It sure does, especially when it is pertinent to the history of Wells Fargo  and its place in communities since 1852. So we go through the boxes and appraise each piece. We keep the stuff that contributes to our Company memory. But we have no need for flyers announcing a bake sale in 1971, nor brochures for a 1982 Honda  that someone couldn't bear to throw away.

So I was looking over some stuff the other day and I found a piece of actual history: a genuine, Cold War-era handbill that touted a newsletter, purporting to be the "Best Private Intelligence Service in Existence." Now, such a claim relies on one of two basic things: one, they really are the best in existence; or 2, everyone is so afraid of World War III  they believe anything.

The Cold War , as you know, was based as much on the latter as it was on any real threat. People were quite worried about Soviet ambitions and the spectre of atomic war . The newsletter that the handbill referred to— available by subscription, and while you're at it, back issues are available too!—asserted its reputation as the first source for intelligence.

Assembled and published by a man named Kenneth de Courcy , the newsletter ostensibly brought the innermost workings of global intelligence to the attention of the common man. de Courcy was later discredited , but at the height of his publication he had an office in the Emp ire State Building .

Knowing the secrets of international politics, de Courcy's handbill insisted, was vital to making the right moves in everyday life. "We live in strange times," the handbill intones. "(F)irst-class intelligence is a condition of success...The citizen who does not know what is really happening, and what is probably going to happen, cannot avoid making ghastly mistakes in private life, business and politics."

One sees the vigilant insurance salesman in Anytown, USA, careful to not buy the wrong cut of tenderloin, not willing to let the floozy buy him one more sidecar, checking de Courcy's newletter carefully before voting on a sewer bond issue. All this in the name of international security, the responsibility of the ordinary man. Such was the Cold War esprit de l’époque.

There are several titles of the publication referenced in the text of the handbill: "Review of World Affairs," "Review," "Digest" and "The World Crisis." But the title of what you're buying isn't anywhere in the piece—not even on the order blank. The best-kept secret is the actual title of the darn thing de Courcy is selling!