Ed Beardsworth got a tall box in the mail about two years ago. Inside was a sturdy umbrella with a First Republic Bank logo on it.
The gift, showered upon him for opening his accounts, put a pep in his step. Carrying it around “makes me feel like a proper Englishman,” said Mr. Beardsworth, who lives in Palo Alto, Calif.
Now, with First Republic effectively dead, Mr. Beardsworth is coming to see his umbrella not as just a device to keep him dry but as a piece of history. “Like Pan Am swag,” he said.
Source: First Republic Bank Will Be Missed…For Its Free Umbrellas – WSJ
