Steph Noell (they/them)

@librarianstebbs

they/elle/iel 📚 Academic librarian by day, downloader of old newspaper comix by night 🏳️‍🌈 Queer non-binary neurodivergent 24/7

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Steph Noell (they/them)@librarianstebbs· Jul 3

This 1960 Willie Lumpkin strip is the most "parents of baby boomers" comic I've ever seen

March 3, 1960 Willie Lumpkin comic strip written by Stan Lee and drawn by Dan DeCarlo:
Woman 1 (standing on the sidewalk): YOO HOO! Agnes! Come in and have a piece of pie!
Woman 2 (leaning out her window): Here's that BOOK you've been wanting to read!
Woman 3 (leaning out her front doorway): Aggie! Care to watch color T.V. with us?
Woman 4 (standing on sidewalk): My! Don't you look LOVELY, my dear!
Man (standing on sidewalk): What makes Agnes so POPULAR, Lumpy?
Willie Lumpkin (on sidewalk next to the man): The POPULATION EXPLOSION!
She just became a BABY SITTER!

Steph Noell (they/them)@librarianstebbs· Jun 28

Panchito, look what you started

Color still of Panchito Pistoles' grand entrance in the 1944 Disney movie "The Three Caballeros".

Steph Noell (they/them)@librarianstebbs· Jun 26

That cover image is for the lead article "Dollology" & will follow me to my nightmares tonight

Crop of Rags magazine issue 3 from May 1971 featuring a porcelain doll with a cracked face. The word "Dolls" is at the photograph.

Steph Noell (they/them)@librarianstebbs· Jun 26

My favorite article from issue 12 of Rags magazine! I'll be thinking of "casket couture" & "the no-bra look is in for corpses" at every funeral I go to from here on out.

The cover of Rags magazine issue 12 from May 1971 features a striking black-and-white photograph of a doll from the cover article titled "Dollology." The doll has an unsettling expression, with large, bright eyes and a cracked porcelain face that shows signs of wear. It is dressed in a light-colored fabric outfit, which is partially visible. The background is a warm brown color that complements the doll's features, and the word "Rags" is prominently displayed at the top in blue. Below the doll, additional text indicates topics covered in the issue: “Dolls,” “Getting Lost: A Travel Section,” “Casket Couture,” and “Vegetable Victims.”

WHAT CORPSES ARE WEARING (or, True Undeground Fashion)
by Susan Berman
photos: Demetre Lagios
Worried about what to wear on
that last big trip, your own funeral?
Well, don't give it a thought.
The
undertaking industry has its own line of rags-funeral fashions which
re-
semble junior prom dresses for men, nondescript Bible-salesman suits And forget about taking grooviest pair of boots with
your
you-
'cause you just may be sent off in a pair of the "Fit-a-Fut" Practical Burial Slipper Company's latest. They come in one stylechic black cardboard-and are laced up the heel so that when rigor mortis sets in the shoe won't
fall off.
These guys think of every-
thing;
"doublestride" is stamped on the heel for that long climb ahead. Jessica Mitford, who exposed the funeral industry in her American
Way of
Death, has a "Fit-a-Fut" left shoe on her coffee table (Sorry it's a little
scuffed, but my son wore it all over the house," she says). Jessica's bathroom wall sports a tear-out from Mortuary Management
Magazine
that says,
"Nothing
else
gives me the complete drainage that Frigid Plasma Flo does" under a picture of a "Most Doctors Recommend" type individual.
Forty percent of the stiffs in the world do wear store-bought funeral garments; the other, luckier ones are buried in their own clothes.
Enter N. Gray Mortuary, a swank funeral home that does about seven hundred funerals a year in San Francisco. The mortician,
who is the Northern California representative for Irene Barnes of Los Angeles (a big name in funeral duds), is Mr. Bud Hancock, a tall, slightly flabby, jowled, jovial fortyish man.
"Guess how I met my wife?" he grins. "I buried her husband
- We got married a couple of years later."
"Don't be afraid of me; actually morticians are a very likable group. We have a lot of fun at our parties."
He leads us into the casket room done in rococo floral decor with soft fluorescent lights casting the proper gloom on the caskets, which cost from $1.500 to $6,000...

"These gems are grey and dark blue, one size fits all, again, and they tucked in to look like they fit." The suits are very Sears-Roebucky, medium size lapels, coarse, fair-to-middlin' fabric, conservative ties, the outfit a straight might wear to a church wed-ding.
They sell regular Arrow shirts for $5 in a plastic pack. The pants rate dull to normal, cut large with no
shape. Bring your own belt if you're worried.
Do
people bury jewelry?
really," says Mr. Hancock.
"Not
"They usu-
ally like to keep it."
Mr. Hancock says he always wanted
to be a morucian
because
he dug
science and didn't have the patience for medical school, so he did the
next best thing. If you can't cure 'em, bury
'em.
Down to the scene of big financial action in Los Angeles.
First,
rene
Barnes. The manager there was Mrs.
Neville Wilson, who is very much alive, with blue-grey hair and wearing a black shirtwaist dress decorated with tiny flowers.
Behind her small office is a small sweatshop with six women sitting at sewing machines, each producing approximately five garments a day.
"All our dresses are hand done, mass production. They are hand cut and hand sewn on the difficult parts.
We used to get our lace from France but it's become harder lately and now we
get it from Belgium," said Mrs.
Wilson.
"I can't let you photograph much because there's a small firm in the east that keeps knocking off our best models at lower prices. Of course, they don't use good fabrics and the garments are mass produced and of poor quality."
Irene Barnes doesn't make men's clothes. "The best known outfit for men's styles is Lewis Dry Goods in the east - it's a father-son business and very reputable," says Mrs. Wilson.
Why aren't your styles more mod-ern, Mrs. Wilson?
"Oh, these are modern. Why you can wear them on the street. If our salesmen leave car doors open, people always steal them like they are regular dresses."
She showed us a new model in nylon tricot, the exact color of over-ripe peaches...

called "The Garment Triangle" by Robert F. Haring, Assistant to the Director of the National Foundation of Funeral Services, Evanston, Illinois. They report on page three that "In the Foundation's course, 'Sales Techniques in Funeral Service, a featured presentation on garment selling has always been offered. This year for the first time we are also presenting the first time we are also presenting the
garment story in our Basic Course in the School of Management. A funeral director should ask himself what kinds of clothes do my clients wear? Then he should buy and price his clothes accordingly. An analysis of a typical American city will generally show that the stores offering clothing fall into three distinct categories: the swankshop, the department store and the low overhead. plain pipe rack bargain type. Why should a family buy a dress for $18.95 when it looks like $8.95? The family will be insulted. In the good director's buying and selling he emphasizes the use of lace, flowers, rosettes, and the different sewing techniques of the garment."
Then they printed replies to a questionnaire that went out to hundreds of funeral homes. They asked directors:
Q. Do you sell burial garments?
A. Yes-95.8%; No-4.2%.
Q. What are your reasons for selling garments?
A. Family convenience ー 33%; profit—19%; memory picture-9%.
Q. What percentage mark-up?
A. 38% of the directors mark up the clothes 50%; 14%, the next highest group, mark them up 100%.
Some convenience!
Clothes aren't all that has to be pretty-perfect-make-up is important too. Miss Dixie Greenwood, the cosmetician at Forest Lawn,
couldn't really tell us anything because she has to okay everything with her boss first (a nervous look over her shoulder). She rushes out (in her white uniform) to get somber Mr. David Myers, a Forest Lawn exec. Forest Lawn itself is white colonial with high ceilings and fresh flowers.
Mr. Myers tells us that makeup is
undertone;
people bring the dead's
own cosmetics...

Steph Noell (they/them)@librarianstebbs· Jun 25

Yesterday, I discovered 2 unprocessed issues of the counterculture fashion magazine Rags (issues 3 & 12). Rags was published for 12 issues across 1970-71 by the original Rolling Stone photographer Baron Wolman. Please enjoy some of the articles from issue 3 (issue 12 will be in the replies).

The image depicts the cover of the August 1970 issue of Rags magazine. At the center, a black-and-white photograph captures a moment of two newlyweds, a man and a woman ("earth mother"), as they move through a dense forest. The man, wearing a top hat and a formal jacket, is seen holding the woman’s hand, who is dressed in a flowing white wedding gown. Both appear to be running or walking quickly through tall grass that covers the ground beneath the trees. The background consists of tall, straight trees that fade into a misty atmosphere, contributing to a romantic and ethereal feel. The magazine's title, "Rags," is prominently displayed at the top in bold green lettering, with the month and year printed just above it. The bottom edges of the magazine show some wear, with a few creases and tears.

techniks
Donna Lawson
Wrist Computer

Pulsar is the first solid state portable wrist computer in the world. It has no hands. It has no dial. It has no moving parts. Its face is as blank as nighttime TV following the national anthem. But press a button and - magic (science magic) dots begin to appear on the wrist computer screen like the news bulletins around the tall building in Times Square.

The Pulsar is programmed to continuously compute the exact hour and minute . . . when you push the button it stays lit for 1 ½ seconds, but the wrist computer keeps its keeping time, practically forever.

If you don't want time at all, you don't press the button. The wrist computer can go for an entire day, even with a blank face. Then suddenly press the button and it's 2:30 a.m., out of nowhere.

The reason you can control time is practical, not necessarily existential. A small-energy, 3 volts battery keeps the wrist computer on for about six months without attention. Pulsar was equipped with a demand button to reduce the battery to operable size and increase its longevity. Each wrist computer is sold with an extra rechargeable battery in a box containing a built-in recharging unit. The batteries are easily switched and no accuracy is lost because inside Pulsar is a supplementary energy source that produces enough power to keep itself going during the brief battery change.

Pulsar, named after celestial objects known to emit bursts of energy at very precise frequencies, contains a quartz crystal time-base that oscillates at a frequency of 32,768 per second ... the time frequency or the manufacturer makes Pulsar accurate to within three seconds a month, and there’s more.

Resetting, if needed, can be done in a snap. Two presses on the back instantly advances the hours without disturbing the minutes or seconds. When an SST suddenly drops into zero in the morning, the other automatic advances the seconds ahead to zero while advancing the minutes.

The wrist computer has been a b…

Steph Noell (they/them)@librarianstebbs· Jun 14

LA Pride parade review: The crowd was so much bigger this year than last year. Revry brought out the kings of drag & I was THRILLED! Also, as a queer nonbinary person whose parents were never supportive of my identities, PFLAG makes me cry at every Pride. Plus, skateboarding gay Jesus!

Jesus with a rainbow crown and cape on a skateboard

Steph Noell (they/them)@librarianstebbs· Jun 12

Also, this reminded me of an Arrested Development scene

Top photo:
Maeby from Arrested Development: Do you guys know where I could get one of those gold necklaces with the "t" on it?
Bottom photo:
Michael: That's a cross.
Maeby: Across from where?

Steph Noell (they/them)@librarianstebbs· Jun 12

First draft

Steph Noell (they/them)@librarianstebbs· Jun 8

V wanted to draw with me. I went first, then V drew and labeled both. I'm getting read to filth by an 8yo, y'all.

Sharpie drawing of a flower monster stick figure labeled "noob" in a box. Outside of the box is a drawing of Dandy from Dandy's World labeled "pro" accompanied by a "twisted" Dandy.

Steph Noell (they/them)@librarianstebbs· May 28

D20 urn is also great

Fashurns D20 Medium Urn made from oak wood

Steph Noell (they/them)@librarianstebbs· May 28

You'd THINK I'd go for a book urn, but no.

Fashurns premium book collection urn featuring classic novels like Wuthering Heights and The Old Man and the Sea

Fashurns classic book set urn featuring books like King Henry VIII, Oliver Twist, Emma, The Old Curiosity Shop, and The Old Man and the Sea

Steph Noell (they/them)@librarianstebbs· May 28

Tfw you find your urn

Steph Noell (they/them)@librarianstebbs· May 25

I assume it's the *Silvercup Studios North Lot in the Bronx since that's right by the East River. Like this is the view from the offices

East River view from a Silvercup Studios office in the Port Morris neighborhood in the Bronx

Steph Noell (they/them)@librarianstebbs· Apr 30

My student zine club finished their first zine tonight!🥲 Here's the cover. I'll link to the full zine when I get it uploaded to the ASU digital repository

Cover for the first issue of the ASU Zine Student Interest Group's Devil's Ink Rebellion zine

Steph Noell (they/them)@librarianstebbs· Apr 18

Every library needs a libro chair by Gruppo DAM

Black-and-white photograph of a woman kneeling in a 1970s Italian avant-garde chair that looks like an open book

Steph Noell (they/them)@librarianstebbs· Apr 15

Collecting all the Willie Lumpkin strips (Stan Lee & Dan DeCarlo postal worker daily comic) & I'm adding this customer to my style moodboard

Closeup of panel from January 12, 1960 Willie Lumpkin comic strip by Stan Lee and Dan DeCarlo:
Sports car salesman: Real SPORTY!
Customer: I LIKE it, but isn't it kind of cramped?

Steph Noell (they/them)@librarianstebbs· Apr 14

Sid Krofft & one of the puppets from Kaleidoscope at Hemisfair '68

Sid Krofft posing with a Davy Crockett puppet twice his height

Steph Noell (they/them)@librarianstebbs· Apr 1

8 year old's line art of a shape-changing robot filled with sea creatures like anglerfish

Steph Noell (they/them)@librarianstebbs· Mar 31

V's been working on shape-changing robots. Say hello to Aqua, who transforms into a normal aquarium

8 year old's line art drawing of a shape-changing robot named Aqua with fish swimming all around inside the body plus Aqua's normal aquarium form

Steph Noell (they/them)@librarianstebbs· Mar 22

I have so many questions

Photograph of four young adults cooking from September 7, 1959 issue The Indianapolis Star.
Caption: SOMETHING BREWING--Too many cooks won't spoil the broth when it's concocted of such inedibles as ram's head, small bunions, Popeye's Gal and satan's delight. At the "Cannibal Party" held Friday in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Roy H. Whaley, 6963 Oak Lane, Patricia Whaley (second from right) and Sandra Hill, co-hostesses, stirred up some mock-cannibal food for their dates Lay L. Steele (left) and Stephen R. Fry. Guests, all members of the Woodland Country Club swim team, adjourned to Miss Hill's home for dancing after dinner. (Star Photo by Ed Lacey Jr.)

Steph Noell (they/them)@librarianstebbs· Mar 20

2020s Liefeldcore 'fit by Sprayground solves the feet problem with wide-leg pants down to the ground

A model backstage at the Sprayground fashion show during the Milan Womenswear Spring/Summer 2025 on September 18, 2024 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Ferda Demir/Getty Images)

Steph Noell (they/them)@librarianstebbs· Mar 20

Polly Wales' beautiful, weird jewelry makes me wish I wore gold

Polly Wales Rainbow Bufo Toad Padlock. Bufo's surface is encrusted with punky, inverse rainbow sapphire tubercles and glowing purple sapphire cabochon eyes. Tiny toad hands hold a signature PW padlock mechanism which clasps onto chains and pearl strands alike.

Polly Wales Blossom Crush Phara Skull Ring. One-of-a-kind encrusted skull ring with Blossom Crush sapphires, grey diamonds, and white diamond baguette snaggletooth in 18k recycled yellow gold.

Polly Wales White Pearl Ratticus Rat Drop Earrings. Their smooth, slick, and elegant form twists and reaches to grasp a round white pearl, shiny golden balls on full display. Curly tails form asymmetric ear wires.

Steph Noell (they/them)@librarianstebbs· Mar 18

My hometown showing up in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is my favorite cameo of 2026

Cate in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters saying, "I think I wanna go somewhere else."

Steph Noell (they/them)@librarianstebbs· Mar 16

Best dressed cast went to Kpop Demon Hunters. Rei Ami wore custom Rahul Mishra, EJAE was in Dior, and Audrey Nuna was in custom Thom Browne.

Rei Ami, EJAE and Audrey Nuna on the 2026 Oscars red carpet

Steph Noell (they/them)@librarianstebbs· Mar 16

For men, Michael B. Jordan in Louis Vuitton was #1

Michael B. Jordan in Louis Vuitton on the 2026 Oscars red carpet

Steph Noell (they/them)@librarianstebbs· Mar 16

For women it's a four-way tie between Li Jun Li in Gaurav Gupta Couture, Autumn Durald Arkapaw in custom Thom Browne, Demi Moore in custom Gucci, and Chase Infiniti in custom Louis Vuitton