[image description: an open book on a white-sheeted bed with a blue cloth bookmark marking the reader’s place.]

I’m terrible at remembering to take pictures, so I’ve been hoarding this post for months. Ever since I started sourcing rare and out of print books for the vintage shop, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by all the quirky things I’ve seen people use as bookmarks.

Sometimes the bookmarks are just that––bookmarks––but something makes them stand out. Other times the bookmarks are photos or pages torn from magazines, or postcards, or poetry.

I’m sure this will become a series because I keep finding things. For now, enjoy these 10!

I’m sure bananas do make slippery bookmarks! Thank goodness this one is just a paper cutout. (Did you hear that story of the library that found a whole taco being used as a bookmark? Yeah, I’d like to avoid that kind of situation.)

This one initially caught my eye because of the Triscuit and Ritz ads. Just look at that ‘80s sweat band! But upon closer inspection, the “100% American” article is actually way more interesting. It looks like they did a poll and found some stats that are like a time capsule.

I hope somebody treated this baby better than they treated the photo of this baby! I guess you could crop out the damage around the sides, but then you’d lose the “1970” at the top. Wonder where this person is now…

Ah, yes, a moralistic poem telling girls how to be women. I can’t remember what book I found this in, but I hope it was used in irony in one of the old school feminist and LGBTQ books I’ve found. Speaking of which, though it’s gotten a lot more attention over the past decade, I’ve found a lot of LGBTQ books from the ‘80s and ‘90s!

This is just cute. I love that there’s a whole mini book of songs written about friendship. And it was only fifty cents!

Crafting is hard and I can’t get my sewing machine to cooperate half the time… but is it just me or is this bookmark kinda creepy? Maybe it’s the shakiness of the writing. Or maybe because I’m wondering what context someone would embroider “Love Me?” on a bookmark. Was it a gift? Did someone make this for their crush and slyly put it in a book they were reading when they weren’t looking? I have so many questions.

Sometimes I find things that I wish I could return to the original owners because I’m sure they’d want them back. How adorable is this group of girls? I’m guessing it was a birthday party or something. If there’d been a name or address on the back I totally would’ve mailed it.

I had to do some googling because Hands Across America happened a few years before I was born. It was an attempt to making a human chain across the country, starting in NYC. Because the route was diagonal, several states were left out entirely, so despite it being a charity effort, some folks were grumpy and boycotted it. The effort was… somewhat successful? There were gaps in the chain and numbers revealed that a lot of people who pledged to donate never did. They still raised a couple of million bucks, though!

Look at the names of the celebrity partners. There’s a time capsule! Some of those folks did not age well. (Ahem, Cosby.)

I’m young enough to have never used a typewriter for anything other than recreation, so the first time I read this I thought, “Wow this typewriter is in need of repair. Just look at how some of the letters are partially faded, like the pressure on the key was uneven.”

Then it hit me: this is a carbon copy. (Another thing I’ve never used.) I looked closer and saw the faint impression of another sentence on the page and the writing is in that blueish purple tint. Turns out “cc” isn’t just for email!

This next photo is NSFW (but isn’t that bad). Fair warning if your boss is around!

Sun’s out, buns out! It seems like a thong would be a bad idea if you’re riding a bike because of the leg chafing (there’s a reason cyclists love bike shorts, right?) but you do you! Also, peep those socks! Very ‘80s.

Have you ever found something cute or funny or weird in a book? Tell me!