Arts and Letter(head)s, Part III

This sterling example of late-1940 Packers letterhead. It was sent on June 1, 1947 to returning players — this particular copy went to defensive tackle Ed Neal — along with the team's playbook.

In the purple ink of a hand-cranked mimeograph machine, head coach Curly Lambeau gives a quick overview of the playbook and invokes secrecy:

BY ALL MEANS DO NOT BE CARELESS IN HANDLING PLAYS. THEY ARE FOR YOUR EYES ONLY. TREAT ALL ADVANCE INFORMATION WITH CONFIDENCE.

The sheet's graphics are bold and clear, six decades later. The top of the letterhead features an unusual wordmark in the team's proud gold and blue.

Along the bottom, partially obscured by Curly's mimeographed signature, flags representing the team's six titles.

The Packers continued to use this style of letterhead even after Lambeau was forced out, as seen on this October 1950 letter from new coach Gene Ronzani to West Coast scout Clark Shaughnessy:

It also appears that the ever-thrifty Packers re-used the old Lambeau letterhead, either before the Ronzani version was delivered or simply to use up old stock. This letter was sent by chairman Lee Joannes on March 5, 1950, almost exactly one month after Ronzani took the reins, as part of a planning session for the team's upcoming stock sale:

Curly's name has been blocked out by a solid blue line:

An ignominious end to Lambeau's thirty years in charge, to be sure, but at least his successors were frugal.