Disney Postcard Database is Active!

Hi folks...I have been pretty much ignoring this blog recently (ignored but not forgotten!) as I work on my Disney Postcard blog and checklist.  I just recently made the searchable checklist live...so check it out!

You can see it at Disney Postcards - Checklist (New!)

Until next time...

P.S.  This is a WDW card of the Tahitian Village (0100-10212)...sweet!

Disneyland Postcard Price Guide Completed!

When I first started this blog, I was talking about all of my collectibles in one space.  And I was diligent...in a manner of speaking.  Everyday for about 5 months I was bringing everything from sand to Star Wars cards to comic and postcards.  (That's nothing compared to Gorillas Don't Blog though....he started up and ever since day one hasn't quit for almost six years...really impressive).  Anyway, I finally decided to break out the Disneyland postcard stuff to its own site because it is a rather "nichy" collection.

Last night, I finally finished the price guide for all of the cards listed in the Nickel Tour reference book!  So...if you want to check it out, go to disneypostcards.com.  This effort has kept me from more frequent posts here...but keep your eyes out...I have plenty more non-Disney related stuff to talk about!

Until next time...

Postcard Booklets from the Past!

A couple weeks back, i saw this lot on eBay for a bunch of old postcard booklets.  These are about 2 1/2 by 3 1/2 inches and they can have some great vintage images in them.  I was mostly interested in the Disneyland HiLite book...I already have it, but the price was right for this lot so I threw in the one and only bid it took to win.

Shown here are the ten books in the lot.  Everything from Jackson Hole to the Ozarks to Hollywood!

Taking a look inside, there are a many interesting shots, but I will show just a couple here.  First off, a view of Sunset and Vine in Hollywood, California.  The NBC studio is there in all of it's mid-century glory.  I am guessing this image is early 1950's based on all the cars and the two women in the picture.  You need a magnifier, but they look to be in their early 1950's casual daywear!

Next is a shot from Mitchell, South Dakota.  The Corn Palace is a multi-purpose arena that still exists today and hosts concerts and events for the good folks of Mitchell and the surrounding area. It is of "Moorish Revival" architecture and built in 1921 after several predecessors.  The domes were added in 1937.  This photo appears to have been taken in the late 1950's...maybe even 1960.  The car on the far right looks like a Chevrolet Impala from that era or something very similar.  A rather interesting building to be sure!

So there you have it...a bunch of cool little postcard booklets from mid-twentieth century America!

The Douglas DC-7 - First East-to-West Coast Service Non-Stop

It's been a while since I have posted any aviation postcards here, so today we are going to look at this Douglas DC-7.  This aircraft was, as the card states, the world's fastest airliner for a time in the 1950's.   Built from 1953 to 1958, it was the last of the big turbo-charged propeller driven aircraft built by Douglas.  You may recall that the DC-8 was a jet aircraft that Douglas came out with starting in 1958 (oh the good old days...when you could develop new passenger aircraft in a few years!)

Anyway...when the plane was put into service in 1953, it offered the first non-stop airliner service from east coast to west coast.  It was eight hours, nominally, not the ~five and a half hour trip it is today.  (Note...if you have ever travelled east to west on a day when the gulf stream is really blowing...then you know that even in a modern jet, the trip can take up to 7 hours or more.)

According to the 1000 aircraft photos site (which has this exact postcard photo on its site) this particular aircraft served United Airlines until it was sold in 1964.  Eventually it was destroyed in a fire at a facility where it was being scrapped.  Not a very glorious finish for this plane I am afraid.

Until next time...

Blogging here on Sundry Collectibles and at Disney Postcards on, you guessed it, Disney Postcards!

The Boeing Model 247

Another aviation postcard today from the same estate as the last post.  You may recall that at a recent estate, the owner had been a United Airlines pilot.  I found this card among various other paper items.  It is a commemorative card printed in 1973.

One of the things I like about collecting this sort of thing is that it is educational.  Prior to picking up this card, I would not have known what a Boeing Model 247 looked like, or what era it flew in.  But now...I do know.

This plane brings back visions of characters like Indiana Jones flying to far off and exotic places in the 1930's.  Of course the plane that is shown in the beginning of Raiders of the Lost Ark carrying Indy to Asia is a Boeing 314 Clipper sea plane...but this aircraft has a similar flavor to it.  I love that forward slanted wind shield....probably not that aero-dynamic...but very stylish!  (With the Model 247D...the slant went with the wind...)

Until next time...

Blogging here on Sundry Collectibles and at Disney Postcards on, you guessed it, Disney Postcards!

LAX circa 1950

I can't be totally sure when this Plastichrome postcard photo was taken, but it was probably around 1950 (perhaps even a little earlier) given that the TWA Constellation and United DC-4 are front and center.  This is a great shot of an air-hub that has done nothing but grow since it was carved out of a wheat and lima bean field in 1928.

I have flown in and out of LAX many times lately for my work and while I am more often than not caught up in the purpose of my work, I am occasionally tuned in to the fact that this place was one of the first modern air terminals...ever.  It's easy to forget the nostalgia when you are waiting in a huge security line trying to get into the terminal...but if you look carefully, you can still find clues to the past in and around the airport.

Until next time...

Blogging here on Sundry Collectibles and at Disney Postcards on, you guessed it, Disney Postcards!

United Airlines C-54 to 747

I was out at another local estate sale today.  This man was a retired United Airlines pilot who had flown for United from 1945 to 1978.  That...is impressive.  Just imagine what this guy must have seen and been through.  To live through the golden age of aviation in America.  That really had to be something.

I have generally focused on vintage aircraft in this blog, and I won't stray too far from that today.  I am going to give you two items I found today, spanning the career of this pilot at United.

First up is a C-54 flight manual, published in 1954.  What is so remarkable about this book is that it is only about a half of an inch thick...maybe 100 pages.  Operator manuals for a modern jet aircraft are many volumes.  You can see in the scan here the full contents of the book.

From the other side of this man's career is this post card of one of the very first United 747's.  Using my handy dandy magnifier,  I was able to identify the "N" number on this aircraft as N4703U.  This airframe was built by Boeing in 1970, first flown on April 6th, 1970, and delivered to United on June 30th, 1970.  The very first 747 to go into service did so with Pan-Am on January 22, 1970...so I suspect that this was United's first 747...or at least one of their earliest.  For a complete history of this particular aircraft...check out this link.

So...another interesting outing to a local estate sale.  As I have said before...estate sales are interesting for a lot of reasons.  In this case, I got to get this cool stuff...but I am again reminded that we cannot take anything with us when we die...it all stays here.  So...just as this man seems to have done...be a good steward of your time, serve others, and live as fully as you are able.  

Until next time...

Blogging here on Sundry Collectibles and at Disney Postcards on, you guessed it, Disney Postcards!

Disney Postcards New Blog!

For my 100th post, Sundry Collectibles is announcing a change in direction!

I have been thinking for a while now that I actually needed to start a seperate blog for some of my interests.  Not all of you after all want to hear my ramblings on airliner postcards, if all you are really interested in is Disney stuff.

So...from now on I am going to post all of my Disney Postcard related posts on, you guessed it, disneypostcards.com!  I have just put up my first post there, so check it out.

I am still trying to figure out what to do on the comic side, but expect to see a seperate comic blog as well.  I will continue to post here as well, using this for the truly "sundry" aspects of my collection.

Until next time...

Sleeping Beauty - Nickel Tour #0594

I found this little gem on eBay the other day for a very reasonable price.  It was lumped in with a few other cards (one of which was another copy of the Huey, Dewey and Louie card that I featured a few posts back).  I was able to pick this up cheaply because it and the other Art Corner card had been pinned up on a bulletin board at some point and had a few pin holes in them.

Either way, I don't think I have never seen one of these for sale on ebay before, so I was happy to check this off of my list.  The work of a completist collector like myself is rarely if ever finished.  Finding rare stuff like this is one of the things that makes this hobby interesting!

Until next time...

D23 Radiator Springs Postcard

I recently received the fall 2012 copy of the Disneyland Fan magazine, Disney twenty three.  Another great magazine this quarter full of articles on all things Disney...including a brief but very interesting article by Marty Sklar on Ray Bradbury.  I was frankly unaware of Mr. Bradbury's involvement with Disney until reading this article.

But I digress.  The feature of the magazine was the newly revamped California Adventure park and specifically Cars Land and the new Buena Vista Street.  I have not had the chance to visit yet - I am headed there in October.  But...along with the magazine came this special Radiator Springs magnetic postcard issued for members of D23.

It's pretty much the same card that you will see on eBay...but I don't think the regular card is magnetic.  Not sure though.  Either way...a worthy addition to the shoe box (er....boxes)  that contain my collection!

Until next time...

In Memory of Ken Eslick

Collectibles, when collected in isolation, are a bore.  That is...it's only fun to collect stuff if you share your collection with other people.  That's why I write this blog.  Some people you meet may share your passion, or you may be given an opportunity to educate other individuals about your area of knowledge...but ultimately, it is not about the things themselves, but the people.

Well...I learned today that Ken Eslick passed away suddenly this past week.  Ken was the author of the Disneyland Postcard blog...and the keeper of the only online reference site for Disneyland postcards, disneylandpostcards.net.  This hobby is a fairly small and tight knit one...and I am somewhat on the fringes.  Ken was not.  His website is, without question, the best reference on the subject beyond the Nickel Tour book.  I have referred to it on numerous occasions in this blog.  He put a lot of effort into it and was always ready to help a collector with answers to questions, or with spare cards to fill in their own collection.

So...I wanted to use this post today to offer my sincere condolences to his family and close friends.  I am very sorry for your loss.  

Until next time....

The Eiffel Tower by TWA

I have shown a number of airline postcards with actual aircraft on them, but the airlines published other postcards as well.  As you might expect, they would often advertise the destinations that their fleet was capable of carrying their passengers to.

 

Today's card is a Trans World Airlines card from sometime before 1952.  (The one cent postage for the card gives that away).  It's a linen card, not chrome, so it is probably a fair bit earlier than 1952 I suspect. The back of the card has a hint that the card may be from 1948, but that is just a guess.  Either way...this is a great view of the Eiffel tower taken from the Trocadéro, site of the Palais de Chaillot in Paris. 

Until next time...

Disneyland Postcard C-5 Conestoga Wagon

Sundry Collectibles will be on vacation from July 30 through August 4th, so for the next few days I am going to pull a few items out of the archives and give a brief description of what they are and why I have them in my collection.

Friday, August 3rd.

What is it?:  Disneyland Postcard C-5 with Stage Coach , Conestoga Wagon and the Mine Train.

Why do I have it?:  This is just a cool card!  It features three things that no longer exist at the park.  Taken today, this picture would have the Thunder Mountain Railroad in it.  

Huey, Dewey and Louie from the Art Corner

I recently acquired this card of Huey, Dewey and Louie riding the Dumbo ride at Disneyland.  It is one of a number of Art Corner cards that are not impossible to find but are also not very common.  Until this one showed up on eBay recently, it had been quite some time since I had seen one for sale.  Some collectors get a little confused by this card.  Why the blank spaces where the "boys" are talking?  I thought I would clear up that question with today's blog.

Huey, Dewey and Louie showed up in the Disney "Universe" very early.  First appearing in a comic strip in 1937 when they are sent to visit Donald.  They were soon after incorporated into various short films and were rather popular characters.  As brothers, they tended to talk over each other and complete each others sentences.  Seen here is a panel from Walt Disney's Comics and Stories issue #102 from March of 1949.  In the fifth panel, Huey, Dewey, and Louie can be seen eagerly volunteering to help Donald find a horse thief.

So, there you have it!  People who bought this card were, I think, meant to fill in the front with something like "Aunt" in one bubble, and "Sue" in the next bubble.  It's as simple as that.

Until next time...

Disneyland, Monsanto, and the Los Angeles Dodgers

One of the side benefits of collecting Disneyland post cards is that you can often get an interesting glimpse into someone's vacation if the card you have has been used.  More often than not, people comment on the great weather in California and all the fun stuff there is to do.  But occasionally, you get the random comment about last nights meatloaf at Marge's house, or the new baby that they saw at the relatives house.

The card I feature today is (from a collectibility standpoint) totally unremarkable.  Monsanto had the Hall of Chemistry at Disneyland, along with the House of the Future and other exhibits in the early days of the park.  These post cards must have been free, because even today they are easily found and at any given time there are many of them available on eBay (usually overpriced).

But this particular card is interesting because of the reference to the Los Angeles Dodgers on the back.  The card is dated and post-marked October 9th, 1957.  The Dodgers played their last game at Brooklyn's Ebbets field on September 24th, 1957, by which time the ownership of the team had already made the decision to move to LA.  This card gives one fans reaction...and the added note that they hoped the team would be named the Angels!  (See the link for the rather interesting history of the name and origins of the present day Angels in Anaheim)

Some collectors shy away from used cards, but sometimes the brief peek into history can be rather interesting!

Until next time...

Northwest Airlines Douglas DC-4

The Douglas DC-4 was primarily a wartime aircraft, built from 1942 to 1947.  The military variant, the C-54 Skymaster, was produced in large numbers, 1170 according to Wikipedia.  But only 63 of the passenger version DC-4 were built.

The caption on the back of this card reads, "America's great cities are served by these huge luxury liners of the "Northwest Passage".  Travel in comfort and safety at cruising speeds of over four miles per minute."

Well...four miles a minute is about 240 miles an hour...a little over a third the speed of a modern sub-sonic jet.  And I guess huge is relative.  Seating 86 passengers with a maximum take-off weight of 73,000 pounds was indeed pretty remarkable for the day.  In modern terms though, a 747-8 seats 467 in a three class configuration and has a maximum take-off weight of 987,000 pounds (!!).  Someday...I suppose this will seem small and slow.  When that will be, though, is anybody's guess!

Until next time...

The Lockheed L-188 Electra and NASA N429NA

It's been a while since I have spoken to an aviation postcard, so today I thought I would show a couple cards of the Lockheed L-188 Electra.  These are not vintage cards, but they are vintage photographs.

The Lockheed L-188 was a civilian version of the Lockheed P-3 Submarine chaser and was built starting in 1957.  It unfortunately had a rather spotty safety record early on, and was replaced by jet aircraft after only 170 were built.  Compare this to 757 total built for the P-3.

This aircraft has a special place in my past as I flew on the NASA Electra N429NA when I was in high school.  I had volunteered to work at the NASA Ames research center in the atmospheric research group.  They used to put exerimental platforms onboard U-2 aircraft, but also onboard planes like the Electra.  We would fly around collecting samples of the atmosphere at different altitudes and bring them back to the lab for analysis.  It was a boat load of fun!  

Last I heard...this aircraft was converted into a fire fighting aircraft by Neptune Aviation in Montana.  Here is another picture of the airplane during its conversion process.

Until next time...

Later Disneyland Panorama postcards

Disneyland The Nickel Tour is the bible when it comes to collecting Disneyland postcards.  Engaging in this hobby without this book is essentially impossible.  The book is itself rather collectible...as copies on eBay regularly fetch between $200-$300.  

But, it is a static thing.  The catalog of postcards published by Disneyland continues to grow.  A few folks that blog regularly on things Disneyland (especially Ken over at Disneyland Postcards) have websites that catalog the cards that are not in the Nickel Tour.  And today I feature one such card.

This card is one of a set of four numbered MP-10103, MP-10104, MP-10105, and MP-10106.  It is the same size as the older panorama cards that I have spoken of in my blog previously at 3.5 X 11 inches.  It is also a little mysterious to me.  A few years ago, a bunch of them showed up on eBay...and sold for just a few dollars each.  Since then, you see them occasionally, but not often.  I do not attend postcard shows regularly, so I do not know if they are common in that setting.  The card looks to be from the 1990's to my eye, but if that were the case, it would be in the Nickel Tour - and I don't see it in there (maybe I missed it?).  

Anyway...perhaps one of the readers of the blog can shed some light on this.  I have always wondered when this set was published and whether or not it was indeed sold in the park.

Until next time....

The Original Disneyland Cards vs. the D23 Reproductions

D23 is the official Disney fan club.  It gets its name from the year 1923, when Walt and his brother Roy started the Disney Studio.  For a fee, you can join the club and attend their special events held throughout the year.  At these events, they will give out collectible "members only" items for the fans as a reward for their loyalty.

A few years back, someone at D23 thought it would be a great idea to reproduce the original 23 postcards that were published for the opening of Disneyland.  When I first heard about this set, and saw it for the first time, I was a tad dismayed.  Below are two scans, one of the original P11876 card, the other of the D23 reproduction.

While at first glance this could be disturbing, the Disney postcard collector need not panic!  There are several characteristics that help distinguish between the cards.

First of all, if you look closely, you'll note that the reproduction card has been crop in a little closer.  This is the case on most of the D23 cards...but in some of the cases, it is rather subtle.  So, if you have the card in front of you, the next clue is the card stock.  The original card isn't your standard postcard stock like the original, but feels thinner and more flexible.

This is the original card P11876 (NT card #0001)

This is the reproduction D23 card P11876 (NT card #0001)

Finally, there is a semi-gloss finish on the reproduction card.  It is semi-gloss on both sides.  The original card can have a very high gloss on the front if in excellent condition, but will be a matte finish on the back.  

So there you have it.  For all of you out there who collect these cards, rest assured that passing one of the newer cards off as an older one is "not in the cards"!  (Sorry...that was pretty bad.)

Until next time...

Disneyland's Flying Saucers and Douglas Moonliner

Recently I posted on an old Disneyland Autopia postcard.  In that post I pondered the thought that perhaps (with the opening of Radiator Springs Racers) Disneyland might choose to replace Autopia.  Well, I guess that question is still up for debate, but in the meantime, on first glance, it appears to me that they have brought back an old attraction with the opening of Luigi's Flying Tires.

Shown here is card E-13 showing the Tomorrowland Flying Saucers.  Take a moment and compare the picture on the Luigi's Flying Tires link and the picture above.  The Flying Saucers, the last attraction to open in the original Tomorrowland, opened in 1961.  The ride, which essentially was a giant air hockey table with ridable pucks, had a number of issues after it opened related to weight difference in passengers and ride stability.  Despite these problems though, the ride remained open and entertained guests until 1966.

A couple of other things to note about this card.  In the background you can see the Moonliner with new "Douglas" livery painted on the side.  After TWA stopped sponsoring the Moonliner in 1962, Douglas stepped in and their name was on the display until 1966, when the rocket was taken down.  Also in the background is a large twin-domed building that frankly looks like nuclear power plant.  Pretty sure they didn't have one of those on Disneyland property!  This is actually the Rocket to the Moon show.  As usual, thanks to Dave at the Davelandweb blog for his research on this and all things Disneyland.

Until next time....