Saturday Evening Post - May 29, 1948

All I can say about this amazing issue of the Saturday Evening Post is, where to begin?  This thing is absolutely loaded with nostalgic advertising and some great articles and writing from the mid twentieth century.  I'll get to the primary reason I bought this magazine in a bit, but there is so much fantastic advertising that I had to share it here.

I'll start off with the cover which has a nice painted piece by an artist unknown to me, Mead Schaeffer. There are wikipedia articles on him, and you can see other samples of his work online.  I have to believe that back in the day, getting the opportunity to have your work published on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post was a huge deal.  

Inside, we'll start out with this great American Airlines advertisement.  This was 1948.  Commercial air travel was still in its infancy for the most part (OK...maybe it was a toddler) and this ad was addressing some concerns as well as making air travel look cool.  Read it for yourself, but I find the last panel interesting.  Not only was air travel making our businessman friend hip and efficient, but it was appropriate for the mother and young baby as well as the elderly couple.  And get a load of all that leg room!

Next up is this magnificent centerfold advertisement for Mobil De Luxe Tires and Mobilgas.  This piece is unsigned, but it has that Norman Rockwell feel to it (pretty sure it's not him though).  The "girls" are off to the side with mom trying to quiet the young one while dad fixes the tire....but to no avail because the dog is wreaking havoc.  Just brilliant.  

Another great double page spread is this 7-Up add.  7-Up was created in 1929...this was 1948, so a mere 19 years into the life of the product.  "You like it - it likes you"...they don't mention it here, but 7-Up is not a caffeinated drink.  I suspect it was not then either.  But somehow I suspect that this is not why they say "it likes you"...probably just marketing speak for "buy this drink"!

Finally I come to the reason I bought this magazine in the first place (only a few bucks on eBay...by the way).  Look at the double page spread above.  Notice the tiny cartoon on the bottom left hand page? This is Charles Schulz's first published work in a national magazine.  While Li'l Folks had been published in the St. Paul Pioneer Press since 1947, this was Schulz's first nationally published work.  The rest, as they say, is history!

Until next time....

The Lyon Air Museum - One Man's Collection

As a collector, one of the things I like to do is see what other people collect.  When I walk in to someones house...maybe they have invited me and my family over for dinner...my eyes are always drawn to the book shelves, or the mantle...or maybe even the wals if there are interesting prints or paintings on them.

A friend of mine and his wife are really into photography.  The shots are almost always personal family photographs taken while on vacation...but done so in a very artistic and creative way.  This may not be a collection in the classic sense, but it really is not that different.

This past week I was on business travel to Anaheim in Southern California.  As the plane touched down, I noticed for not the first time a small air museum on the opposite side of the airfield:  The Lyon Air Museum.  In the afternoon I had a little time to go check it ut while I was waiting for my flight.

The man who started this museum is a collector...of motorcycles and airplanes.  How cool is that?  He needed a hanger to show his stuff...but it is quite a collection.  He has a B-17 bomber, a B-25Mitchell, an A-4 Skyhawk, an old American Airlines DC-3 (you can see the aft end of this plane in the photo above), a C-47 cargo plane in invasion stripes...and a bunch of motorcycles from Germany and America (the Indian above is magnificent).

If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend a quick stop at the Lyon Air Museum.  Even if you have only a passing interest in mid-20th century aircraft and mechanical machines...you will not be disappointed 

Until next time....

Lord of the Rings TCG

A few posts ago I introduced TCG's and CCG's to this blog.  Over the years, as I mentioned, I have dabbled in this hobby.  Sometimes I collect the cards just for the cards sake...other times, I will find a few friends that are collecting also and we will play the game.

This game, The Lord of the Rings TCG, represents one of the games that I played and collected extensively.  Well...I didn't play that much, but I have a LOT of these cards floating around the nooks and crannies of my house...and even my office at work (another friend of mine and I would play a lunch!)

The game design is very well done.  You start out with a small "Fellowship" and travel through nine sites where your opponent(s) are given the opportunity to attack and defeat the fellowship on its journey.  When it is their turn...you act as the forces of Mordor.  

The cards are all based on the Peter Jackson film and are beautifully done, and as in most/all TCG's they come in Common, Uncommon and Rare varieties with different capabilities.  

You can still find these cards for sale on eBay...some sets going quite cheaply.  

Until next time...

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

CCG's and TCG's

I am continuing on the collector card theme today....

Back in the mid-1990's a new kind of collectible quietly came on the scene.  I remember going into a comic shop in my home town and seeing a box of Magic: The Gathering cards for sale and thinking..."What's that?"  Well, Magic: The Gathering...or Magic, as it is often referred to, is a Collectible Card Game, or CCG.  They are sometimes also called Trading Card Games, or TCG's, as well.  Magic was the first of many, many different themed CCG's to come down the pike...and they are stil coming to this day.

The first game that I bought was a Star Trek based game that came out in 1995.  I actually never played the game...I just thought the cards were cool!  But these games were and are played...and played seriously.  A colleague of mine at work was actually national champion (or runner up, I forget) for the Star Trek CCG game in 1996 or 1997...playing in the national tournament in Las Vegas after being flown there gratis by the publisher of the game, Decipher Inc.

Well...going back to that day I saw the Magic cards for sale, when the store owner told me what it was, I remember thinking, "Sounds ridiculous!"  Silly me!  I never played Magic, but from a collectible standpoint, I wish I could go back and buy that box of cards!  They would have made a great investment...a Black Lotus card, from the first set, regularly gets $4,000 on eBay!

I will break out some more CCG's I have...including the ones I played...in future posts.

Until next time...

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

Star Trek Master Series Picture Cards

Collectible picture cards have been around for a long time.  Starting out (I believe) in the late 19th century, baseball cards and other themed cards have their origins as special add-ins to a product package (bubble gum, cigarettes, and the like).  In the case of baseball cards, the cigarettes and gum were eventually jettisoned and the cards sold alone.

                

I have a few sets of picture cards, but one of my favorites is the Star Trek Master Series series put out by Sky Box in the 1990's.  Some of the art work in this set is genuinely of high quality, especially the portraiture.  Some of the other cards depict various famous scenes from the original series and Star Trek The Next Generation.  

These cards were well and truly over-produced, so they are not rare or hard to find...and they aren't worth much as a collectible.  There were a few "chase" cards in the set that were holographic in nature, and were harder to find.  They could be bought on eBay for a nominal fee though.  Either way, the set is nice to look at and well produced...so, worth the price of admission.  

Until next time...

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

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Advanced Reading Copy

As I have discussed previously in my blog, an uncorrected proof (or advanced reading copy) is a copy of a book sent out to book buyers and reviewers to solicit interest prior to availability from the publisher. When the first Harry Potter book came out in America, the success of the book the year before in Britain was evident, but it was not clear whether or not the American audience would receive the book with similar enthusiasm.  Scholastic, the American publisher for Harry Potter, paid J.K. Rowling her first big check of $100,000 for the rights to publish the book in America.  The rest...as they say...is history!

The thing I like about this particular edition is that it tells you straight away how many copies of the first edition, first print run, of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone were published in the United States.  Scholastic printed 30,000 copies of the book for the first print run.  I don't know where things are at today exactly, but I think the hard back is on its 80th printing or so, and over 400 million copies of all Harry Potter books have been printed.  So...these are very early editions in what was to become the Harry Potter phenomenon!

Until next time...

Topps The Empire Strikes Back trading cards

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.

Thursday, August 2nd.

What is it?:  Topps Empire Strikes Back trading cards from 1980

Why do I have it?:  I bought and traded these cards when I was kid and The Empire Strikes Back movie had just come out in the theater.  I remember seeing the movie eight times that summer...and I have seen it at least a hundred times since.  So...you might say I am a fan!

This, by the way, is a blue bordered card from the second series.  

Mars Attacks Topps cards

One of the all-time classic collector cards series from Topps that was not related to sports was called Mars Attacks.  It was printed in 1962.  There were only 55 cards in the set, and they were not printed in great numbers because some felt they were too gory and Topps stopped the print run.  The cards are very collectible today and can fetch nearly $20 a card.

This month Topps is reprinting the set to celebrate 50 years since the original cards came out.  On a trip to Target with the family yesterday, there they were!  I caved in and bought two packs.  (A bargain at $2.09 each)

The story goes that the cards were inspired by the cover of Weird Science #16...another EC comic classic (see my July 19th post).  Wally Wood was the cover artist for that issue of Weird Science, and he also did the art for the original card set.

Vintage non-sport collector cards are actively collected by many die-hard collectors out there.  I have been known to dabble in this hobby...but it has only occasionally been a focus.

Until next time....

Star Wars Trading Cards - First Series Stickers

As I mentioned in my previous post about Topps Star Wars trading cards, I started collecting only when the red bordered second series came out.  As a result, I had to trade with my friends at recess for the entire blue bordered first series.  The holy grail of this set (as I remember it anyway) were the stickers.

According to StarWarsCards.net each pack contained one sticker, seven cards and a stick of bubblegum.  The packs were 5 cents each.  So, the stickers were a premium item.  To put an entire set together, you were looking at 75 cents to a dollar in packs alone! :)  Here is the complete first series of stickers.

Looking at my collection today, I have multiples of all the stickers but one...Luke Skywalker.  Kids, including myself, stuck these on our binders and folders.  I suspect Luke was a popular one to use for that purpose.

These cards aren't worth that much today, if you care to pick up a set.  The stickers go for about $1 to $2, and a card set can be had for $35 or so.  But for me personally...these cards are an instant transport back to that 5th grade playground!

Until next time...

Sotheby's, Christie's and the Like

When most people hear the name of a high end auction house like Sotheby's or Christies they immediately think of a stuffy intimidating environment where only the uber-rich participate in day sales of Impressionist art.  Well, yes, this sort of thing does happen, as evidenced by the recent sale of Edvard Munch's "Scream" for $119M.

But when these highly publicized auctions are not happening, Sotheby's and Christies (and the like...) are still open for business and are offering a wide range of collectibles at every possible price point.  Taking a look at the Christie's website for June 2012, there are 38 sales occurring.  These sales range from impressionist art (there it is again), to Japanese, Russian and Chinese art, wine, watches, Rock and Roll memorabilia, Italian photography...and the list goes on.

Now, I know what you are thinking...all that stuff I just listed still sounds like it is going to come with a hefty price tag.  Well...maybe.  But there are two reasons why I like to frequent these sites.  First of all, each sale is like a temporary online museum exhibit.  So, even if you don't have the cash, you have an opportunity to look at some really cool stuff that will, in the very near future, be holed up in someone's private collection for who knows how long.

Secondly...you never know when something reasonable might come along that you would like to have and you actually could afford.  While Edvard's painting is selling for over-the-moon dollars, beautiful 18th and 19th century English furniture (for example) can be had for prices equivalent to (or less) than what you would pay at Ethan Allen for something new.  Check out this beautiful English 19th century inlaid mahogany sideboard that sold for $875 at Christie's recently.  That price included commission...which for Christies is 25% for something like this.  Yes...you would have to have it shipped...but that is still an awesome deal (if you happen to need a sideboard).

Until next time....

Star Wars Trading Cards

I have been collecting stuff for a long time...and one of my first collections was of Star Wars bubble gum cards in the 1970's. I had a few pieces of the gum and can still remember that super sweet flavor that lasted all of 12 seconds before fading away.  But the cards were what I was really after.

I actually started collecting the cards when the second series, the red ones, came out...which means I had to assemble my blue set, the first series, entirely by trade.  Which I managed to do successfully on the school play ground at recess.  I still have the same cards today, 35 years later.

Featured here are the first card of the first set, Luke Skywalker, and card number 80 from the red set.  I put this one here because to this day I remember that it took me forever to get a copy of this card!

Until next time...

Thursday Missive: Estate and Garage Sales

Before my wife and I had kids I used to go to garage sales all the time.  And while I don't go to as many as I used to, I still find that garage and estate sales continue to be a lot of fun to visit.

A lot of folks think that garages and estate sales are a waste of time.  "It's just a bunch of junk".  And while there is ample justification for that statement, very often you will find diamonds in the rough.  When you go to these sales (especially estate sales) you are being given a glimpse not only at a bunch of old stuff...but a glimpse into someones life that cuts across the past fifty, sixty or even seventy years.

I went to an estate sale up in Los Altos several years ago.  The man had been a doctor and also had a lot of children.  Well, looking through the books he had and the left over things he had from the long past childhood of his children, it was very clear that this guy was dedicated to the education of his kids.  Here were the tools he used to raise his family...all being scattered away.  I felt like I needed to buy something to preserve a legacy.  Maybe that sounds silly, but it was true.  I ended up with a box of small national flags.  My kids have them in their room and we occasionally break them out and talk about which belongs to which country and where it is on the map.

At another sale, the man had been a pilot for Pan-American Airways.  There were all kinds of things related to his work...some more interesting than others, but all of it together made for a fascinating slice into this guys career.  I walked away with a number of things from this sale, one of which is pictured here.  It's a certificate that was apparently handed out to people who crossed the international dateline on Pan-Am's clipper service in the Pacific.  It's a beautiful piece of art for one, and it's a relic from an era of progress in America which changed the world really.

Finally, another reason I like estate sales may seem a bit odd, but it is sincere.  They remind me that all the stuff I have will one day be scattered.  As the saying goes, you can't take it with you.  So, while I love collecting and it brings me a lot of pleasure...at the end of the day, it's all just "hay, wood and stubble", as my mom would say.  So...I try not to take my stuff too seriously...it is after all, just stuff.

Until next time....

Thursday Missive - Is Sand Collectible?

About 30 years ago I went on a vacation with my family to the Caribbean.  Before we left, the father of a close friend of my brother asked him to bring back a shell.  My brother couldn't find a good shell, so he brought back some sand...and my brother and I brought back some for ourselves as well.  One thing led to another and 32 years later I have over 30 samples of sand from all over the world.

But is sand really a collectible?  Well, yes, of course it is.  I collect it because I think it is interesting.  All the different colors, textures, and grain variation make it so.  It sounds a little nerdy maybe (OK...maybe a lot) but that doesn't change the fact that the collection has been fun to put together.  It doesn't cost anything, and it has no value.  But value and investment potential are secondary actors.  At least, I think they should be when we collect stuff.

For more, check out the links below.  My brother and I are apparently not alone!

http://www.sand-atlas.com/en/

http://www.sandcollectors.org/ISCSHomeIndexx.html

Pictured below, my first sample from the Bahamas on the left (1980).  On the right, Aswan (1982). The Sahara in a bottle.

First Post Greeting

I have been collecting stuff since I was a kid.  And collecting is the most fun when it is shared with other people.  I recently stumbled across a couple blogs by guys who collect Disneyland postcards.  Well...I collect those too...so, I figured it was time I start something up online so that fellow collectors and anyone else who was interested could hopefully enjoy a little of the journey with me.  You will be seeing posts on the aforementioned Disneyland (and Disney related) postcards, comic books and comic book related items (my most substantial collection), antiquarian books, the occasional post on my sand collection (yes...sand), toy soldiers (King and Country and the like), and other things that I have failed to remember.  Thanks for stopping by!