2.4.16

The Cold War was getting into full swing when Transogram started manufacturing these dart games in 1955, showcasing the United States militarys' top notch new fighter jet technology. The Spin 'n Snap Darty Game has vivid illustrations of some Atomic Age technology with a dynamic color-contrasting backdrop, and the age and wear and tear of the piece gives it a rustic charm perfect for a cabin or cottage with blasts of color in faded glory.

23.5.15

The Ponytail girls pre-dated Barbie (morphed into her actually) and were part of the post-war consumer boom of realization that teens and pre-teens were a whole new - ginormous - market to create for that came with the expansion of rock and roll to the young masses who had their parents' money to spend. Although most items produced were made from vinyl - things like address/autograph books, various cases, even dolls - these are some of the rarer tin trays that may have come with one of the very popular vinyl lunchboxes.

20.5.15

This Baby Blue Brother typewriter from the 70s received the acclaimed Good Housekeeping seal of approval! Kinda like a Consumer Reports high rating of today, but with a reverent domestic twist. Isn't it interesting that we are seeing a cool trendy revival of the use of old typewriters? They are not just being bought and sold for decor, but are actually being used, their one-off typewritten pages being appreciated for, not only that one-offness, but for the nostalgia, the effort, the visceral clakity-clak of the clakking of the keys as you type. Sure, you can download any number of typewriter fonts, but as the digital communication of tweets and emails overtakes our means and ways, the emergence of an alternative arises from the ashes like a phoenix from the fire. Yay!

3.4.15

"Live Long and Prosper" has always been a part of my lexicon, thanks to Leonard Nimoy, whose role as an actor playing the Vulcan/Human crossbreed was a pivotal three-year stage in his life and a major identity crisis. Star Trek The Original Series wasn't such a huge hit at the time, but gathered momentum with an unprecedented fanbase, a diverse group of people looking for belonging and finding solidarity at conventions. Finding himself typecast as Spock was a struggle initially for Nimoy, but he came to acknowledge the impact the humanistic foundation of the show had on people, and the immense role that the character of Spock had in this; he himself had brought so much of the spiritual and philosophical underpinnings of Spock to the character, and he came to embrace that rather then refuse it after seeing the good it was doing and after accepting the odd path he found himself on. The iconic hand gesture, based in the feminine aspect of spiritual Judaism, the nature of being an outcast wherever you go because of innate difference, the traits of Spock and what he displayed for us as children growing up in a more and more complex society struggling with diversity and new-found freedoms stood as models for the possible, as so much of quality science fiction does. Leonard Nimoy went on to have an incredibly broad and multivalenced creative career, exploring all the aspects of himself that he wanted to, and all of his projects somehow tied to these initial tenets. Many of us were shaped by him-as-Spock and, as an artist so embroiled in his work, he will be remembered and honoured for being true to himself and being a model for us because of that.

12.2.15

"Bell Bottom Trousers", words and music by Moe Jaffe in 1944, was a song re-written in the Big Band WWII era to rally encouragement and support for the troops, recorded by at least three different artists before the end of the war and shooting to the top of the charts continuously. But the song was a spin-off of an already legendary sea-faring sailor camaraderie classic bawdy folk song. Instead of being about a left-behind-at-home girl enamored with a sailor who, of course, wears bell bottoms, it is about a sailor who "conquers" a woman through rather forceful means... the word "rape" is even used. Check out the Wiki page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_Bottom_Trousers_(commercial_song)

28.10.14

Vintage Wooden Spools.

These are wonderful maybe because in part because of their Brothers Quay type of thing going on. Especially the way when there is a worn away label on the end, faded printing or peeled somewhat; they are wood and we don't really make these of wood anymore, most things are now plastic. Like that giant island of plastic in the Pacific Ocean, you know the one. Perhaps this is why these are precious.

23.6.14

The classic Mouli Grater, made in France by the company later to be known as Moulinex, these graters of nuts, cheeses, and vegetables are still used by kitchen connoisseurs and highly coveted in these old metal pre-plastic incarnations... and very Farmhouse Chic!

26.5.14

Who doesn't love old silver pieces like this? Their elegant curves and intricate patterning and piercings immediately arouse in us a very different age even though they are emblematic of the beginnings of mass production; I suppose they existed in between the old world of artisans and the new world of industrialization. And now when we spot them we appreciate their patinas that current craftspeople try and fake with special chemicals but the real thing only serves to authenticate their age and their longevity, as well as visually heighten the contrast of the Art Nouveau etchings on their bases by bringing out those patterns. Though these pieces may have been easy to find at thrift stores the nation over, they are becoming more and more collectible, rarer and rarer.

10.5.14

1.1.14

Founded in 1950, the Injecta firm began production of these Injecta syringes at 600 per day as part of the German Democratic Republic's specialization program to increase public health care after the war and recovery years. The firm included the public consolidation of many pre-war factories that were left in barely functioning condition when the war ended.

9.11.13

"Hollywood in the Fifties" by Gordon Gow from the International Film Guide Series, now out of print, from 1971.

4.3.13

Vintage Bras (and other underthings...)!



Happy Womens' History Month!
and there never was a demonstration of burning bras in the 60s or 70s... that is just a myth. It stems from a large demonstration that was held outside the 1968 Miss America pageant (they called it "The Degrading Mindless-Boob-Girlie Symbol") in Atlantic City in which women protested the materialistic and vacuous ways that women and their value were being represented by the "beauty" industries that the pageant epitomized. They had a Freedom Trash Can and threw into it items that they were refusing to allow society to pressure them into representing what it meant to be a woman, and some women threw bras into the garbage. Many "feminine product" type of items were thrown out, such as hairspray, high heels, pots & pans, brooms, false eyelashes, as well as Cosmopolitans and Playboys. And bras.


18.2.13

I love this handmade Boho style green enamel Etruscan Revival Hippy dangle low-hung necklace! It is a total cross between 1960s Star Trek Alien-wear and the early 70s long-haired Bob Mackie-styled  Cher. And I love how fashion keeps re-generating itself, taking bits and pieces of the past... the waaay past, and the future, and making it all relevant for someone to look great in today.

4.2.13

MidCentury Modern Copper Tube


Look at this wonderful Mid Century so shiny copper... well, is it meant for a candle, in which case it would cast an incredible shadow-light through that quintessential metal mesh... or as a vase, though certainly not for anything live for water is out of the question.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/106640183/vintage-mid-century-modern-copper-metal

3.6.12

Coffee Hound!

This made-in-Japan MidCentury cup & saucer was used and labelled as souvenirs for various places or events, like the New York World's Fair of 1964, and has comical graphics inside the cup indicating lines marking what sort of coffee drinker you are based on how high you fill the cup up.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/100718374/vintage-coffee-hound-ceramic-porcelain

18.5.12

Classic Raggedy Ann & Andy Redux.


The original illustration by the great Johnny Gruelle, circa 1920.

6.3.12

1845 Human Anatomy Lithograph.

Drawing from life by French army surgeon Jean Baptiste Francois Leveille (1769-1829) from the 1845 book "Avec un Atlas de 24 planches dessinĂ©es d'apres nature et lithographiees par M. Leveille", published in Paris and used as reference by artists. 
http://www.etsy.com/listing/68127649/1845-antique-male-anatomy-color

24.2.12

A Very Cool Hip Camera... The Comet.

The Comet is an Italian camera made in the 50's by Bencini, looking like an SLR but really it has a fixed aperture and shutter so was a sort of precursor to point-and-shoots and is more along the line of Holgas and Annys, though it is not plastic but cast aluminum.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/89605781/vintage-1950s-comet-camera-by-bencini-of

3.10.11

Found Photos from Negatives



 
Found these medium format negatives in a recycling dumpster. 

17.8.11

Fred Press Fishie Carafe!


Gorgeous Atomic aqua and gold primitive fish on glass with this Fred Press designed Midcentury Modern coffee carafe. http://www.etsy.com/listing/79477519/vintage-midcentury-modern-fred-press