Lenticular Flicker Kickers Matchbox

Popped into a typically ho-hum local resale shop here yesterday (where I usually never find anything good), and whoa Nelly what do I see? This true gem of a 60's matchbox complete with red flocking and a very cute lenticular flicker image of high kickin' showgirls on the lid. Check out the clip below to see it in action because it's really something. As an added bonus, the thing still contains an unbelievable number of original wooden matches inside. Seriously, there must be like 100 in there-- plus, they're incredibly teeny tiny too! I lit one just to make sure they're real.

Wild's 1954 (Pin-Up) Calendar

Things got a little crazy over at THOIA earlier today (CLICK HERE if you missed it), so why not go WILD here at AEET as well! There's more funny for your madcap money at both of Mr. Karswell's blogs today! From the August 1954 issue of Wild #5, with outrageous art by Howie Post (again!)

Munzerlite Boudoir Doll

My curiosity and patience for digging around in the deepest, dustiest corners of old antique shops paid off pretty good again this week after simply noticing a plastic tube on a shelf packed with "antique doll parts." I didn't think much about it at first, but something made me go back a few minutes later and take a second look. I asked the clerk if I could possibly open the tube and analyze everything inside a bit closer. And with the help of a friend of mine whose mother deals in antique vintage dolls (thanks Dave!), it turns out that what I had found was most likely a vintage Munzerlite half doll from Germany, made around 100 years ago, and also known as a boudoir doll.











She's clearly not in the greatest shape, with the seperate pieces barely held together by a rusty old strand of ancient wire. She is still quite a beauty even though the composition chalkware upper torso and head (with original mohair) is chipped up and scuffed, (ain't those eyebrows out of this world!), and her hollow, pot metal arms are somewhat scratched and losing paint.











One of the reasons these dolls were known as "half dolls" is because they were sometimes assembled on top of a cage shaped wire frame and used as a lamp with a light bulb inside (search google if you don't believe me!) Other times, they were given an actual cloth body like any normal child's doll, dressed, and then simply propped up on a pillow for display purposes.

I'm not really sure what to do with her now that's she's in my possession. I can't keep her in wrapped up pieces inside a plastic tube for another century, and I'm not really into the whole lamp approach. And as much as I want to dress her up and make her whole again, I have to admit I sort of like her as is, strangely strung together like a broken down, antique robo-mannequin from some old Victorian era Jack the Ripper animatronic scene. Give me some ideas, clothing suggestions, display advice, etc... and of course if there are any corrections, or other interesting tidbits to know about these dolls, please share in the comments.



She also needs a name...

Loona the Jungle Girl!

Atlas spoofs themselves and their own Lorna jungle comics with 3 pages of Stan Lee silliness highlighted by beautiful Bill Everett art, sight gags, guffaws, and of course the occasional, unfortunate racial stereotype of the era. I wish this was a few pages longer, I really luva the way Bill draws women and animals. From the June 1956 issue of Riot #6.

Mr. Karswell Awarded the Silver Bolo!

Did anyone catch the final episode of the second season of The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs? Holy cow, I was as shocked as anyone to discover the Silver Bolo awarded to me, Mr. Karswell, and The Horrors of it All! What a mind-blowing honor to be recognized, and even mentioned by legendary joltin' Joe --as well as by ever dynamite, Darcy the Mail Girl! The Shudder Channel even tweeted about lil 'ol me!



And yeah, it seems like my last name will always be eternally misspelled and mispronounced (it's BANES, not BARNES), but no matter-- I'm still over the moon about it.

As soon as Shudder makes the episode available I will add the link here. Thanks again to Joe, Darcy, Shudder, and everyone involved with The Last Drive-In, as well as to whoever it was that nominated me in the first place --I guess that's how this thing works-- I'm still not exactly sure how it all happened, or how I even appeared on the Briggs radar, but I'm glad I did!

Florida Orange Bird

Another cute find this week, an original 1970 Florida Orange Bird bank! Orange Bird was a Disney character that debuted in 1970 as a mascot for the Florida Citrus Commission in exchange for them sponsoring the Enchanted Tiki Room attraction and Sunshine Tree Terrace at the Magic Kingdom. Tons of super merchandise became available at the park: tees, records, stuffed etc., plus a great little Food and Fun animated short that you can watch HERE. Orange Bird has recently made something of a comeback too, so next time you're at Disney, pay the little guy a visit and grab yourself some cute merch and a delicious citrusy drink! :) 





Watch Anita Bryant and Orange Bird in a vintage commercial HERE!

Barkeeper! A Toothpick, Please!

It's about time I added a singing bartender toothpick holder to my kitchen kitsch collection, and here's a wonderful, ceramic 60's example I found yesterday-- and made in Japan too! He's about 5 inches high, (but looks much larger in these photos), and if I had some toothpicks I'd be sure to add them into the holder container just below his right elbow. I truly love everything about this thing, his funny little mouth, the stocked shelf behind him, the overflowing beers on his tray... everything perfectly painted to match the colors of my kitchen! My $4 find of the week :)

Wildroot Cream-Oil Hair Tonic

Here's a small selection of cartoony ads from the 50's for an old time hair tonic cream oil. This Wildroot product originates back to the 1800's and is apparently still available today for those extra slick lookin' gents out there. These ads were sometimes laid out as a 2 or 4 panel selection of cartoons in some magazines, and illustrated in a variety of appealing commercial art styles from cartoony to more realistic. I'm not sure who the artist is on these I've posted here today, but I especially love 'em in this very cute, very funny, one panel gag style lay-out for comic books.

The Eva Dead

Another thing I found at the antique mall but didn't buy, (I'm regretting this now and may go back for it) was one of Eva Gabor's International Wigs in a box from 1972. Gabor was actually quite successful in not only acting, but also in the marketing of clothing and beauty products, and to top it off (literally) she found major success with her own line of head wigs, which are apparently still in production today. Learn something new everyday!



Now when I first saw this box on the floor of the vendor booth, with its strikingly simple, two color design, and black and white photo, plus the tombstone shaped cut-away window with just a peek of silver hair visible, I was hoping to maybe find a wax Eva Gabor head inside. You know, like those cool old salon school mannequin heads. "What's in the box?!" I wondered aloud, like Brad Pitt in the chilling climax of Se7en. Slowly, I took a deep breath, and lifted the lid:



Just a wig, and very similar to the ones that I remember my grandmother working on back in the 70's when she was the Head Wig Stylist for Zayre department stores here in STL (more on that in another post someday.) But to be honest, what this brillo-esque ball of silvery webbing reminded me of most, are the oddly shoddy wigs worn by the actresses in Sam Raimi's first Evil Dead film, when, after becoming possessed by demons, their hair would turn a ridiculously awesome, evil silver color.



"JOIN US!!!"

70's Casino de Paris

You thought I was finished with the vintage postcards, didn't ya? Nope, found a few more, and both are nicely designed examples from Las Vegas, advertising for Frederic Apcar's lavish girls girls girls 70's spectaculars at the Dunes Hotel. The '73 production card being an ooo-la-la French themed frolic through the footlights and features a very lovely, colorful illustration, while the '76 show card was for a salute to America's boobs 'n butts... errr... I mean, a sexy salute to the Bicentennial, and features a feathery photo of a native American fox wearing nothing but beads, a headdress, and authentic fishnet moccasins. Va-va-va-voom, Vegas style!

Pow Wow in the Navajo Room

Found this cute, double sided, midcentury info card for the Thunderbird Hotel's Navajo Room, --where you could gamble on the horses and load up on Pow Wow cocktails to your heart's content!

Dorothy Shay: The Park Avenue Hillbillie

Another really wonderful old nightclub brochure I found at the antique mall the other day highlights Dorothy "The Park Avenue Hillbillie" Shay performing her feudin' 'n fightin' routine sometime in the 40's at The Empire Room in The Palmer House, Chicago IL. It's a really spectacular fold-out brochure ta boot, eye-poppin'ly colorful with a neat mix of photo and illustrative fun-- not to mention that die-cut city skyline opens up to reveal a bunch of bearded hillbillies gathered 'round the 'ol turntable of Shay classics on vinyl! Ya-hoo, break out the mountain dew and give'r a LISTEN!







 Find out more about Dorothy Shay HERE, she had quite the singin' 'n actin' career with a #1 selling record (and she was also the first woman to ever top the Billboard charts), PLUS she appeared in the Abbott and Costello comedy classic, Comin' Round the Mountain, --and yes, she was The Dew Drop Inn's very own Thelma on The Waltons too!

Charlie Low's Forbidden City

Found this really great "jumbo" sized post card yesterday while scavangin' through a massive pile of old paper stuff at the antique mall. Charlie Low's Forbidden City was a Chinese nightclub and cabaret that opened in San Francisco, CA in the late 30's. And seriously, it has such an incredible amount of fascinating pop-culture related background information, not to mention all the historic Chinese-American firsts attributed to it, it would just be easier if you clicked this wiki link HERE and read about everything instead of me re-typing it all out. Also, google photos has a huge assortment of dynamite images of dancers and other random performers, ads, menus, etc...





I'll have another vintage nightclub post up next!