Call him
Mr. Nostalgia

By Lauren Fritsky
Times Staff Writer

Holme Circle resident John J. Cuddy Jr. knows how to push the envelope.
For decades, the Department of Public Property retiree has been accumulating various paper products like corner cards and bill heads in addition to his advertising envelopes. He collects the wares, which now number around 10,000, at flea markets and sells them to interested people.
"It’s amazing what people collect," said Cuddy, 68. "I’m satisfying a need."
But the assortment represents more than just a hobby-cum-fledgling business. It recalls the industrial ghosts of the city, and in particular the businesses — most of which have been replaced with new buildings — that generated the various pieces that Cuddy has come to possess.
"I’m really interested in the advertising value," Cuddy said of his stock.
Browsing through the items in his plastic-protected binders, Cuddy remembers where most industries — like the Disston Saw Works, once on State Road in Tacony — once stood. For those he can’t place, Cuddy sometimes peruses his numerous reference guides, which include a Yellow Pages telephone book from 1947.
After a brief stint on eBay — he ditched it after someone hacked into his account — he now runs his business mostly through regular mail. Cuddy advertises in various collectors’ publications, like Antiques & Auction News, and people write in with requests for products from certain businesses.
"It’s a fairly sizable market," said Cuddy, who gets requests for items once a week.
He sends a photocopy to the customer to ensure that he has what they’re looking for. He charges little, making only a $5 to $10 profit off each sale.
"Whatever I make, it goes back into it," Cuddy said.
But paper products from Philadelphia represent just one of Cuddy’s many collections. After his six children grew up and left home, he and his wife Dorothy claimed two of their empty rooms to store their hobby supplies.
While his wife’s room features balls of colorful yarn and a sewing machine for her arts and crafts, Cuddy’s appears more like an unkempt office.
It’s replete with hanging file folders ranging in category from amusement parks to zoos. Each folder contains some related item — usually, it has the name or logo of a particular place. There are menus and beer labels, coins and stamps — but surprisingly no comic books — that Cuddy also collects.
"It’s something that got out of hand," a smiling Cuddy said about his hobby.
His stockpile shows no signs of fading fast.
Some of his children also frequent antique shows and flea markets and snatch up items to add to their dad’s collection. It remains to be seen whether Cuddy’s 17 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren have collecting in their blood.
But whether he makes money off his collection or not, Cuddy remains unfazed.
"I’m quite happy with the way things are," he said. ••
For information on purchasing items from Cuddy, pick up the next copy of "Antiques & Auction News" or the "Paper & Advertising Collectors’ Marketplace."
Reporter Lauren Fritsky can be reached at 215-354-3038 or lfritsky@phillynews.com