The Man Who Loved Books Too Much

One of the things that I really enjoy doing is browsing through book stores.  As a collector, sometimes I am looking for something rare (as you may have guessed by some of the posts on this blog).  Sometimes, I am looking for something very specific, in a very specific category.  And sometimes, I am just looking...period.  But the cool part about a book store and book collecting is that it is such a rich hobby.  You can collect from any number of authors or subjects, art books, first editions, or even just collect bindings and fore-edge paintings.  Some people collect books about books...and that gets us to this book featured here, "The Man Who Loved Books Too Much", by Allison Hoover Bartlett.

A couple of years ago I got this for Christmas and it really was a great read.  It is a thriller, a mystery and a book about collecting all wrapped into one.  The true story of a man who...well, I don't really want to give it away, but the title says enough...he loved books too much.  

The problem chronicled in this book is not an uncommon one.  Criminals steal paintings from galleries, comic art at comic conventions, small antiques from mall dealers and high end dealers, and yes, they steal rare books.  A while ago, a comic dealer friend of mine had some original art stolen from his store.  My original thought was (and actually still is), "What an idiot!"  You can't display it and share it with people, there is only one...and for high end comic art, there are sites that track stolen work.  At the end of the day, collectibles are meant to be shared and enjoyed with other people...not holed up secretly where only one person can see them.  (Reminds me of the Getty Museum in LA...now THAT is the way to share a collection!)

Anyway...I have updated my Amazon recommended list to the right if you want to find a copy of this read.  I highly recommend it for book lovers and even non-book lovers.  It's an interesting peak into the whole world of rare books and rare book dealers.  

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

Famous Funnies 212 - Another Frazetta masterpiece

When you go to a great restaurant, and have a great meal...maybe a really fabulous rack of lamb, or a particularly great salmon fillet, or maybe a great glass of wine...unless you are a professional, you may not be able to say why you liked it.  At the end of the day, it was just, well, REALLY good.  With wine, I like a good glass as much as the next person, but I can't tell if it is because of a great nose of earthy notes with a hint of cinnamon, or whatever...I just know, after having had quite a few bottles in my time...what is good and what isn't.

Well...this cover is a great example of that same sentiment.  I am not an artist.  I can't necessarily speak to you about the technical aspects of what is an is not great composition or what specific aspects of a pictures execution make it better than the next.  I might try, but at at the end of the day, I know what I like...and I can usually tell when an artist is committed to their craft.

Frazetta had command on this cover and the others in the series.  And while I am not an artist...I know well drawn figures when I see them.  And while I may not be trained, I think I have a sense for good composition...for good story telling that is accomplished without words.  Everyone knows today that people can't just float around in space...I suspect they knew that back in the early 1950's too...but that doesn't matter here.  The beautiful girl in distress, our fearless hero (Buck Rogers), the lunatic alien thugs and their fleet of ships.  The image is bold and dynamic.  It moves.  It brings back images in my mind of Mystery in Space #1...also a classic black covered sci-fi book from the early 1950's with cover art by Carmine Infantino.

So there it is...classic 1950's sci-fi that is really timeless.  Why?  Because these artists were serious about what they were doing and were not just turning the crank.  Thanks fellas!

Until next time...

Superman #252 - DC Super Spectacular

In the early 1970's, DC printed 100 page versions of a lot of it's titles and labeled them as "Super Spectacular" issues.  These issues are fairly collectible today and are often hard to find in decent shape due to the square binding. They started publication in the summer of 1971 with issue number 4 and went to issue number 22.  The books contained all reprints from earlier DC issues.

The other day a friend of mine gave me this comic as payback for a bottle of wine I had bought for him.  This particular issue is interesting for the Neal Adams wrap around cover.  A close inspection of the cover will show that Hawkman and Hawkgirl are on the cover twice, but DC aficionados will tell you that these are Earth 1 and Earth 2 representations of these characters...keep your lore straight!  And their is a funky looking flying doctor guy at the top "right" of the wrap around cover...not being a DC expert, I had to do do a little research on this one.  Thanks to "Giant Size Geek" for pointing out that there is a key to who all the character's are in the back of the magazine itself.  He reprints it on his blog.  (Turns out the funky looking doctor guy is "Mr. Keeper", by the way!)

     

Neal Adams was know for great work on Batman, Superman and Green Arrow.  This cover is a great example of that work...but do check out his Batman and Brave and the Bold covers.  They are some of the best work to come out of the 1960's and 1970's, in my humble opinion.

So...not a bad trade for a decent Beauregard Pinot Noir from Santa Cruz County.  Not a bad trade at all!

Until next time...

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!

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....