CORPORATIONS: Days of Our Years

The U.S. calendar industry, blooming as never before, owes its healthy color chiefly to black lace underwear and the Boy Scouts of America. Last week, as calendar makers finished shipping out 1946 calendars, they totted up sales far above any previous year. Despite paper shortages, between 80 and 100 million calendars will decorate U.S. walls and desks next year.

Biggest contributor is the world's biggest calendar company—Brown & Bigelow of St. Paul, Minn, (it sells more than all the rest together). B & B climbed to the top partly by cornering the nation's top commercial artists (Rolf Armstrong, Earl Moran,...