Dave's Vintage Stuff

Nelson Doubleday Personal Success Program (1958)

2008-12-05T14:06:00.000-08:00

Nelson Doubleday was the king of this type of illustrated booklet with inserts, as we've seen with the incredible Around the World Program for the American Geographical Society. We've got two more sets of these booklets to bring you, and we're starting with the Nelson Doubleday Personal Success Program. This first set is the covers -- check out the groovy backgrounds. This will be a fun series, as I'm also going to include the inserted practice materials. Enjoy the covers of the Nelson Doubleday Personal Success Program from 1958 below, or click through for the Flickr set.

Fifth Day of Christmas: Christmas Seals from the American Lung Association (1984)

2008-12-05T13:55:00.000-08:00

Here are seven wonderful Christmas seals presented by the American Lung Association in 1984. There were scanned directly from the back of envelopes, many of them containing the cards seen in yesterday's set of 1984 Hallmark cards. American Lung Association has been making Christmas seals for over 100 years, and we've got many more to share with you, some dating back to the 1920's, so stay tuned. Enjoy the slide show of these 1984 Christmas seals below, or click through for full-sized images.

Fourth Day of Christmas: Hallmark Holiday Greeting Cards (1984)

2008-12-04T23:14:00.000-08:00

Here's a batch of thirteen holiday greeting cards from Hallmark sent during the 1984 holiday season. We've got more where this came from so stay tuned for more vintage greeting cards dating back to the 1940's. Enjoy the slide show below, or click through for the Flickr set.

Vintage Spanish Flash Cards (1959)

2008-12-04T21:39:00.000-08:00

To break the stream of Christmas posts, here's a set of Spanish language flash cards from 1959. They probably belonged to my uncle or my father, but what I was so taken with were the simple, classic illustrations on each card. One side of each card has just the illustration, the other side the illustration with the Spanish term. Marjorie Lowry Pei served as the foreign language consultant for a former division of McGraw-Hill dubbed Gelles-Widmer, the company that produced these foreign language cards and a variety of other flash cards, including sets for arithmetic and the Presidents. Enjoy the slide show below of the 50+ flashcards, or click through for the Flickr set.

Third Day of Christmas: Christmas Cards from The Marriotts (1943-1959)

2008-12-03T23:25:00.000-08:00

I'm presenting a set of classic Christmas cards sent out by my grandfather in the 1940's and 1950's. The simple design stays pretty much the same over the sixteen years that this period covers. Enjoy these Marriott family Christmas cards in the slide show below, or click through for the Flickr set.

Second Day of Christmas: Favorite Christmas Carols from Firestone (1959)

2008-12-02T13:42:00.000-08:00

For our second day of Christmas, here's a booklet of Christmas carols presented by Firestone. The front and back covers feature fabulous illustrations, while the inner pages include some small artwork on the inside front cover, and the inside back cover features a classic 1950's illustration of the six industries of Firestone. Enjoy the slideshow of the "Favorite Christmas Carols from Firestone" below, or click through for the Flickr set.

First Day of Christmas: Vintage Santa Claus Seal (1940s)

2008-12-01T16:58:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd do something fun for the holidays: in addition to the usual blog posts, I'd try to do a post for each of the first twelve days of December featuring something you could actually use for the holidays. So, for our First Day of Christmas is a scan of a wonderful old Christmas envelope or package seal depicting Santa Claus and the text, "Do not open until Dec 25". I've scanned it in high quality so, if you want, print them out and make a bunch for yourself! Enjoy the image below, or download the full size at Flickr.

Rare Footage of Herb Crisler in the Olympic Mountains (1940s)

2008-12-01T09:03:00.000-08:00

I've got some amazing footage to show you! My grandfather had this tape of footage of noted hiker and Disney filmmaker extraordinaire Herb Crisler that he had received from writer and biographer Ruby El Hult, who received it directly from Crisler himself. It was basically unlabeled except for a small note from Ruby stating what was NOT Herb Crisler on the tape (only two short scenes, which have been edited out). After I watched the approximately twenty minutes of footage, I knew this was something special. It's candid moments in the Olympic Mountains with Herb Crisler and assorted others. There's a ton of great moments here, from chasing grouse and filming bear to loading up one of his caches and birdwatching. This footage from the 1940's is a special slice of film we rarely get to see anymore, let alone see something that probably very few people have seen.

Rare Footage of Herb Crisler in the Olympic Mountains from David Marriott on Vimeo.

Complete Postcard Set of International Eastern Star Temple in Washington, D.C. (1940's)

2008-11-30T19:57:00.000-08:00

My great grandfather Tedd Marriott was involved with the Masons, although I really don't know much about his involvement, nor was it something that my grandfather or father continued in our family. Regardless, at some point in the 1940's he visited the International Eastern Star Temple -- headquarters of the General Grand Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star -- in Washington, D.C. and purchased this set of twelve personalized postcards. They are completely unused, and have sat in their envelope for approximately sixty years! Please enjoy these images of the postcards in the slide show below, or click through for the Flickr set.

Illustrations from McCall's Service Booklet "Parties All the Year" (1924)

2008-11-29T16:20:00.001-08:00

This belonged to one of my great-grandmothers, though we are not sure exactly which, but this McCall's Service Booklet from 1924 titled "Parties All the Year" by Claudia M. Fitzgerald is filled with classic seasonal illustrations. The series included approximately twenty small booklets, each priced at ten cents, or twelve volumes for a dollar. Included here are the front and back cover (which includes an index), title page, and all the illustrations from this small booklet. Enjoy the slide show below, or click through for the Flickr set.

Vintage Rebus Escort Card (1860s)

2008-11-29T08:32:00.000-08:00

This is apparently much older than I imagined as I found out when I went to the Wikipedia entry for rebus. They actually have a photo of one of these exact vintage rebus escort cards from the 1860's with woodcut images. Enjoy the scan of ours below, or click it for a full-sized view!

May I see you home, my dear?

Indian Prayer from St. Francis Indian Mission, South Dakota (1950s)

2008-11-29T08:23:00.000-08:00

Presented here is a beautiful prayer card from the St. Francis Indian Mission in St. Francis, South Dakota. I am not sure of the date of this item, but my guess would be 1950's, as this would have been when by grandparents were travelling in this area. This is a common prayer, quoted quite regularly across the internet. The simple design and colors are quite charming -- I would love to reproduce this somehow. Enjoy the images below, or click through for the Flickr set.

Vintage Letterhead

2008-11-29T06:50:00.000-08:00

I've got tons of letters, stationary, and letterheads that I'd like to preserve, so I'm starting two sets:

Stationary (Full Sheets) - Regardless of size, these scans will show a complete page of the items.
Letterheads (Cropped) - These scans will show only the portions of the page that feature design or text.

Hopefully, this will serve everyone. To start out, I've added the Hopalong Cassidy stationary to the Stationary set, along with the full sheets of the two letterhead below. I'm not sure about the dates yet (the first is probably 1940's or 195's, the second is probably 1920's or 1930's) -- still getting information from my family on that. Enjoy, and look for much, much more in the future!

Hopalong Cassidy Children's Stationary (1950s)

2008-11-29T06:41:00.000-08:00

Here's a wonderful, unused page of children's stationary from the 1950's, scanned in high quality for your pleasure. Referencing the fictitious Bar-20 Ranch from the world of Hopalong Cassidy, it has some illustrations around the edge of cowboys, cowgirls, horses and guns -- perfect for a young girl or boy in the 1950's. Click through for the full-sized image!

Happy Thanksgiving Image from Our Next Set (1924)

2008-11-27T14:41:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving to you all! Thanks for subscribing, and as a thank you to those of you reading this, here is a Thanksgiving image from our next set, the illustrations from the 1924 booklet, Parties All the Year, by Claudia Fitzgerald. Enjoy!

Recipe Sheets from Mary Cullen's Cottage (1950s)

2008-11-26T02:28:00.000-08:00

I've come across stacks of these recipes sheets from "Mary Cullen's Cottage" over the past few weeks, sometimes four or five copies of each one. According to my research, there was no actual "Mary Cullen" -- the real author was International Newsmedia Marketing Association member Mary Elizabath Tobin:

Another early member was Mary Elizabeth Tobin of the Portland (Oregon) Journal, whose Mary Cullen's Cottage was one of the United States' outstanding newspaper promotions -- a complete little cottage household that served as an all-embracing homemaking guide for busy homemakers.

This wonderful batch of recipes must have been required reading for whoever owned these -- oh yeah, my grandmother! I'm sure she passed these around to friends at some point in time during the 1950's. Here they are in their usual slideshow, but we've also added them as a download in PDF format -- something new! As always, subscribe to the feed and click through for the Flickr set!

Program from "Guys and Dolls" Starring Pamela Britton (1950s)

2008-11-25T02:27:00.000-08:00

I loved the film version of Guys and Dolls as a kid -- "I got the horse right here, his name is Paul Revere..."-- but I never have seen it on the stage. Apparently my grandparents did, because they came over from Port Townsend to see a production of it at the Greenlake Aqua Theatre, a magnificent outdoor stage at Seattle's Greenlake and saved this classic blue program. The production featured Pamela Britton as Ms. Adelaide, whose big claim to fame would come in the 1960's with My Favorite Martian. From the little bit of information I can gather, she worked in mainly West Coast theater circles throughout the 1950s while she raised her daugher, so that is as close as I can get to dating this program. Enjoy the slide show below, click through for full-sized images, and be sure to subscribe!

Billy Graham Crusade in Portland (1950)

2008-11-25T02:14:00.000-08:00

My grandmother was a big fan of Billy Graham and his ministries, and during his 1950 Crusade in Portland she went to check him out in person. For one reason or another, this small piece of ephemera was saved, and brought back from the depths of history for you and presented here! As it's only three images, I'll do without the slide show, but as always, feel free to click through for the Flickr set.

Hilf Mit! - Nazi Teachers Association Magazine (1936)

2008-11-23T02:33:00.000-08:00

According to OD43.com, a site specializing in scarce original historic Third Reich literature, anti-semitic Third Reich books, Third Reich documents and ephemera:

"Hilf Mit!" was the official monthly periodical from the Nazi teachers association with lots of Hitler Youth photos."

These turned up at a garage sale of all places, and they were too stunning to pass up. These three issues from 1936 have stunning images of nationalism, poetry and songs of nationalism (as shown in one included page) and plenty of propaganda. I have scanned the three covers as well as a music sheet, as I am a musician by trade. View the slideshow below, or click through for the Flickr set.

Ciels et Sourires de France (June 1934)

2008-11-23T00:19:00.000-08:00

This is a vintage photo booklet produced by Fluxine Laboratories. The best information available came from one book collector site in France:

Monthly magazines dedicated to medical, specially edited by Fluxin Laboratories in Villefranche (Rhone), under the artistic direction of GL Arlaud, soft cover, many illustrations, engravings of French landscapes and advertising of pharmaceuticals.

This particular volume of "Ciels et Sourires de France" from June of 1934 feautures photos from the beautiful medieval city of Pérouges, France. Also included are the wonderful advertising pages for what appears to be hemorrhoid creams and other ointments and medicines. Enjoy the slideshow below, or click through for the Flickr set. And be sure to subscribe to the RSS feed!

Advertisements from Time Magazine (December 1981)

2008-11-21T04:28:00.000-08:00

My folks saved lots of magazines corresponding to important events -- as I suspect many people did regarding the recent election -- and the birth of my sister in 1981 was one such event. These wonderful advertisements come from the TIME magazine from December 27, 1981 -- The Year in Pictures issue. Not much creativity in the company that created these two ads, was there?

Lots of cigarette and booze ads here, but also some wonderful ones from Hilton, Bell Systems, Chrysler (with Ricardo Montalban), Azar Nuts and Snap-E-Tom. Enjoy the slideshow below, or click through for the Flickr set.

Vintage Matchbook Covers (1930s)

2008-11-21T03:59:00.000-08:00

I've been tackling the arduous task of sorting through boxes of things saved from my grandparent's house, and something that keeps coming up are these amazingly well-preserved matchbook covers. The colors are still vibrant after sixty-plus years. At least a few date from the 1930's for sure, as there are notes and dates written inside most of them. Of particular note is the horribly racist Coon Chicken Inn matchbook -- I found some other stuff related to this, and I'll try to post (please note: we have NO intention of being offensive by posting this, merely pointing out the sadly racist additudes in our history -- also note is was OUTSIDE the Seattle city limits...) The other locations included are: Clover Club in Portland, Oregon; Club Victor and Oasis Night Club from Seattle, Washington; and the Hotel Sir Francis Drake in San Francisco. As always, enjoy the slideshow below, or click through for the Flickr set.

Vintage Postcards of "The Famous Town of Tokyo" (Date Unknown)

2008-11-20T02:40:00.000-08:00

I found these postcards for a couple bucks apiece in an antique shop recently. They have such an amazing look to them, and yet it is very hard for me to gleam the date from the images. With the exception of the text "The Famous Town of Tokyo", everything is written using Japanese characters. Can you read? Can you tell us what the captions are? Let us know! Enjoy the slide show below, or visit the Flick set!

Peter Pan Records -- Illustrated Record Sleeves (1950s)

2008-11-18T06:35:00.000-08:00

Peter Pan Records was one of the biggest makers of children's records in 1950s, and as it turns out, we've got a bunch of 'em! I've got a couple of posts worth of images related to children's records, so stay tuned for more. These records all belong to my uncle, who loaned them to me for archiving purposes. Our first set includes all the record sleeves still in good condition, with both sides scanned for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy the slideshow below, or click through for full-sized images.

Recordio Discs - Homemade Records (1940s)

2008-11-16T00:44:00.000-08:00

In the 1930's and 1940's, many people jumped on the bandwagon of purchasing home recording machines that, in the days before magnetic tape for home use, recorded onto a blank record. Machines were made by a variety of companies, but the Wilcox-Gay Recordio machines were by far the most popular, and can still be found on eBay from time to time. My grandparents used their machine quite a bit when my dad and uncle were born, and thankfully these discs weren't tossed! Dig the cool logos! Enjoy the images in the slideshow below or the discs themselves and the folder that holds them, or click through for the Flickr set. Can you tell which are 7" and which are 10"?