A co-worker stumped me today with an interesting question I have had no luck anwering. She has a letter from 1918, where a US soldier is thanking his parents for a Xmas box of Nabiscos (cookies) and Phelps??? What the heck are Phelps? I am thinking it is a type of snack, but have not found any references to anything it could be. I have tried google and other search engines along with many books on the culture of that particular era. Hopefully someone out there in SDMB land knows.
TIA
Well, a Google search for “Phelps candies” turned up Angell & Phelps Candies.
http://www.angellandphelps.com/
Founded by Cora Phelps Wheeler.
http://www.cocktail.com/destinations/DaytonaChocolate.htm
However, I don’t think this is it. Neither of these people turns up anywhere else.
But something else did come up. Maybe it was just family code for a band or something. They would have known what he meant. These fellows might have been known as “Phelps”, even though the time frame is wrong. See what I mean? Maybe they sent him a gramophone recording, or a book, or something.
How does he phrase it, exactly? “Thanks for the Nabisco and the Phelps”? That could be a book.
Thanks for the reply DDG. The exact phrase I was given was “thanks for the Nabiscos and the Phelps”. I did come across the references you found, but unfortunatley the time frame is off. Your sentence about it possibly being a brand name for something does make a lot of sense. Hopefully something will come up.