Title: Hand-held paper fans

Identifier: Tobacco Farm Life Museum   (https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/14248)

Description: Paper fan advertising the Centre Brick Warehouse once located at the corner of U.S. 301-A South and U.S. No. 264, Wilson, N.C. Paper fans, like the ones seen here, were, and still are, an important piece of culture in rural North Carolina. Small pieces of cardboard with thin wooden handles were used to cool off the congregation of Southern churches that had no means of electric cooling. During the hot summer days, these fans, often depicting religious scenes, were used to combat the southern heat. These fans were another type of free gift given to farmers, and often contained the name and location of a tobacco warehouse. The fans were then not only used in church, but anywhere the summer heat was found.