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A sticker is a type of label: a piece of printed paper, plastic, vinyl, or other material with temporary or permanent pressure sensitive adhesive on one side. It can be used for decoration or for functional purposes, depending on the situation.
Stickers can come in many different shapes and sizes and also vary widely in color and design. They are often adhered to items such as lunchboxes, paper, lockers, notebooks, walls, cars, windows, used as name tags, and so on.
The term "sticker price" refers to the historic practice of adhering a large sticker to the window of a new car listing its base price, options, shipping charges, etc. (from which a discount was often negotiated).
HistoryEdit
Notices, advertisements, and posted bills applied to surfaces with tacks or paste have been widespread, although sometimes strictly regulated. An early example is the Peukestas order, a papyrus notice posted in Egypt around 331 BCE.<ref>Schubert, Paul (2022) Posting a Public Notice on Papyrus: A Frequent Phenomenon? Aegyptus vol. 102, p. 203–218</ref>
In the 1750s Simon François Ravenet developed the decalcomania process by which engravings and prints via a transfer paper are affixed to pottery, wood, metal or glass.<ref>Glazier, Richard (1899) A Manual of Historic Ornament London: Batsford p. 106</ref><ref>Baker, Whitney (2015) Sticking Point: History of Decals Collections Vol 11 #4:275–290</ref>
Two important advances were gummed adhesive paper by Rowland Hill in 1839, and pressure-sensitive adhesives in 1845.<ref>Akyar, Isin (2011) Wide Spectra of Quality Control</ref>
User-moistened stickersEdit
The adhesive postage stamp appeared in 1840, then pharmacy bottle labels in 1850,<ref>Medical Label Warehouse advertisement The Medical Times 1850 p330</ref> and other gummed and cut paper labels by the 1860s,<ref>Mack, Horace (1879) History of Columbiana County Ohio</ref> which needed to be moistened with water to activate the adhesive before being affixed. Another early application was book plates and library tags.<ref>American Literary Gazette and Publishers' Circular 1867 v9 #7:186</ref>
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Steamer trunk luggage labels which appeared in the 1870s represented an early status symbol.<ref>Hartov, Oren (2024) A History of the Hotel Luggage Label Analog:Shift</ref>
In some areas of the U.S. voters used stickers to enter pre-printed candidate names onto election ballots.<ref>State Campaign MA Springfield Republican 1882-Oct-27 p1 5th column</ref> <ref> "Stickers" KS Iola Register 1882-Nov-24 p7</ref>
In 1886 continuous gummed paper tape was introduced for parcel sealing, then later available decorated around 1919.<ref>Stationery Trades' Journal Nov 1927 pp12,27</ref>
In 1891 Trading stamp store loyalty programs began.
By 1896 the Return address pre-printed gummed label was being offered by printers.
The Brussels International Exposition (1897) in Belgium commissioned a series of stickers to promote the exhibition.
Around 1900 Dennison Manufacturing Company offered gummed seals in gold, silver, red, green and blue, soon followed by gold stars, and flag stickers.<ref> Proceedings of New York State Teachers Association p413</ref>
By 1902 stickers began to proliferate,<ref> Epidemic of "Sticker Lips" St. Louis Republic 1902-Oct-24 p4</ref> including dedicated businesses such as St. Louis Sticker Co.<ref>1903 St. Louis Sticker Co. St. Louis I Am A Sticker ebay.com</ref> <ref> Stickers St Louis Sticker Co Printers Ink Monthly 1926 V12 #5 p168</ref>
In 1904 Christmas seals were first issued in Denmark.
Example early sticker campaigns in U.S. include Red Sticker Union Made campaign,<ref> The Red Sticker NE Wageworker Union 1906-Apr-13 p3</ref> American Red Cross,<ref>Movement Reaches New York Pensacola Journal 1918-Jun-20 p5</ref> and European Child Relief Fund.<ref> Yes Mr. Hoover [VT Barton] Orleans County Monitor 1921-Jan-26 p6</ref>
Sticker red hearts are sold by 1911.<ref> KS Topeka State Journal 1911-02-04 p16</ref>
Sometime after 1912 Cracker Jack included prize may have been temporary tattoo sticker, and later by breakfast cereal and bubble gum offerings.
Around 1914 the Industrial Workers of the World advocated their causes via stickerettes <ref> History of I.W.W. "Silent Agitators" or "Stickerettes" St. Lawrence University</ref>
Fruit origin stickers began in 1917,<ref> Blue Sticker [NM Albuquerque] Evening Herald 1917-Feb-17 p8</ref> then later by Fyffes and widespread with 1990 PLU codes.
In 1919 a business in Buffalo, New York, applied stickers on receipts with the word "thanks" and a smiling face.
Automobile window decals, such as National Park emblems,<ref>Francis, Michael H. & Reynolds, Bobby (2023) Stickers & Decals Yellowstone Collectibles Page 205</ref> became popular in 1920s.<ref> New Sticker Disease Seattle Star 1924-Aug-6</ref>
In 1967 Topps began the Wacky Packages initial series of collectible moisten and stick cards.
Self-adhesive stickersEdit
R. Stanton Avery is credited with creating the first self-adhesive sticker in 1935, with commercial sale in 1940 under the name "Kum Kleen Price Stickers", under the former "Avery Adhesives" company in Los Angeles, where its original use was for labeling on various goods and products.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Example sticker types include:
- 1942 war time gas rationing allocation<ref>Hendricks, Nancy (2018) Popular Fads and Crazes through American History p248</ref>
- 1940s bumper stickers used to advertise travel attractions
- 1958 Automobile Information Disclosure Act prescribed a Monroney sticker be affixed to the window of every new car sold in the U.S.
- 1959 C-Line Products "Hello, my name is ..." name tag
- 1968 Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland "Save the Reef" bumper sticker<ref>
Manning, Paddy (2019) Inside the Greens p1937</ref>
- c. 1971 Robert Crumb Keep on Truckin' sticker
- 1973 Topps resumes the Wacky Packages series as peel-and-stick
- 1977 Creative Teaching Press issues scratch 'n sniff stickers<ref>
Galin, Neil A. & Peppler, Amy (2006) Vintage Scratch & Sniff Sticker Collector's Guide</ref>
- 1976 Hello Kitty character stickers
- 1977 the white oval International vehicle registration code on rear of vehicle could be represented as a sticker
- 1988 Janet Boudreau's rippling flag “I Voted” sticker offered at U.S. election polling locations<ref>I Voted sticker AARP Magazine 2024</ref>
UseEdit
Stickers are widely used when an object requires identification with a word or idea. Brand stickers may be attached to products to label these products as coming from a certain company. They may also be used to describe characteristics of the products that would not be obvious from simple examination, or to clarify either a printing error or change in the product of some kind, such as the country of origination, shift in a product's ingredients, a shelf life date, or copyright notice, without having to scrap pre-existing packaging for such a small change. A label dispenser is often used as a convenient way to separate the sticky label from its liner or backing tape.
Stickers placed on automobile bumpers, magnetic and permanent, called bumper stickers, are often used by individuals as a way of demonstrating support for political or ideological causes. Identification of vehicle registration and last service details are two examples of stickers on the inside of most car windscreens. The term "window sticker" is generally used for vinyl labels which are stuck to the inside of a vehicle's window, as opposed to water-resistant stickers that are stuck to the outside of a vehicle but can be affixed to anything.
Stickers are also used for embellishing scrapbooking pages. Kinds of stickers sold for this purpose include acrylic, 3D, cardstock, epoxy, fabric, flocked, sparkly, paper, puffy, and vellum. While in the earlier days of scrapbooking stickers were sold mostly on 2"x6" sheets, nowTemplate:When 6"x12" and even 12"x12" size sheets are very common.
They are frequently distributed as part of promotional, and political campaigns; for example, in many voting districts in the U.S., stickers indicating an individual has voted are given to each voter as they leave the polling place, largely as a reminder to others to vote. Observers may clap hands, honk a horn or otherwise applaud a good sticker.
In the 16th century French aristocracy wore stickers on their face to hide blemishes.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Temporary stickers are used today to indicate whether someone is free of certain health symptoms, been vaccinated, or otherwise cleared some security protocol.
Stickers are also used as a form of guerilla marketing, as well as serving as a ubiquitous form of visual and physical vandalism.
Stickers are also printed for use as temporary tattoos.
Discount stickersEdit
CollectingEdit
At their simplest stickers can be beginner-friendly collectables, serving as a gateway to the collecting hobby.
Forming a partnership with FIFA in 1970, Panini first produced a World Cup sticker album for the 1970 World Cup.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Initiating a craze for collecting and trading stickers, since then, collecting and trading stickers has become part of the World Cup experience, especially for the younger generation.<ref name="Guardian"/><ref>“The Magic, Global Craze and Tradition of Panini's World Cup Sticker Albums”. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2 September 2018</ref> UK newspaper The Guardian states, "the tradition of swapping duplicate [World Cup] stickers was a playground fixture during the 1970s and 1980s."<ref name="Guardian">Template:Cite news</ref>
See alsoEdit
- Beauty mark
- Decal
- Pressure-sensitive tape
- Prizes
- Release liner
- Sticker album
- Sticker (Internet) – emoticon-like pictures
- Water slide decal
- Tattoo