Thursday, March 24, 2022

Barbara Shermund: A Shermund's Sallies Flong

In relief printing, a flong is a temporary negative mould made of a forme of set type, in order to cast a metal stereotype (or "stereo") which can be used in a rotary press, or in letterpress printing after the type has been broken down for re-use. The process is called stereotyping.
—Wikipedia


I couldn't have said it better. All of which begs the question, why would anyone wish to keep a flong after it had served its original purpose? There are one hundred ninety flong listings on eBay right now but the one of interest to us is from Pictorial Review in 1946. A flong of two facing pages from October 6 correspond to the cartoon feature Shermund's Sallies by Barbara Shermund and to the Hollywood column by Louella Parsons. It seems plain that one of these two features is the reason for the flong being retained by somebody all these years. So what was it, gags or gossip?






"Thanks—I'll wear it."
* * *
"That's the fourth proposal she's received this week!"
Barbara Shermund
Shermund's Sallies
Flong from Pictorial Review, October 6, 1946



"Thanks—I'll wear it."
* * *
"That's the fourth proposal she's received this week!"
Barbara Shermund
Shermund's Sallies
Flong for Pictorial Review, October 6, 1946






Barbara Shermund
eBay listing accessed March 23, 2022

Barbara Shermund
eBay item description
Note:  We have seen the flong. Now we need to see the newsprint. Please check your old piles of newspaper for the October 6, 1946 issue of Pictorial Review, particularly the page with Shermund's Sallies by Barbara Shermund and the Hollywood column by Louella Parsons.




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