Memoribilia to view - A guide

[Terry Bond]

Following along with the light-bulb theme, here are a couple of interesting items from a showcase in my recreated early auto parts store.  First up is a wonderful box used to carry spare bulbs in your early car.  It's made from a very stuff "cardboard" type of material and heavily embossed with the image of a very early car.  I'm guessing this dates from the early teens. It would have held four of those big early bulbs (see additional photo).

 

Also displayed in the "old store" is a selection of early bulbs.  These I think are about the earliest I've got NOS in their original boxes.  They are very large in diameter.  The illustration on the box depicts an early teens automobile, from just about the time-frame electric lighting began to become more common.

 

The third item is a neat accessory bulb/fuse box designed to fit under a seat on tucked away in a tool kit.  It's a wooden box with a hinged door on the front.  inside is a rack that slides out.  There are three sockets on that rack containing different sized bulbs. The small "box" like structure on the door itself has a little strip of brass on top of it that swings away to reveal slots for fuses.  That odd-looking black object in the lower left is a "duster" that is actually a squeeze-bulb device to blow dust and dirt from out of the light sockets themselves.  It's a really neat item.  I'll need to get it out of it's display cabinet to take a few more (and better) photos.

Terry

[Walt G]

This tin bulb cabinet is 22 1/2 inches wide, 12 inches deep and 17 inches high. it was made for use in a auto parts store. I bought it from my friend Les Cutting of Huntington, NY decades ago along with a similar blue one. The blue one I took to Hershey and parted with due to lack of space here, now wish I still had it!

It is another project for the winter to gently clean and polish the graphics then wax. Another item that the money was spent on rather than on a luxury vacation, upscale dining, fancy clothes or shoes, day at the spa, gambling, etc.

[Robert G. Smits]

Money well spent Walt!!! 
 

Somewhere in my disorganized storage I also have a similar sign for 19 cents a quart. Lithograph on heavy paper from the 50’s

Edited March 9, 2021 by Robert G. Smits
Addition (see edit history)

[Mike McCandless]

I like paper advertisements. I bought a vacuum press so I could put them on gator board for easy hanging. Framing was getting expensive and the end result is heavy. 

[Robert G. Smits]

Mike can you give me some additional information on your system. I have over 100 pieces of unframed paper in cc storage. Thanks. 
 

Purchased this years ago. I rarely see Greyhound paper today.  20 by 20 inches on heavy paper. Bus is probably from the 50’s

Edited March 9, 2021 by Robert G. Smits
Spelling (see edit history)

[Mike McCandless]

They're called Drytac hot press. A framing shop in your area may have one. I found a used one near me that's perfect. You cut the board to whatever size you need, lay a special piece of paper down on it, lay what you want foam boarded on it and let it sit, that's it. You can also put pieces in to flatten before doing this. My assistant uses the machine so to be fair, I'm dumb on it. That's how I understand it. 

 

Sadly, posters/paper rarely bring the value I think they should. I have 100's of pieces I've been able to purchase very reasonable to fill my walls. 

[Terry Bond]

3 hours ago, Mike McCandless said:

They're called Drytac hot press. A framing shop in your area may have one. I found a used one near me that's perfect. You cut the board to whatever size you need, lay a special piece of paper down on it, lay what you want foam boarded on it and let it sit, that's it. You can also put pieces in to flatten before doing this. My assistant uses the machine so to be fair, I'm dumb on it. That's how I understand it. 

 

Sadly, posters/paper rarely bring the value I think they should. I have 100's of pieces I've been able to purchase very reasonable to fill my walls. 

I believe the process is known as "dry mounting."  It's used to help previously rolled up and wrinkled prints and posters remain flat, however-

be aware that using that process is well known among collectors to actually reduce the value of artwork.  The process utilizes foam board, which is not archival.  The process "glues" the print onto a backer and once that's been done, it cannot be reversed.

Dry mounting can be an inexpensive way to mount and frame posters, but for true artwork and more valuable early posters and prints, proper linen backing is the way to go.  If you are just storing prints and posters for future conservation framing, you could also utilize shrink-wrapping with archival backing board.  That way your artwork is not permanently attached to something that will eventually leach acids or glue residue into the paper. 

Terry

[Robert G. Smits]

Thank you Mike and Terry.  I definitely want to use  archival material and it has to be reversible so that they can be framed  by the next owner when my wife sells them after I am gone.  In the meantime I plan on selling a bunch of automobile advertising to make room to display some paper.

[Mike McCandless]

On 3/10/2021 at 4:14 PM, Terry Bond said:

I believe the process is known as "dry mounting."  It's used to help previously rolled up and wrinkled prints and posters remain flat, however-

be aware that using that process is well known among collectors to actually reduce the value of artwork.  The process utilizes foam board, which is not archival.  The process "glues" the print onto a backer and once that's been done, it cannot be reversed.

Dry mounting can be an inexpensive way to mount and frame posters, but for true artwork and more valuable early posters and prints, proper linen backing is the way to go.  If you are just storing prints and posters for future conservation framing, you could also utilize shrink-wrapping with archival backing board.  That way your artwork is not permanently attached to something that will eventually leach acids or glue residue into the paper. 

Terry

 

I do frame and preserve certain pieces, but when you're talking the volume of what I have, that's just not realistic. Most of the pieces I buy rarely eclipse 100 bucks. The cost of framing for the types of advertising I'm talking about, would surpass the value of the piece. I'm about preservation of certain pieces, it's why I had a custom 20' x 8 ' billboard done in a free hanging frame as it's the only forward look era one I've ever seen. Lord knows I'm infinitely upside down in it, but it's just too cool to do it via the normal ways :).

[Robert G. Smits]

Love to see a photo of that billboard.  God knows all of us are under water on some of our obsessions but this is a hobby, not a business.  As long as your wife doesn't know how much you paid are you really upside down?

[TheMoneyPit]

Sadly I made sure my wife had a pretty good idea just in case anything  happened to me... should help with any vultures.

 

If you have followed any of the emblem auctions on eBay recently you might understand...

[Terry Bond]

Indeed-some nice emblems have been sold recently for astronomical prices.  Makes me glad I started collecting "stuff" when I did.  If I had to quit today I'd be happy with what I've got.  I still get lucky occasionally at swap meets though.  Apparently not everyone watches what happens on evil-bay.

Terry

[Walt G]

Terry, well said. I too am glad I started collecting when I did. Never ever ( and still don't ) looked at any of what I acquired as an "investment" . I was happy to do trades with people I met, sometimes it worked out and we both walked away with something to have for our collections. What appeals to me the most personally is the beauty the way things were designed and made as well as the historic vale.

I restored a car club badge ( Brooklands in England) once - was taught how to do that, 8 colors! all melting at different levels and times. A fellow I worked with learned how to re-enamel using a small kiln back in the 1930s when he was in art school. He taught me how and I went to his house about 5 miles away from where I live for days to learn, and then do it. Not an easy or quick way to do it. We love what we share here, makes us happy to glance at what is sitting there - eye candy that is historic and usually 80+ years old. I have had many friends here and in England that I visited who gladly shared their collections , we had the same passion, can't really put into words properly how or why.

Walt

[Robert G. Smits]

A couple of weeks ago I turned down $10 K for a 42 inch porcelain Pontiac double sided dealer service sign (half feather) that I would grade 9.0/9.5.  I purchased it in 1980 at a Nebraska swap meet. The dealers asking price of $180 is still on the reverse side in masking tape.   I wouldn't be supprised if that same sign brings $18-20 K in five years.  For those of you who are familiar with Tulipmania in 17th century Holland our current economy has similarities.  Last week Cristy's sold a NFT (non-fungible Token) for $69,346,250.00.  This was a remarkable piece of art that you cannot even hang on your wall and must view it digitally.  Athletes are creating and selling  NFT's of themselves in action at sporting events for thousands. It won't be long before you can purchase a NFT of your dream car and have no maintenance costs.  I CAN 'T wait!!!

[Mike McCandless]

17 hours ago, Robert G. Smits said:

Love to see a photo of that billboard.  God knows all of us are under water on some of our obsessions but this is a hobby, not a business.  As long as your wife doesn't know how much you paid are you really upside down?

 

I was married 500 days. Officially divorced last year :D. 

[Mike McCandless]

1 hour ago, Robert G. Smits said:

A couple of weeks ago I turned down $10 K for a 42 inch porcelain Pontiac double sided dealer service sign (half feather) that I would grade 9.0/9.5.  I purchased it in 1980 at a Nebraska swap meet. The dealers asking price of $180 is still on the reverse side in masking tape.   I wouldn't be supprised if that same sign brings $18-20 K in five years.  For those of you who are familiar with Tulipmania in 17th century Holland our current economy has similarities.  Last week Cristy's sold a NFT (non-fungible Token) for $69,346,250.00.  This was a remarkable piece of art that you cannot even hang on your wall and must view it digitally.  Athletes are creating and selling  NFT's of themselves in action at sporting events for thousands. It won't be long before you can purchase a NFT of your dream car and have no maintenance costs.  I CAN 'T wait!!!

 

10k on that sign would be a record price. For the sign collectors, the half feather isn't as desirable as the full piece. There is an authenticated 9.5 coming up soon, I'd expect it to go 8 maybe 9 if stars align. Signs the past 18 months and in particular the past 12, have gone up dramatically in price. 

[Terry Bond]

While doing some research on a fob recently purchased, I ended up on the AACA Forum looking at a 2015 thread.  You can find it on the Photo and Video Forum under Pre WWII photos-

Proves once again how great this forum is when trying to find info on something like this.

Terry

 

[TheMoneyPit]

I wondered who bought that while I was researching it... I was not sure if it was a dealer piece because of the obscurity. Good addition Terry!

[Terry Bond]

13 hours ago, TheMoneyPit said:

I wondered who bought that while I was researching it... I was not sure if it was a dealer piece because of the obscurity. Good addition Terry!

I'd recalled seeing something about it before but just couldn't recall exactly where.  The form discussion actually showed up in a Google search.  Besides having the interesting history, it was a darned nice looking fob.  Condition was as nice as you'd ever hope to find.  Just couldn't resist. made me happy, especially after being outbid on a nice fob a couple of months ago.

Terry

Edited March 16, 2021 by Terry Bond (see edit history)

[Walt G]

For all the people looking at this who are enthusiastic about Ford items and think they are aware of any and all produced this advertisement that was in the pre war Ford of France publication La Review Ford may be of interest as it shows the tin can with Ford logo on them . Date from 1933-34.

[Bob Barrett]

Nice ad Walt! Ford memorabilia is probably the most gigantic subset of all. However, staying with strictly "french Ford" items, here's my contribution. It's a large porcelain dealer sign that may have hung on the place where you went to buy your can of Kervoline. I believe that it is an older piece by several years, but would quite possibly still have been in place in the 1930's. The sign company's name is in the lower corner in very small letters, followed by "Paris".

I really love the whole memorabilia topic. There are no limits!

Bob

 

Edited March 20, 2021 by Bob Barrett (see edit history)

[Walt G]

Bob, great sign! thanks for sharing it with us. This is why I started this thread/topic. SO much neat stuff that needs photographs or images of. It lets you capture in your mind exactly what a piece may be or let you say " wow they made that too?"  You can't go looking for one unless you know it exists.

Verbal as well as visual information is what it takes for all of us who have to own this period stuff that makes us happy. All of it, just like the real vehicles was supposed to be disposed of so the latest new item or model could be purchased. But many things should be saved and preserved - it is like viewing an old movie over and over again, you know that you will be happy after the experience even after dozens of times.  Here we all are , staring at a modern technological unit to be able to see "cool stuff" that is most of the time decades older then we are. It is all great stuff.

PS I have a No Trespassing sign as well tacked up on the wall in the garage, think it is for a brewery someplace in Brooklyn that went out of business before I was born.

 

As my friend John S. who also posts here is fond of stating " It's all good". And indeed it is.

Walt

[Bob Barrett]

Thanks Walt. The "NO TRESPASSING" sign has a personal element, as do the majority of items in my collection. I suspect that this is the case for many of us. Each piece evokes memories when we pause to look at them. It is all part of the collecting experience. In the 1970's, my wife and I bought the remains of a victorian era farm house and some acreage in Orange County, NY. It had not been improved with any amenities since the 1890's, nor had it been maintained since the late 1950's. We made it livable (barely) in a few months. This was the beginning of a 40 year project that could only be attempted by 2 naive 20-something history lovers. After 40 years the house was added to the National Register of Historic Places, we retired, and built a new home in northern New England. That sign was posted on the old property. It was painted by hand on wood, decades before we came along, apparently by a professional sign maker. Saying that looking at it conjures up memories would be a gross understatement!

Bob 

[Walt G]

Bob, VERY VERY COOL! thank you for your comments and observations. History Lovers - yes , a few (many?) of us are, and have to be as so much has been forgotten or wasn't photographed or written down when first learned of.  That's why I feel these AACA forums are sooooooo important. One picture or comment may invoke a lost fact or photo to be shared that has not been before to a great extent with a number of people.

Here is one more artifact - er perhaps an "auto"fact?   A taxi light in cast metal with glass lens. The one round bulb/lens is a replacement and not correct , the original was gone and I felt something was better then a bare bulb. I have found a period photo in a newspaper of this light mounted to the roof of a 7 passenger DeSoto taxicab in 1939. Photo is in an article on newsprint and won't reproduce well. I made a base and mounted the lamp to it ( base is the yellow piece made of wood). All this done 35+ years ago.

ANY INFORMATION anyone can share will always be welcome.

 

Edited March 21, 2021 by Walt G
typo (see edit history)

[Robert G. Smits]

[Robert G. Smits]

A couple of brochures I picked up years ago.  The first is a 23 page sales brochure listing four models and all the mechanical aspects of the car.  The second is titled operating instructions but  is really a shop manual.  Both are for the Model 5.

[Robert G. Smits]

Another one for tonight 

[Mike McCandless]

Recent grab. 8' Dodge brothers double sided tin. Haven't seen this maker before. Truck bed rails, which I thought were really cool. Cut off in the picture if a 42" Dodge Dependable service, the only one I've seen in that color. 

[Robert G. Smits]

Really neat Dodge signs especially the  truck bed rails!!

[Terry Bond]

Signs and etc- Wonderful advertising material exists in addition to porcelain.  For many years now, I've delighted in finding much less expensive tin, cardboard, and paper advertising material.  I guess time has caught up and as the pricing of porcelain becomes prohibitive for most collectors, they quite naturally turn to these other kinds of signage.  For many years I've collected embossed tin signs, and also have a number of nicely framed paper and cardboard items that are just as graphic and impressive as most porcelain. 

This neat cardboard Taxi advertisement I'm pretty sure is a Washington DC item, based on the source it came from.  Sorry for the poor quality photo but was getting some glare and shadowing when I snapped the pic.  It's much nicer in person.

A few others also as examples. 

Another thing I see happening is signs are being "created" from graphically illustrated oil or product cans.  If a nice can has at least one good side, or remains of it, they are being cut up and turned into signs like this one for Blue Ribbon polish.  I bought in inexpensively enough in an antique shop several years ago, and an instant give-away to its origin is the "one gallon" notation in the top left corner.  I'd have rather had the complete can but that was already gone.  It's still a nice wall hanger.   Unfortunately though I see things like this being sold on the internet for stupid prices and being incorrectly advertised as a "sign" when it should be labeled as "remains of an old can."   Look carefully and pay accordingly.

Terry

[Mike McCandless]

I agree that well framed and presented paper looks awesome. I saw an incredible banner from samson tires, early 1900's piece the other week. I hate to guess what the guy spent framing it. I have to catch myself as I see all of this as art, some of it truly amazing.

[Terry Bond]

Art it is Mike.  We're starting to see more and more framed paper turning up in auctions and for sale in the big swap meets.  It is sometimes costly to frame stuff but there are you can do to help keep it reasonable.  I'm fortunate that we've got several good thrift stores near us, so armed with photos of my stuff and dimensions, I raid them often for old frames. When you can get a neat old frame with that old wavy glass for $5 or less, it sure beats taking your stuff into a professional framer. 

Here is an example of an early die-cut calendar that I framed using a thrift store discovery.  It's mounted with archival tape to a dark maroon velvet backing. When doing your own framing, I use only archival materials including acid free mat board when I need to use them.  My wife even found me a professional mat cutter in a thrift store for $15. 

Terry

Edited March 24, 2021 by Terry Bond (see edit history)

[Robert G. Smits]

I guess we all think alike.  I probably have over 100 antique frames of various sizes hanging in my shop.  Hope I live long enough to use them!!!

BTW very nice framed calendar Terry

[alsancle]

On 10/21/2020 at 3:57 PM, edinmass said:

 

 

That item is totally inapproipate for your zoning and neighborhood........it should come down immediately.....and be sold to me ...........cheap!

 

 

Warm up the chopper Ed.

[alsancle]

My dad inherited hundreds of magazines from the 20s through 50s.   He then found this local flea market with a guy selling frames for 1.50 a piece.   He cut the car advertisements out of the magazines and framed them and would bring a dozen or two to Hershey each year.     He must have 100 of these framed advertisements sitting on the floor in the garage.    Back pre 2000 he would actually sell a few every year before ebay made it easy to find car advertisements and the market went to zero.

Edited March 25, 2021 by alsancle (see edit history)

[Steve_Mack_CT]

48 minutes ago, alsancle said:

My dad inherited hundreds of magazines from the 20s through 50s.   He then found this local flea market with a guy selling frames for 1.50 a piece.   He cut the car advertisements out of the magazines and framed them and would bring a dozen or two to Hershey each year.     He must have 100 of these framed advertisements sitting on the floor in the garage.    Back pre 2000 he would actually sell a few every year before ebay made it easy to find car advertisements and the market went to zero.

AJ in the 70s Bill Mcbride from Hartford made a living doing just that.  Over the years he adapted and I believe, still owns Jumping Frog rare and used books, and other paper stuff.  He was a character, had a couple old Hudsons in an apartment parking lot a couple miles from our house, still remember wanting to pry one away.

This is a great thread, need to make some contributions later...

[Robert G. Smits]

More examples of framed paper adds from magazines. My son used to go to swap meets with me. To keep him interested I would let him purchase these adds

[Robert G. Smits]

Another one from the Saturday Evening Post. Interesting vignette at the top. 

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Spent a good 45 minutes catching up on this thread last night.  Cannot believe I missed it till a day or so ago.  Will try to start contributions from our modest collection.  Typical stuff.  Smalls, signs, a couple pumps, etc.  It is eclectic, we go for condition and eye appeal vs. Marque or gas & oil branding.  My wife likes the smalls and has a good eye, I think.  

 

Some toppers, pens, keychains in one pic, her "Esso oil drop guy" smalls in another.

Edited March 26, 2021 by Steve_Mack_CT (see edit history)

[Steve_Mack_CT]

This clock came out of an old garage in New Harbor, ME.  When they finally sold the contents that came out of it were fantastic. 

A big regret, I passed on a Mobile file box, pegasus logo with 30 or so customer records, "Mr. So and so.  1947 Packard Clipper" vehicle, maintenance notes etc. Ugh...