Jazz Songbooks from Leeds Music: Part I (1940s)

I'm a huge vintage music collector, mainly because I'm a musician and either find a use for it or at least preserve it, but also because I love the vintage design on some of the covers. I'm particularly fond of these covers that Leeds Music did in the 1940s for a series of jazz songbooks. Part I of my collection are these two warm-up books. They all appear to have the same illustrator as well, signed simply, "Holley". Enjoy, and click through for full-sized scans. Also, if this kind of thing interests you, visit my other blog, Collecting Sheet Music.

Wright-Way Award Seals - J. S. Bach (1970s)

My grandmother was a piano teacher for the better part of fifty years, and when she passed away she left me her beautiful Kawai studio grand, and among the many items in the piano bench were these wonderful award stamps made by Wright-Way. I remember getting these put on my lesson book when I came prepared, and I'm sure many other piano students received them from their teachers over the years. I'm sure of the exact vintage of these, but I'll guess 1970s? Enjoy, and click through for full-sized images.

AGS Around the World Program: Surinam (1958)

In my second edition of the American Geographical Society Around the World Program series, we will see the beautiful -- but sadly uncredited -- illustrations from the volume on Surinam (now properly spelled the Republic of Suriname). Feel free to read my first post on the AGS Around the World Program if you'd like more information about these books and where they came from. Enjoy these green illustrations, and click through for full-sized images.

G.I. Joe Members Only Pamphlet (1984)

This entry is right on the cusp of being vintage, but considering that "G.I. Joe" is being made into a summer blockbuster at present, and it's been almost 25 years since this pamphlet came out, I'm gonna go with it. I didn't own very many G.I. Joe figures and accessories, but this must have come with one of them. As usual, why I saved this, I may never know, but nonetheless, here it is for your viewing and using pleasure. Be sure to click through for full-sized versions.

Streamline No. 1 Poker Playing Cards (1950s)

A friend looked at the site as I was designing it and asked me about the "Plastic Coated" and "Linen Finish" banner across the bottom of my site banner.  Part of the impetus for creating this site was seeing this pack of playing cards a week ago at a friend's house.  His father had picked these up at a garage sale, curiously unopened.  The Arrco playing card company existed until 1987, but this design certainly looks older, and from a little research it appears that this deck dates from the 1950s, maybe early 1960s. Either way, this design inspired me to post some of my own vintage stuff somehow online, and also get my friend to loan me those cards to scan.  It was the first thing I scanned for this site, and while I was making the site banner, the colors weighed heavily on me, and I figured I might as well integrate them into the design. So here, for your viewing pleasure, are the Streamline No. 1 Poker Playing Cards -- mind you, the box is still unopened, so these are merely scans of the packaging, but what a package it is! As always, click through for full-size versions.

AGS Around the World Program: Burma (1959)

When my grandmother passed away about a year ago, I found out that she left me all of her old books in her will; she knew I was one of the few "readers" among the grandchildren and would appreciate them, but also take care of them for the future. Among the various books now piled in my home were a series put together by the American Geographical Society called the Around the World Program. This post will feature the wonderful illustrations by Don Sibley in the 1959 volume on Burma (now officially known as the Union of Myanmar). Enjoy, and click through for full-sized scans!