AllOverAlbany was good enough to indulge our sentimental reminiscences of when every neighborhood was lousy with grocery stores, stockboys’ hands were covered in purple ink, and you could close the wrapper on a box of Rice Krispies. Read all about it over at their site.

From the collection of the Library Company of Philadelphia, an 1875ish breakfast menu from Albany’s leading temperance hotel, the Delavan House, in the era when Charles Leland was running it (which puts this between 1867 and 1882). Founder Edward Delavan was a rabid temperance advocate who brought prohibition to the state of New York…

Again from Ben Franklin’s Library Company of Philadelphia, we have this interesting envelope  featuring a bird’s-eye view of Albany, along with two women holding grain over the legend “Empire State.” Did they represent the plenty provided by the state’s farms? Not clear. The envelope was created by Charles Magnus of Frankfort St., New York…

There are so many reasons to love the Smithsonian Institute – and not just that its first secretary was Albany’s Joseph Henry. It’s a treasure trove of wonderful objects like this one: a token from the People’s Line. The Smithsonian has no opinion on the date of this token, but does know that it…