Pin-Up Pinball

You can typically still find those old handheld pinball games they used to sell at dime stores back in the day for pretty cheap. The other day I scored two ultra lame, very faded ones with snoozy sports themes like boring ass basketball, and tiresome tennis-- YAWN! A buck 'n a quarter each and I already knew exactly what I was gonna do with 'em as soon as I got home. The cardboard image backing usually just slides right out, only held in place by a couple of plastic clips which you can easily maneuver around. The great thing about these two games is that the backing card image is exactly the same size as a postcard, and knowing that I have a huge collection of much more interesting subject matter in those same, manageable dimensions, I immediately got to work swappin' them both out. The only trimming required was at the bottom right corner of each, you know, to get around the pinball flipper. I'm sure you'll agree that these are much more fun now!

Heads I Win, Tails I Also Win

Two sides to a coin, and when flipping it competitively, you're always gonna come up aces with this one! A funny old novelty coin that evens out the playing field-- even the loser can walk away happy!

Victorian Shell Art

Shell art, or the art of combining real sea shells with other elements to form a pleasing knick-knack was a very popular, do-it-yourself project pastime during the Victorian era. I recently found this lovely Nouveau example with a gorgeous bisque sculpted female head, long flowing hair, and a flower, all arranged on top of a large scallop. Also of note is the hand painted, personal "Merry Christmas" holiday inscription, with what appears to be someone's name (Lilliya? --or maybe it says "village"), possibly the word "Illinois" under that, and finally, an early 1900 date with (unfortunately) the last number smudged into oblivion. I'm really hoping it's a 1904 World's Fair souvenir piece! If you Google "Victorian shell art" you'll see lots of other examples, most notably jewelry, Valentines, trinket box mosaics, etc... this one is quite unique, and much better arranged than the previous shell art piece I found last year at an estate sale (see last image below.)

Daisy Mae Fashion Show

Speaking of good 'ol Dogpatch U.S.A. (see previous post HERE) there were a number of different Lil Abner and Daisy Mae paper doll sets from the early 40's, and the one I have featured today is, I believe, the second one released (the dolls in this set were for sure, but I'm actually missing the box they came in.) Anyway, this set was also much more faithful to the look of Al Capp's characters as they appeared in the comic strips, whereas the previous set seemed to have been created by someone else entirely --Google it if you don't believe me. There was also a paper doll set released featuring extra fancy, high falootin' duds for a night out in the big city or something. In any event, this giant clear baggy that I scored seems to have ALL the clothes from all of the sets produced, and knowing that not a single person out there gives two hoots about seeing Abner, Mammy, and especially Pappy in their own various outfits, let us now turn this post into what we all REALLY want-- a delectable Daisy Mae fashion show! Also included were a bunch of various hats and purses, but I left most of those out as they didn't seem to be designed with a clue about how they'd actually look on Daisy's head or arm correctly. Also missing: quite a few pairs of pants, as you'll note towards the end of the post, --but of course in dazzlin' Daisy style, this just makes her outfits all the more fetching-- though I'm sure dim bulb Abner still would have never even noticed!

Care of Dogpatch U.S.A.

I have many friends and family with birthdays this month, so this post goes out to everyone growing another year older here in June 2025. And if you're a fan of Al Capp, Lil Abner, and of course gorgeous lil Daisy Mae, then this vintage, midcentury birthday card (all the way from Dogpatch U.S.A. no less!) will surely make your dae-- errr, day! Happy barefootin' Birthday, yall!

Cat Balleu Lounge

If you lived in the midwest some half century ago or more, and if you were also looking for continuous "Nude-A-Rama, Gorgeous Girls Galore" action, then the Cat Balleu Lounge in KC MO was THE place (out of 3) to be! Featuring top entertainers in "Mid America's Greatest Fun Complex / Famous Fun Spot", this club also had the advantage of having someone do a really amazing job designing their matchbook covers! You get the cartoony boy and girl cat mascots on the front looking playful as ever, not to mention the actual matchsticks themselves are doing a rather sizzlin' little striptease act of their own! But what I really love about all of this is the other fun spot where they placed the match strike area-- right on a booty shakin' backside! "Strike Her Rear!" it says! Haha... this is definitely one of the better vintage matchbooks I've found lately.

The Pipsqueak in Black

Time for another adorable, Victorian era cabinet card that has found its fabulous way into my collection. And whereas the previous young lady that I posted about HERE was blonde and in brighter color clothing, our subject today is in all black, hair color, ribbons, and all. Is she possibly in mourning? We will unfortunately never know. She is smiling, which would mean if she is mourning, then that facial expression makes this photo just a little bit sinister, now doesn't it?

Little Go Girl Sweep Scene

Spring is almost over, but it's never too late to get in some 60's-esque spring cleaning! And the Little Go Girl Sweep Scene by Norstar is a great example how to perfectly package bummeroo cleaning tools to the groovier gals of my youth. I mean, who wouldn't wanna get down and dirty with: Go-Go Sweeper! Mod Mop! Boss Broom! Swingin' Dust Pan! Hip Huggin' Apron! Heck, they could make anything sound WAY-OUT back in my day, couldn't they? A lovely lil redhead as the box illustration is always a plus, and of course some fabulously foxy era fashion never hurts either! So come on, create a scene-- and clean your fab pad in sizzlin', shindig style-- TODAY! 

Help Me Help Me!

My Kitsch Collective friend Michelle finds the best stuff! She recently added this hilariously eerie little item to her booth at our local antique mall-- it's a fly with a human head screaming "Help me!" from within a petri dish shaped plastic container! Clearly in tribute to the classic 1958 sci-fi horror film classic, The Fly, this is one unique, and totally bugged-out, vintage collectable. I kind of feel the whole presentation would've benefitted a bit more from using an actual human looking head instead of the Japanese oni demon mask face, but it's still pretty awesome none the less, plus, somebody scored this at Gibbol's for only $9.95 (not sure about the date though-- 70's?)