Memoribilia to view - A guide

[3macboys]

For the Ford guys and girls.   My father says that the picture of Middlesex Motors is exactly the way that he recalls that building looking

 

 

Edited January 12, 2021 by 3macboys (see edit history)

[3macboys]

And being a Mopar fan I have to include these two.  Eichenburg is still in business today under that name.

 

You have to love the hedge in various businesses on this one:

 

 

Last one 

 

 

Edited January 12, 2021 by 3macboys (see edit history)

[3macboys]

Continuing with the Mopar ephemera (Terry Bond someday I will remember the correct spelling)  here is a couple of pieces of Chrysler advertising from 1956 and 57.  These are on newsprint and include the ad agency that prepared them along with the print space for the actual newspaper ad along with the line count from back in the days when you paid by the line.  These came out of a dealership in eastern Ontario.  The individual ad pages are about 8 1/2 X 11.  

 

 

[Terry Bond]

Thanks for posting - that's real history!

[Robert G. Smits]

Thank you Walt for starting this.  It is Sunday morning in central Texas with sleet and ice along with frigid cold that is supposed to last all week   With little else to do I just spent 30 minutes going through all 5 pages and it reminded me of walking down the isles at Hershey.  We can only hope and pray!!!  Starting to organize my digital photo collection so I should find more to add.  Happy Valentines Day

[Robert G. Smits]

[Robert G. Smits]

Found in a dresser used for storage 

Edited February 14, 2021 by Robert G. Smits
spelling (see edit history)

[Robert G. Smits]

Do you think we have experienced any inflation this century???

[Walt G]

7 hours ago, Robert G. Smits said:

Thank you Walt for starting this.  It is Sunday morning in central Texas with sleet and ice along with frigid cold that is supposed to last all week   With little else to do I just spent 30 minutes going through all 5 pages and it reminded me of walking down the isles at Hershey.  We can only hope and pray!!!  Starting to organize my digital photo collection so I should find more to add.  Happy Valentines Day

My pleasure !! ,  I have way to many ideas for threads, stories for print magazines, tv shows that I and an AACA  friend here, John Salemmo tape at our local village hall that eventually appear on tv then the internet( just did one on Brewster & Co. carriages to coach work) . It never ends. I have stuff to add here as well and hope to in the next week or so.

Keep the contributions coming everyone, it's not just entertaining but it makes us all think when we view all this old stuff we love , uplifts ones spirits, at least it does for me. A great mix of history as well as art. Just look at that poster of the Chicago Daily News - all that art work done with a pencil, pallet and paint - no button to press for an instant image.

[Terry Bond]

Walt, I'm eagerly awaiting your proposed seminar at Philadelphia.  Sure hope things go as planned. 
Terry

[Walt G]

Hi Terry, my seminar in Philadelphia will be put off until 2022, still await vaccine shots which in NY State are at a snails pace to try to get courtesy of the Governor.

Walt

[TerryB]

From my wife’s family.  They sold this brand of gasoline at her grandfather’s garage.  This globe was found in storage and never used.  It’s a Gill body, all glass.

 

 

 

Edited February 15, 2021 by TerryB (see edit history)

[Walt G]

This is a bronze desk set that is 16 inches long, 9 inches wide and about 5 1/2 inches tall . ( does not include wood base which was a later addition, but it to is now 60+ years old) Austin Clark bought this desk set when he saw it in the early 1950s at the Gotham Book Mart in midtown Manhattan ( NY City) . He had it for decades in his automotive library at his home in Glen Cove, N.Y..  I bought it from Austin about 50 years ago and it has been in my library on a Victorian era table I use as a desk ( Also bought from Austin out at his auto museum) . I have no idea of the maker of the desk set, if it is marked on the bottom I haven't removed it from the wood base to check and won't. The "trunk" spare tire opens up as well as the hood to provide a place for an ink bottle and storage of pen tips as this was made in an era when you used a pen that you had to dip into ink to use. ( no it is not for sale, this is the "guide" section so you can see what exists) Not a light weight thing to move about!

 

 

 

 

[Terry Bond]

That's a great item Walt.   There are several versions of this piece that I've seen.  It was designed by noted German sculptor Wilhelm Fruick. The signature is often misinterpreted as being "Frick" or even "Zwick."  I have attached a close-up of the signature that appears on one that I've kept photos of for reference.  You can see how it is easily mistakenly identified.

There are number of varieties of them, allegedly loosely patterned after an image of a chain-drive Mercedes being driven in an early Gordon Bennett Cup race, however what it actually depicts is uncertain.  These were produced in silver, pewter, and bronze.  Some of the pewter versions were also sliver plated.  There are recent copies of this done in resin that often appear on evil-bay.  Yours has a wonderful provenance, and as you know, I think the back-story is always a fantastic part of the item itself.  Congrats on a great item.  Your collection of memorabilia is fantastic.  I've got a lot of catching up to do!

Thanks for posting this-

Terry

 

[Walt G]

WOW Terry, thanks for the information my good friend. Really appreciate it. I will have to look further for a signature that you show. Piece is pretty tarnished in spots but I don't want to polish or clean it , Not corroded just has a lot of age to it.

I don't think I have a lot of memorabilia, only ever had the $ to get things once in a great while, since the $ I did have/earn etc usually went to pay for supplies etc for the cars I own. Old steel toys came first in my collectors eye, realistic looking ones, that needed a lot of TLC and restoration , that I could enjoy bringing back to the way they were new  before they were played with for 80+ years.

Walt

[Terry Bond]

Walt, if it's the bronze version, don't do anything except to dust it off.  Absolutely you don't want to try and polish it.  Those years of aging could be wiped away in a moment.  It's like an old coin-leave it as it and let it show its age.

Terry

[md murray]

Here's an odd one! It's a wonder this never got tossed out.  I took a pic next to the regular can to better show it's small size. Maybe it attached right to the firewall or was meant to fit in the tool kit?

[Walt G]

Thanks to all for the comments as well as the great contributions - what an education for all of us. This is like a visual walk around the Hershey flea market for many of us, just so many interesting things to view , and file in ones memory with a "gotta find one of those for me" !!!!😇

Walt

[Terry Bond]

I know this almost deserves a separate topic to see what turns up.  I'd call it "early race souvenirs."   Not long ago I did a seminar at the AACA Annual Convention on the earliest automobile races - the city-to-city races held in France at the turn of the century and into the early 1900s.  They were wildly popular events and really gave the automobile a tremendous boost, although they were quite controversial, especially the Paris-Madrid event in 1903, which became known as "The race to death."  

 

These were souvenirs of those events.  There were no purpose built race tracks at the time, and spectators simply lined the roadways for up-close looks at the action as cars thundered past (sometimes even plowing into the spectators).  Imagine those scenes from some of Europe's bicycle races today with crowds so close to the passing vehicles you could slap the drivers on their backs as they roared by! 

Today we have trucks and trailers loaded down with T-shirts, flags, stickers, and ball-caps that follow the racing circuits from track to track.  Back at the turn of the century souvenir vendors would set up a table in one of the towns along the way and sold more generic automobile related items as momentos of the occasion. 

 

Lots of pins, buttons, pennants, and prints of speeding race cars were sold.  These little porcelain "dishes" were very popular.  Some were salt, pepper and mustard condiment sets, and others were small candy-dishes or trinket boxes.  They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and some were painted to specifically commemorate some of the larger events. 

 

These are three from my collection. Would love to see pictures of any others that survived to compare notes and see what differences might exist.  They were made from delicate porcelain so I don't believe they lasted long.
Enjoy-

Terry

 

[Walt G]

Terry my friend, GREAT STUFF! the early races also were an inspiration for the French artist Edward Montaut . Here are two views of the same poster, one is a close up. Sorry for the glare, it is in its original frame and there was no way I could position the thing to photograph it without getting some glare!  This was hanging in the Long Island Automotive Museum long after it closed, on a wall, and I bought it at an Iron Range Day when semi annually Austin Clark would invite people out to roam around and pick things out , make a pile, and then sell off after a lunch at John Duck's restaurant in Southampton. Transportation to and from the restaurant was in Austin's 1920 Autocar, COE,  2 cylinder bus , that with a load of about 20 people was flat out at about 12 mph. Lunch was proceeded by some quantity of adult beverage . Oh the stories I could tell , and truth is stranger ( and funnier) then fiction!.........................

[Reicholzheimer]

This original print has a 1905 imprint on the lower right corner in a nice older frame.  Paul Caldwell had this in his collection 10 by 15 inches. Very neat artwork.

[Terry Bond]

Nice!  I absolutely love these great wall-hangers.  I just don't have enough wall space and end up rotating things around periodically so I can enjoy all of it.  So many great early prints are out there it's hard to decide which are my absolute favorites.  I really like the Montaut prints, and there are so many other scenes of early motoring, racing, etc. etc.  I think that one of my best finds though was this "yard-long."  They were popular prints, and were a yard long (thus the name).  Usually the prints depicted pretty ladies in various scenes.  I sorted through a bunch of them at an outdoor antique market years ago that were leaning up against a fence, and found this fabulous print of a pretty lady driving an early car.  I bought it for $25.  I had it re-framed using the original old wavy glass using a dark green velvet mat.  I always thought I'd seen the image someplace before, and years later, a good friend locally acquired a 1909 International High Wheel automobile.  Among the various literature he got with the car was this catalog - and there was my lady!   I like her even better knowing what it is.

Terry

[Robert G. Smits]

Terry, I think a lot of these advertising photos were generic and the advertiser could chose from many images to place in his add.  I have a couple of great artist proof pre prohibition oil paintings that were used on beer serving trays for various companies.  Just my TCW and as always I could be wrong.  Great image though.  Is your original yard long a print or an artists original painting?

[Robert G. Smits]

CARS is a series of artworks by Andy Warhol commissioned by Mercedes Benz in 1985 to track the evolution of its designs from the 1885 Benz Patent-Motorwagon to the W115 and C111.  Warhol completed 36 silkscreen prints and 13 drawings of eight models before his death in 1987. This work was not met with acclaim and he was accused of crossing the line into advertisement. 

[Big Beat]

Some great stuff! My stash is quite a bit more modest. The model cars I collected as a kid in Russia in the 1970s. A few Moskvich, one Lada and a couple of pre-revolution Russo-Balt. I used to have more but my younger brothers destroyed most of my stuff in the 1980s. The 1929 registration for a '24 Hupmobile Touring was found when renovating the basement of my mom's house. I wonder if that car survived the scrap drives of WWII. 

 

 

[Terry Bond]

13 hours ago, Robert G. Smits said:

Terry, I think a lot of these advertising photos were generic and the advertiser could chose from many images to place in his add.  I have a couple of great artist proof pre prohibition oil paintings that were used on beer serving trays for various companies.  Just my TCW and as always I could be wrong.  Great image though.  Is your original yard long a print or an artists original painting?

It's a print, and yes, I have a number of other similar items that used the stock images. I've not seen this image used on any other items though. Does anyone have other examples of it used commercially? 

Terry

[Robert G. Smits]

Oil lamps date back to the Greek-Roman era and earliest lamps used animal fat or olive oil. In 1870 a French chemist invented the oil lamp using a wick and glass chimney ushering in the development of lamp oil. This sign was made by Burton of palmers Green, London. The design likens the power of BP’s Lamp Oil to sunshine with the yellow sun beaming down. This sigh was purchased in England in the 80’s and carried home in my suitcase   Double sided porcelain 12 by 8 inches

[Walt G]

Thanks for sharing everyone. This is a real education for all of us who not only like"automobilia" but in the graphics used, colors, fonts etc to draw the attention of customers to buy the product. Just like period photographs we can learn so much by actually seeing the period item, it tells its own story and is a window to the past. Besides the automotive history I am also the appointed historian for the village I reside in ( which according to state law has to have one) so have always been aware of how things created in the past and now out of date by decades should be preserved to "tell the story" in person for future generations.

[Terry Bond]

On 3/2/2021 at 11:23 AM, Robert G. Smits said:

Oil lamps date back to the Greek-Roman era and earliest lamps used animal fat or olive oil. In 1870 a French chemist invented the oil lamp using a wick and glass chimney ushering in the development of lamp oil. This sign was made by Burton of palmers Green, London. The design likens the power of BP’s Lamp Oil to sunshine with the yellow sun beaming down. This sigh was purchased in England in the 80’s and carried home in my suitcase   Double sided porcelain 12 by 8 inches

That's a great sign!.  Here is one from my collection.  I removed it from the wall of an old garage in the 1980s when we lived in Scotland.  I like the colors on it.  It's double sided flange mounted, and both sides are pretty nice.

Terry

[Robert G. Smits]

This advertisement is dated 1915 and was mounted on plywood covered with clear plastic in a garage my uncle purchased around 1948. Mica grease was advertised as allowing the wheel to turn freely reducing wear and easing the burden of the horse. Mica is used extensively today in cosmetics and skin care products  

[Robert G. Smits]

Trade card from the period prior to 1900 from American  Lubricating Oil Co. You will notice it was sold by a pharmacy 

[md murray]

An Auburn-esque snow cruiser on a neat one that I recently found. Never seen it before!

 

[Robert G. Smits]

What a great can!!

[Walt G]

BULB TINS  - I started to collect these ( sort of) about 30 years ago, when they were priced someplace under the national debt. I haven't added many to my collection since that time.

[Mike McCandless]

This is an older picture, but gives you an idea. I collect forward look era, 55-61 mopar. I do have some of my fathers old race cars, but I generally stick to fins. I've gotten deep into Automobila. I'm starting to expand into non mopar stuff for my personal collection off site, but in here, mopar only. Have the range from chryco, australian signs even some maxwell. I do have some early pieces, including some pre 30's Chrysler and 1910's dodge. I love this stuff and I love seeing the things you guys collect!

[TerryB]

4 hours ago, Walt G said:

BULB TINS  - I started to collect these ( sort of) about 30 years ago, when they were priced someplace under the national debt. I haven't added many to my collection since that time.

Not quite as many as you Walt, but a few I kept as favorites.

[Bob Barrett]

Just a couple of additions to the bulb tin topic.

First 2 are a tin with spares to carry in the glove box.

The third is of various early bulbs in their original paper/cardboard wrappers.

 

[Terry Bond]

Wow, this keeps getting better...and better...and........

I need to dig through some photos and post a few more goodies to keep up with you guys!

Terry

[Robert G. Smits]

Terry, nobody can keep up with you. This is a neat piece of Cadillac memorabilia One of my patients gave this to me on his last visit 30 years ago. One of the many treasures I discovered when I emptied my old warehouse and moved everything to Texas. Any idea a to the age?

[Walt G]

As the great comic Ted Lewis used to say "Is everybody happy?"  Viewing the great stuff here is like Christmas morning when I was a kid. Makes you realize how great a lot of little pieces , signs, even lamp bulbs can be . EYE CANDY, plus a history lesson as well. thanks everyone.

Walt