Conductor Earl posted:I like the 1956 layout Bob including the "mountain paper" backdrop. I could still find some in the 70s at Christmas time. Wasn't that a Life-Like product? I recall that the replacement looked more like camouflage.
The mountain paper in the picture was the "real thing". Mountain paper was originally a product of the Mauer Paint Company (Philadelphia, PA) in the 1920's, later licenced to Jefferson Sales (Jeffersonville, PA) under the E-Z Bilt name, and then subsequently picked up by Life-Like in the mid-1950's. The camouflage paper was a product of the 1970's onward and does not look anywhere near as good. The Mauer-invented paper was made with lead-based paint, real mica snow, and potassium permanganate as a fire retardant and would be completely unacceptable under the current consumer product regulations.
Probably more than you wanted to know. 
Bob
