The Vapor Bath

Here's a neat recent find: an old, hand painted 1¢ nudie cutie, coin-op title card from, I'm guessing, the 1920's or 30's. These "NOW PLAYING" ads slid into the framework of the machine just above the viewing window, enticing the movie fan to plunk in their hard-earned penny and get themselves a titillating little peepshow (ie a series of multiple cards that flipped inside the machine to create an animated illusion experience.) And the exciting subject this time around appeared to have been a young lady stripping down to take a nice relaxing vapor (aka steam) bath. How explicit did this actually get? The mind truly staggers at the possibilities! As mentioned, the card is hand painted and hand lettered in a lovely color combination of greens and turquoise blues, and the photo of our "star" glued onto the card appears to have been hand colored as well. It is also much appreciated that whoever owned this card previously had the foresight to frame it before any additional damage occurred, as clearly it's a bit rough around the edges. If anyone can unearth more information about this film short (or even the actress name) please leave a comment-- thank you! I've rounded out the post below with a few b/w images found online of other vintage coin-op peepshows!

Royal Hibernia '79

I'll admit right now that I know as much about patriotic ballads as I do beer, but I still couldn't resist the cute "Wee Folk" illustration gracing this can of Royal Hibernia (1979.) The blurb on the back fills in a few gaps, but hopefully it's the can design itself that truly captures the Irish spirit of whatever this is actually all about, ie: the dapper young male serenading two gorgeous, long-haired maidens while strumming on his cute lute, leprechauns, castle, green and gold clovers etc. It certainly makes for an interesting contrasting culture clash when compared to the more aggressive approach of major label American beer can design, what with all of the obvious manly overtones... 

Duro Decals

I swear I've posted about Duro Decals here at AEET before, but checking my archive I'm not finding a dang thing. So here's a few that I actually unearthed the other day, and oddly enough, in a few various places around at a giant antique mall, though they seem to be numerically a set and in order (426A, 426B, 426C) though each sheet also came in its own Duro Decal packet. Now as much as I love the sexy silhouettes doing their Sally Rand bubble art deco dance moves, it's that adorable Duro Decal packet collage of children covering their playthings (and furniture) with their decals that I adore the most, haha... wait, I guess I shouldn't laugh, I did the same thing when I was a kid with my Wacky Packages and Monster Initials stickers!

Neptina, Queen of the Deep

If you enjoyed the underwatery weirdness of our recent double-header over at THOIA HERE, well get ready to hold your breath just a little bit longer for another double with the first two appearances of Neptina, Queen of the Deep from the December 1939 issue of Champion Comics #2, and the January 1940 issue of Champion Comics #3. Featuring some really beautiful artwork (GCD says by "Harry Parkhurst?"), and loads of swirly great undersea atmospheric adventure, this is just the beginning of Neptina's nefarious plans to conquer the surface world, so let me know what you think and maybe we'll take a look at some additional entries later on this month...

Mirror Maiden

It seems like the Nouveau nymphs are coming at me from all directions lately, as this lovely maiden hoisting up a massive oval mirror over her head has now become part of the permanent Karswell Kollection. Internet research says this style spelter reflector was produced as early as the late 1800's, and well into the 1920's. The tilting mirror itself (which stands nearly 19" tall) has a few minor issues around the edges, but other than that, she's in wonderful condition with her long flowing gown that drapes around creating the bronzed base. I really love her cute little face...

Ventura Sun Glasses Display

Finally got my hands on one of these 1960's Ventura Sunglasses cardboard, gas station counter displays (never used too!) yesterday. Great design, simply color usage, and a gorgeous bikini babe to really help sell the product! I’ll post more pix once I fill the left side up with some actual vintage shades —and of course please note that I would absolutely never cover up that girl! Also, as long as we're filling up at the gas station and getting supplies, it never hurts to grab some tunes. And what's this? A generic Alice Cooper 8-track hits collection! Totally nailing that shock-rock horror package vibe he's so famous for too, haha...

Fe-Fi-Fo-Oswald-Meany-Miny-Moe

Found this neat old 1940's cartoon plate depicting an assortment of relatively forgotten Universal Studios / Walter Lantz Prod. cartoon characters. A few of you will maybe remember Oswald the Rabbit, the center star of the plate, but the Fe, Fi, Fo ducks, and especially the Three Stooges-esque trio of madcap monkeys, Meany, Miny, and Moe are certainly new to me. I took some nice close-up photos of them all as they appear around the edge of the plate (fyi manufacturer information is in the final image below.) And if anyone is as curious about the monkey trio as I was, CLICK HERE for a very funny cartoon short from 1937.

The Sands

Another recent deep dive into a big ol dusty box of vintage antique mall ephemera produced a great 1950's or 60's Las Vegas brochure direct from The Sands "Showplace of the Stars", --from an era where legendary Dean Martin was doing his dynamo Dino act. And wow, as you continue opening the brochure it just gets better and better, full of great illustrations for other classic Sands highlights: the casino, pool, nightclubs, and dining. And gosh, I super love that light blue / gold color combination of the brochure design too. Now, as if all of this wasn't enough, flip the brochure over and right there on the backside, scribbled in blue ink, what do we find? Only Dean Martin's actual autograph! I've compared it to other examples of his signature online and it appears to be authentic. What a score for 50 cents, eh?