Mystery in Space #33

Well, I have recently been blogging primarily on my Disney Postcard site, and have neglected my blogs here.  But today we will remedy this with a quick look at this great Mystery in Space book from the summer of 1956!

It's the 27th century and wood has grown very scarce on planet earth.  With the discovery of new and more exotic materials, and presumably an exploding population, forests have been mowed down and replaced by huge structures.  Finally, one day, an alert goes out to destroy all things made from wood because it is determined that a deadly gas can be released from the material which will kill all living things near by.

When an alien fleet arrives to take over planet earth (just after all the last bits of wood have been destroyed), the earthlings realize that the deadly gas was a ploy to get them to destroy their remaining wood....the alien ray guns can easily handle the advanced materials, but cannot destroy wood!!  But have no fear!  A curator at an aviation museum has secretly preserved three old WWI fighter planes made from spruce wood...the old aircraft are retrofitted with new radiation canons and the aliens are defeated!!

Classic mid-century sci-fi!

Until next time...(sooner rather than later)

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

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....

Flying Aces Magazine - 1941

If you have read this blog for any amount of time...you know that the one thing that ties most of my collectibles together is the medium on which they were produced...that being paper.  Paper collectibles...or ephemera...have always been interesting to me.  Most paper items are produced to serve a purpose and then were usually not taken care of and/or thrown away.  Whether it was a tourist pamphlet, an early comic book, or, in the case of today's item, a magazine...printed paper items always offer great insight into the culture of the era.

Flying Aces was a popular aviation magazine from the early 20th century.  This issue is from 1941 and is loaded with factual articles on aircraft of the day, fictional stories, and model building tips for kids and adults wanting to try their hand at the design and build of model aircraft.

I particularly thought the image here was interesting.  The P-38 Lighting, as you are probably aware, went on to become one of the most fabled aircraft of WWII.  And the P-40 also saw a significant amount of service all over the world, perhaps most notably as the "Flying Tiger" in China.

As an aside...I couldn't resist including the back cover.  Build planes...get a girl...I love it!

Until next time...

The Savage Sword of Conan!

Back in the 1970's when the comics code was still mostly in force and there were restrictions on what comic book companies could and could not publish, regular magazine sized comic books were published by a number of different publishers that fell outside of the code...and allowed the artists and writers a freer hand.  This magazine, The Savage Sword of Conan, was one such magazine.

This magazine (issue #2 shown here) was put out by a group called Magazine Management Company, but it drew from artists that were all well known at the time.  This cover is by Neil Adams.  The art director for the magazine was John Romita.  Interior art is by John Buscema, Gil Kane and Howard Chaykin.  The book is a little edgier than the standard comics of the time...but the work is of a high quality, and all true to the Robert E. Howard Conan of yore.

The best part about these books??  They are available cheap!!  Nominally...issues after #5 or so are available for a few dollars each.  So...if you are a Conan fan like me...these are must haves!

Until next time...

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

X-Men #101 - The Phoenix!

When the new X-Men were introduced in 1975 in Giant Size X-Men #1 and X-Men #94, a really great ride awaited the readers over the next 40 or so issues.   It's actually been quite some time since I read a lot of this stuff, but I remember reading it for the first time and being captivated by the quality of the Chris Claremont story and Dave Cockrum art together as one cohesive and integrated story telling entity.  And this issue was the real beginning of it all...the rise of the Phoenix!

I am not going to rehash the story which can be found in innumerable places, including an adaptation of sorts in the X-Men movies.  Instead, I thought I would share this cover and splash page by Dave Cockrum.  Easily my favorite X-Men splash page from this era...and one of the better covers as well.

Next time you watch an X-Men movie and find yourself asking questions about "the book"...head on down to your local comic shop...this story has been reprinted on several occasions and in several formats.  Like I said...it's a great read and a lot of fun.

Until next time...

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

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 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....