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Memoribilia to view - A guide


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But A.J. I know all the cops here in town locally, they were mostly all my former students - they know I am eccentric and are just happy I live a 😮 1/2 mile away from the village hall where the police HQ is located. 😮

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Those are fantastic. Outstanding condition!  Here are a few from my collection that I have displayed in my recreation of an early auto parts store. . Not all motor oil.  This topic almost deserves a separate thread. There are so many great cans out there.

Terry

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Wow-if you've only got one, that's the one to have.  I once had to pass up the large 5gal can of motor oil like this.  It was in pristine condition in an antique shop in Maine.  We were on a camping trip and hour Plymouth station wagon loaded to the max.  We had all the camping gear, two kids, a cat,all our stuff and two weeks of antique shop finds. Even had and antique dresser and a truck tied on the roof rack. Then dresser drawers were full of our dirty laundry and the truck was full of antique clocks and kerosene lamps.  Not an inch left over, so that beaut9iful $50 can stayed on the shelf.  Today, we'd have thrown out the clothes and camping gear to get that can in.  I know people who might have even considered leaving the cat behind!

Here are a few more automotive "containers" from my old store.

Terry

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I’m partial to Duplex cans, that feature Pierce...since I collect a pierce memorabilia...the one gallon flat To the left seems more common, the five gallon can to the right is tough to find...I have a couple more but these are the only pics on my computer....

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Some have asked if I have a photo of the weather vane I posted ( on Wednesday ) in place before I removed it . Yes, here it is about 1972, on Jericho Tpke, in Mineola, N .Y.

That was quite a climb up to get it in the middle of a cold dark November night with the wind blowing.  Once it was cut down I had to slowly climb down the ladder with the heavy weather vane in my left hand and instructions from below where to place my foot because I couldn't look down to see the next rung on the ladder. All the time a good friend saying " you are out of your mind". ( fortunately there is a major hospital about a 1/2 mile directly south of the location where the weather vane was which I did not need to avail the use of )

I kept thinking - I can't drop the weather vane as it will land on my father's head and cause some damage and if I fell I am to skinny and not limber enough to bounce well. I told Austin Clark what I had done and his comment was " very happy you didn't get yourself seriously killed".

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  • 3 weeks later...

Red Ashay manufactured accessory mascots in England in the Pre WWII era. One was a glass winged lady that was or could be mounted on a metal base that had a bulb inside with a celluloid color wheel that when the bulb as lit would sent the color up through the base to the figure . there was a wire that ran into the base of the mascot to electrify it and a switch on the dashboard of the car to turn it on /off.  A great friend in England after many years located one for me , bought it with funds I had on account in England and then told me " keep an eye on your mail" not telling me what was coming!  It is my favorite car mascot that is made of glass.

There is a knob at the front of the base to turn to select the color and you can see the fitting at the back that would have the wire coming out to provide the wire to the electricity. Total height with base is 10 inches, glass mascot is 7 inches high and front to back from tip of nose to end of are/wing is 6 inches.

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 the shaving mug is the same size as a normal coffee mug and dates from 1916, has the name of the person it was made for on it. It was a custom at one time  when you used to shave with a straight razor you sharpened on a leather strap to have a mug to soak the brush you put the shaving lather on in.  The mugs usually had a scene or object on it that guys liked - train, boat etc . Some guys liked cars - some still do!!!

 

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Styling model entered in competition back in the early 1950s ( possibly from the St. Louis area) with the Fisher Body Craftsman's Guild ( competition went from about 1930 to 1968) 1/12 th scale made of wood, metal, composition materials. Some of the models wound up in assorted G.M. facilities after the competition. This one was in the Youngstown, Ohio Fisher Body plant on display in the lobby. When that was being closed and stuff being thrown away this was saved from the trash heap and eventually wound up in Florida with the family of the fellow who saved it .

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Great stuff Walt (as usual).  The mascot is fabulous.  Having the correct base for it is a real bonus. 

 

The shaving mug is known as an "occupational" mug.  In the early days when you went to the barber shop for a shave, your own personal mug was displayed on a special rack so everyone could see it.  Even back then, customers were not willing to share a common shaving mug, so had their own personalized with their name and some symbolism depicting their occupation (hence the name "occupational shaving mug")  Mugs can also be found with fraternal symbols on them, scenes depicting hobbies or interests, or even one's home or farmhouse.   They generally went out of fashion after more people began shaving at home rather than going to the barber shop.  Mugs with automobiles on them are very much sought after by collectors of mugs and other shaving memorabilia as well as automobile nuts like us.  

 

Originals were painted onto blanks and the quality of the artwork on them varies.  Most were very well done though, and the owners name was always included.  There are more details worth studying before investing for the casual collector, and caution is urged because there are reproductions around.  Most common are those that were produced as a special edition called 'The Sportsman Series. 

 

From 1953 to 1955, the Warner Lambert Pharmaceutical Company sold their Sportsman brand of shaving soap in hand decorated occupational style shaving mugs. The main feature that identifies this group of mugs is that the name of the occupation is in gold lettering instead of the owner's name. In addition, the word "The" appears before the name; for example, "The Doctor", "The Fireman" etc.

 

Here is a link to some great info on how to determine if an Occupational Shaving Mug is real or not.

https://www.realorrepro.com/article/Shaving--Mugs

 

Terry

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This came into my position just recently - and Walt, I'm sure you'll like it - another "nodder."  

This one tells a story - the probably intoxicated motorist has killed a goose, and he will nod his head in agreement that he owes the farmer for his carelessness.  His wallet is in hand, and he is ready to pay up.  Back in the early days of the automobile, motorists were looked down upon and thought of as reckless dare-devils who created havoc on country roads.  Many an early piece of motoring artwork, especially on postcards, depicted motorists driving through the countryside running over animals and even the farmers on the way to market.  

 

This wonderful piece was probably made in Germany or Austria around the 1903-1905 time-frame.  It's very delicate bisque china and hand decorated.  I purchased it from an antique dealer who really had no idea what it was or what history it really represented. 

 

Terry

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Terry, thank you so much for the more detailed history about the shaving mugs - I had heard this at one time ( perhaps 40 years ago) and everything you stated as I read it came back like a flash of history! Great. this is what this section of the thread is all about - INFORMATION to help our fellow enthusiasts know what to look for and then hopefully be able to buy an authentic period item. I sincerely appreciate anything you have to tell us my good friend.

The nodder is great - made me smile as some guy I know bought a pair of them from me at Hershey a while ago , a Past AACA President I believe.................Drives an MG?!?!!

All this stuff makes a lot of us happy, it sits there within eyes view and even just a glance signals a good time when we found and acquired it and it is an escape - especially now for all the stress we are under due to the health plague. The connection to the vintage vehicles we love, the era they were made in, the history that they survived 70+ years to still be here to give such pleasure - just like the cars do.

That shaving mug I have has a crack in it but I like it just the same.  We all seem to belong to our version of  AA - Automotive Artifacts .

Keep up the sharing everyone, and remember it is because of AACA that we can all enjoy what we see here.

Walt

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Yes indeed Walt - well stated.  I'll always remember rushing over to your spot at Hershey to see those nodders.  It was Mike and Murray who spotted them and that evening told me about them - so next morning (after a sleepless night hopeful you still had them) I rushed over as soon as possible.  It's certainly nice to have extra eyes in the swap meet looking out for things that might fit into my collection(s).   That evening I'd also called my good friend Neil and asked him to zip across the aisle and let you know I was on my way to see them.  I think I was there before he even got out of bed!  Anyway, they have had a spot in one of my display cases ever since, waiting for a third one.  One of my "rules of collecting" is to understand that three of anything is a collection.  So, now with three nodders on display here I guess you can classify me as an official collection of nodders.  I wonder what the chances of finding others that are early motoring related will be in the coming years?  Any more out there among folks pursuing this forum?

Terry

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 11/15/2020 at 3:28 PM, Walt G said:

Styling model entered in competition back in the early 1950s ( possibly from the St. Louis area) with the Fisher Body Craftsman's Guild ( competition went from about 1930 to 1968) 1/12 th scale made of wood, metal, composition materials. Some of the models wound up in assorted G.M. facilities after the competition. This one was in the Youngstown, Ohio Fisher Body plant on display in the lobby. When that was being closed and stuff being thrown away this was saved from the trash heap and eventually wound up in Florida with the family of the fellow who saved it .

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I have two of my Fisher Body Craftsman Guild models on display at The Gilmore Museum at Hickory Corners, Mi. 

 

I kept them all of the years from when I made them because they were special to me.  There was a request a couple of years ago for persons that participated in the guild competition for models to put a display at the museum.  I answered and was chosen to have my cars displayed.

 

It is a nice display.  After I had that experience of building the models, I knew that I was not a stylist.  Just an engineer chasing electrons around wires.  An electrical guy.

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Here is part of my antique hubcap collection. I collect all the different brands and different individual styles of those brands with hopes of eventually creating an in-depth catalog of these old hubcaps. I have so far gathered pictures from my collection and from others collections of nearly 2300 different styles from the 1890’s-1940’s!

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Very cool; collection of hubcaps, thank you for making the effort to share them with us. That is why I started this part of the thread so that we all can be made more aware of what was produced and often times so beautifully designed and made AND NONE OF IT WAS COMPUTER GENERATED ! It was all pencil and paper to get the design down.

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  • 3 weeks later...

That's an impressive collection.   I could spend hours looking through those caps.  I've collected just a few that I thought interesting, but am not even up to 100 yet.  They are not easy to display but you've done a great job.  Nice to have the room to see them spread out like that.   I doubt I'll do much more with hubcaps since they've gotten so expensive over the years.  You are probably like me with so many things - glad I started when I did.  More photos welcome anytime.

Terry

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I agree that it is a great collection! I’ve bought and sold some very nice hubcaps over the years but only because I was more interested in the emblem collecting at the time. I had a nice early Duryea that went to Bob Snyder in the early 90’s that I wish I had kept, but it bought several nice pieces... like Terry I’m glad I was collecting before the prices were so crazy.

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This is a question for Walt - how far down the rabbit hole of holding onto things do you go?  I deal in service manuals and I'm always finding different pieces stuck into the pages of the books.  I hate to throw anything else and space really is not an issue for most of the bits and pieces that I find and they could safely be stored in a binder, though a few warrant display of some sort.  Being a Mopar person at heart anything related is a definite keeper in my books.  Here's a couple of recent pieces that I have come across as examples:  

 

Ink blotter that is an only in Canada piece and Quebec at that- where else do you find a Chrysler, Case and Bombardier dealer all under one roof  and a vehicle license/insurance renewal from Quebec I think from 1981 but for a 1967 Plymouth Valiant - wouldn't we all like to insure and license our cars for only $116 for the year for your daily driver

 

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My primary focus is the WWI to WWII era especially anything to do with designers . stylists and coach builders. This includes magazines of that era that focus on the coach builders , and who worked for them etc. I can use this in my research as pieces of the puzzle to tell a story. Anything "odd" that was most likely thrown away and not saved is of interest because it may be a small piece of the puzzle that I haven't seen before and can ad to the story I want to share with everyone in the articles I write. I do have items postwar ( sales catalog by the Derham Body Co. dated 1967 of bodies they were creating then) the styling model that is shown someplace here from the mid 1950s . I am not a hoarder - I was an art teacher for 35+ years so enjoy sharing what I know , that goes with adults as well as kids. I am the historian for the village where I live so local car dealers, the buildings they were in etc are all of interest as well - if it was located in Floral Park, NY or even anywhere on long island then it is of interest.

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I have a bunch of early oil containers that feature a specific manufacturer's name but I could never determine if they were originally intended as promotional items? Maybe it was just a way for the refiners to market themselves by riding on the coat tails of an auto manufacturer with a well established brand?  I have 'Packard' cans made by Wolf's Head and Havoline that resemble something a modern day franchise would upsell in their service department. Did they do that sort of thing back in the day? I've always been puzzled by them. Would love to see more variety if any members have any. 

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This gas pump globe is two sided and in perfect condition. It was found about 40 years ago by a friend who lived in Albertson, NY here on long island in a service station on Sea Cliff Avenue in Sea Cliff,NY also here on long island about 15 miles north of me. It had been on one of the gas pumps at the service station back in the pre WWII era and wound up being stored in the loft above the service area when the pumps were removed decades before. The address it was located at was 343 Sea Cliff Avenue and the building is still there - great looking place constructed of rough stone face block . I recall that the lighted base I bought for it years after I got the globe cost me more then the globe when I did a $/trade with my friend for it. I haven't lit this up in many many years, but it kind of goes with its red color for the season we are in.

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Anybody have any Bosch items with "Fritz the flyer" on them?  The mascot was inspired by the flamboyant race driver Camille Jenatzy (Le Diable Rouge). Evidently Bosch was forced to surrender the advertising motif after WWI as it was seized along with all U.S. holdings for the American-Bosch corp.  I guess that means this piece is pre-WW1? 

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It could be a period piece but closer examination would be needed.  What size of tray is it?  I'd not known them to use that image on a tray, but just because I've never seen another one doesn't mean much.  There were a lot of "souvenir" items that used that image produced over the years.  Any info on it around the edges that might refer to the company that printed or produced it?  What's the back-side look like? Is the image truly lithographed as would have been done originally, or is a more modern process used? 

 

I'd not heard the image referred to before as "Fritz the Flyer."  "Mephisto" is the nick-name that was given to the image and is most commonly associated with it.   Interesting history though.  You are correct that when the Allies seized Bosch manufacturing, the image was quickly adopted by American Bosch.  The German company that remained was not permitted to continue using it and had to choose another image to avoid any confusion with the American Bosch company.  Since your tray clearly refers to  "Robert Bosch-Stuttgart" it's certainly a pre WWI image that was used, but weather or not the tray itself is a pre WWI item it's difficult to say. 

 

Bosch maintains an excellent history department with dedicated employees.  Some great info can be found there.   https://www.bosch.com/stories/camille-jenatzy-red-mephisto/

 

The Camille Jenatzy image appears on a variety of items including a mascot.  I've also seen it on a silver cigarette case, a snuff box and this great medallion.  I'd certainly enjoy having any of these great pieces in my collection.   The image of him driving the Mercedes to victory in the 1903 Gordon Bennett Cup race was used on advertising for his own brand of tire.

 

For collectors of great automobilia, the image of Camille Jenatzy is a prize.  Does anyone else have other items depicting "Mephisto?"

Terry

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This may best be titled Automobilia but the whole point of this which I hope all can stay with is to share what we have in our collections so that others can 1) enjoy what they see 2) know it even exists

the above is what I stated this particular section was about the end of May when it was started. As MD Murray mentioned  come on everyone share what you have. It is a history lesson for all of us and is as much a part of recognizing the pre war era as seeing the cars and the photos of same. Please take the time to share what you have , it makes all of us think!  It is the eye candy that we all need to keep getting served to keep our spirits up while we all are confined. Make someone smile with your collection.

My sincere best wishes to all of you for a very Happy Holidays, and Merry Christmas .

Walt Gosden

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Yes, I'm also always a little leery about an advertising piece not being period. The tray I have had authenticated but I'm always filled with doubt. The image depicted in the tray for example is just way too cool to have not been revived at a later date. . Here is a piece I got at Hershey a few years back that people go crazy over but I don't believe it to be of the period depicted in the rendering.  

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Wow, those oil cans with automobiles illustrated are fantastic.  They've certainly gotten expensive in the last few years.   Here is a pic of a few on a shelf in my recreated old auto parts store - I have others but need to get good pics so will post again later.

Terry

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  • 3 weeks later...

I just started going through a pile of old envelopes that have been stored at my parents house for 35 yrs.  They all came out of an estate of a lawyer that was in practice from the late 1800's up into the 1930's or 40's I believe.  In any event of the first four that I pulled out, three turned out to be automotive related and more interesting to me at least that one is from a manufacture, one from a dealer and the third from an independent garage.  To me they are neat cross over pieces as they were originally saved for the stamps and I especially like the cancelation stamp on the Graham Paige one.

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It's known as "ephemera" to collectors. They are fleeting moments in history, never meant to last, but are truly historic objects.  I enjoy illustrated covers and letterhead. Have a small accumulation, but those with great images-logos or even cars themselves are works of art.

Terry

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34 minutes ago, Terry Bond said:

It's known as "ephemera" to collectors.

Being the king of miss pronouncing words I have never mastered that one.  I do think these pieces are the real history though as they are the personal connections to the events of the day.  I just checked the inflation value of that $20 dollar insurance policy from 1920 and it equates to $260 today.  I also just realized that was 101 years ago.

Edited by 3macboys (see edit history)
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I've been digging through the pile a little bit more and now I have to find a way to display some of these, I think that a double sided glass frame will be the answer, and another project

 

For the McLaughlin crowd:

 

 

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