Once upon a time another Joe D’Agnese sold commercial stationery in New York and environs. I have no idea who he was, or if he was a distant relation.
The above ad and announcement come from two different stationery trade publications dated 1915 to 1917. I will only note that Mr. D’Agnese’s place of employment, 75 Spring Street in New York City, is a block away from my former place of employment on Broadway in SoHo. I worked in that neighborhood for Scholastic Inc. for nearly eight years. Maybe I passed his ghost on the street?
He sold blank books. I tend to fill ‘em.