintage travel stickers

These and many other vintage treasures can be found at Vintage Poster.

1966 ad for Holiday Inn, heavy on hairspray and eyeliner

Found at Wishbook's flickr photo stream.

Leona Helmsley in a 1984 ad for The Park Lane hotel

Vintage postcards promoting motels

More vintage fun at Interesting Ideas.

Vintage postcards promoting motels

Holiday Inn, Scottsboro, Alabama . . .

The Bird-In-Hand Motor Inn and Restaurant, Bird-In-Hand, Pennsylvania . . .

Bryant's Motel, Statesboro, Georgia . . .

Horne's Motor Lodge & Restaurant, Fayetteville, North Carolina and Florence, South Carolina (it doesn't say which is pictured on the postcard) . . .

Vintage postcard promoting Howard Johnson's Motel, 1960s

From the photos of Roadsidepictures.

Postcard advertising Chicago's Morrison Hotel, 1930s

The postcard's back promises, "Every room with bath, running ice water and Servidor. Rates: Single $2.50 up; Double $4.00 up; Twin Beds $5.00."

In case you were wondering -- and I was, so I looked it up -- a servidor was:

. . . a compartment built into a guest room door. Each side of the compartment had a door and a signal. A guest could place an item of clothing needing pressing into the compartment and a hotel employee would open the servidor from the hall to collect it. It could also be used to deliver items to the guest without disturbing them. The servidor's most praised service was its removing the need to tip employees."

Thanks to Forgotten Detroit for the definition.

Postcard advertising the Sheraton Hotel in Chicago, 1950s

The back of the postcard brags, "Home of the famous Chicago Town Club, boasting of the only glass handball court in the Middle-West."

Holiday Inn envelope from the 1960s

From the photos of Roadsidepictures.