"Now, behave if you can..."

Here's an interesting, and very old postcard I found the other day: a happy couple casually hanging out together, with her smiling and pointing her finger at him (while showing off her ankle), and projecting a playful, stern warning: "Now, behave if you can." So, initially I think the guy was doing just fine in the behavioral department, that is, until the postcard itself was mailed, because apparently the smudgy inked post office postmark was incorrectly applied to the wrong side of the postcard-- thus giving the man a strange demonic appearance! With his multi-horned crown, hollow black eyes, bat-winged mustache, and goatee-- why, he looks the absolute opposite of good behavior now! (NOTE: The woman was never seen nor heard from again.)

Pond's Extract

Pond's Extract was an 1800's medical cure-all. From sore throats, to carbuncles, frostbite, bleeding control and dysentery, --if something was ailin' ya, Pond's Extract would remedy it all up --and but fast! And if that didn't work, maybe the amazing Palmer Cox animal art from this cute Victorian era promo booklet would distract you enough from your sores and sprains to do the trick. Cox was of course, the creator of the wildly popular children's books about the fictional and mischievous, "Brownies", but man, it's hard to even know where to begin here in the forest of fractures and fevers. This is all 8 illustrations, minus the cover which my version of the booklet apparently did not come with-- others were available in an assortment of variations: with cover, without, sans color, stapled, saddle stitched, lithographed pictorial wrapped, etc. These poor, wretched creatures are really put through the ringer, but lucky for them Pond's Extract is here to save the day-- healing, soothing, and basically easing all forms of sickness and suffering! 

Geno's Gas Beer Pizza '62

It's another scorchin' day here in the midwest, with temperatures well into the 100's! I guess the only thing to do to make it even a little more tolerable is to wear as little clothing as possible! So let's check the calendar, lift that flimsy, film-painted negligee layer, pop the cork (of the champagne), and ...ummm, where was I even going with this exactly? OK, if you needed gas, beer, pizza, or even some topless mamacitas in 1962, Geno's was located only 11 miles east of Lebanon MO on good 'ol US Rt. 66. So come on now and get yer ti-- errr, kicks, on route etc etc...

Bubble Gum Bank

When I was a kid I had my own cool bubble gum vending machine bank that was clear-shaped to resemble Popeye's head. I loved that goofy thing and still see them around occasionally (same with a Fred Flintstone, Bugs Bunny, Mickey Mouse etc...) One I don't really remember though was produced by Craig-Henry Toys in the 70's in Stoneham Mass. and in the typical round style, and simply called, what else, Bubble Gum Bank. The machine / bank itself is somewhat cheap and underwhelming looking, but what it definitely has going for it is the truly groovy, very colorful box art featuring bubble blowin' kids and even 'ol Whistler's Mother on each side. I'm also assuming the machine came in a variety of colors, per these illustrations.

Acromaid

Time for a fun superhero oddity from 1950's Glasgow-- it's the Sensational Acromaid in her one and only ever appearance, fighting evil in her crimson pirate boots and lovely, long red locks! This fanzine style comic book was originally published by Cartoon Art, who existed from the mid 40's to the mid 50's, and produced original material mixed with various reprints from more well known UK / US publishers. She's a really interesting character with a crude but wonderfully amatuer, old timey meets 70's underground comic vibe. I wish there were more Acromaid adventures!

Nude Book Ends

A few photos of the lovely art deco bookend twins that I picked up the other day, likely created by Frankart in the 20's or early 30's, and sculpted in the very popular, superbly simplified Max le Verrier cast bronze design and cold painted color style. It's weird, when viewed separately they feel like they're identical, but when you put them together side by side they suddenly appear to have differences that are oddly hard to pin-point. Also note, these are the pix I took in my car the day I found them, and they somehow still look better than the ones I took after I got 'em home and cleaned off all the antique mall dust they're covered in. It's all about the subtle details in proper lighting...

Tuna Time

While out and about the other day, I spotted this cute, 5-sided Charlie Tuna cube clock from the 70's. I remember these cubes being everywhere when I was a kid, each with a multitude of different imagery (we even had a couple in our house filled with family photos.) But boy, did I ever love the hilarious StarKist commercials, brilliantly animated by DePatie-Freleng who were of course most famous to the world for the original classic Pink Panther cartoon series. And while I totally remember Charlie's little yellow fish chum, errr friend I mean (he was the one constantly explaining to Charlie that just because you had "good taste" didn't mean you'd make a good tasting tuna fish sandwich lol-- sorry, Charlie!), I don't really remember any of the other characters featured below on the clock. So CLICK HERE for a great youtube channel featuring nearly 30 of the Charlie Tuna tv spots, and see if you spot any of them!

Three Sheik (30's)

Found this interesting (empty) box of 1930's Three Sheik prophylactics the other day, and after researching Julius Schmid Inc., I realized there was an equally interesting story about Julius himself. A paralytic German immigrant who came to America in the late 1800's, he found his mark on (and in) society while working at a sausage-casing plant when he began selling the casings on the side for an equally practical, sausagey purpose! The rest, as they say, is history, --but there's definitely more to it than just that-- CLICK HERE and HERE to read all about it! 

Curse of the Inkwell 2

Some of you may recall my "Curse of the Inkwell" post back in March 2023, HERE! You may also remember that the inkwell I found was way out of my price range too. Well, never fear, my antique hunting skills and patience have once again paid off and I found another one much closer to my worrisome wallet requirements. Alas, it is missing a bit more paint on the snout than I would like, but for the bargain price and the fact that it also includes the late 1800's nouveau-wild, "skinned" designed back paws / tail base tray (which is commonly missing from so many that you see online), well-- no brainer. Mine. I really love all the hairy detail of the mane, claws, and paws though, and the fact that since he's actually mounted that he looks sort of like a bat from the back thanks to the curvy folds of the tray, haha. We can still debate on whether it's a lion, a tiger, a wolf, a demon-- or some crazy hybrid mix of a few different man-eaters --but say, you do remember that I also have a match safe HERE painted like a tiger with this same exact head too, dont'cha?