What Every Girl Wants

Time for another silly old gag gift novelty box! And if we're looking at the Velasquez illustration on the box lid and answering the posed question: "What every girl wants", I'd assume this curvy young lass would like some normal lady feet! But nope, we open the lid and inside we instead find a couple of cute minks in heat getting down to some serious business --the making of more minks business, that is! And while we wait for the pitter-patter of lil baby mink feet, someone please give that lady some normal lady feet!

Behold, Sappho!

I've added another Nouveau era chalkware goddess to my collection this week, --behold, Sappho, the ancient Greek poetess from the island of Lesbos. This particular piece is attributed to French artist Jean Jacques Pradier, and depicts Sappho in a contemplative pose, as often seen with elements related to her poetic legacy, in this case, a lyre etched on the side of a vase. This subtly colored (original patina) sculpture also captures her with flowing hair and drapery, conveying both beauty and introspection. She stands nearly 3 feet tall too, making her the largest (and heaviest) piece of antique chalkware in my collection, --and likely the oldest as well-- and as with most chalk compositions of this age, she does have a number of typical, unavoidable bumps and bruises.

Seven Girl Robots for the King of Ceres

Wow, it's already time for the last post of the month, so let's join 'ol Flint Baker and Reef (is that a real name for a man?!) Ryan, aka The Space Rangers, as they are given the wonderful task of transporting a bevy of bionic robo bikini babes through outer space. What could go wrong, you ask? Well, for starters, panel placement conducive to cohesive comic book story telling for one, --but hey, don't let that get in the way of your likely confused, eye-poppin' fun! Hell, even the ever gorgeously vicious, redheaded villainess, Huldane, escapes from prison for this one! From the March 1946 issue of Planet Comics #41, and keep your eyes open for a rather repulsive RFK Jr. cameo at the bottom of page 6 --that guy seriously sucks the life out of everything everywhere, even in the darkest, bare-bodied corners of the Fiction House universe! Story by Hugh Fitzhugh.

RAYEX

Some of you already know how much I love old sunglass counter displays (see HERE and HERE for other post examples), and I found another great one yesterday. This time it's for RAYEX Sunglasses, (1965) based out of NY, and similar to my Ventura display, is likely unused, as many of the little cardboard punch tabs to insert the sunglasses in are still firmly in place-- not to mention that the back flap for the stand isn't punched out either. I believe that gorgeous face staring back at us may be super swingin' English model and actress, Jean Shrimpton... someone please correct me if I'm wrong though.

Missouri State Fair (1945)

Well, for the umpteenth year in a row, I missed the Missouri State Fair, and this time by only a day. And hey, wait a minute, --this Exposition Guide is from 1945?!! Wahhh!! (the actual 2025 MO State Fair ran from August 7th - the 17th, and I missed that one too!) But as the cover of this great old guide states, the 1945 edition ran from August 19th - 26th in Sedalia MO, and featured all sorts of fun hullaballoo to be had by all! Now I know some of you are all into the livestock weights, and corn stalk heights, and the peach cobbler gooeyness, and yeah all of that stuff is okay too. But for me it's all about the non-stop barrage of gaiety, ie: the games and midway rides, car crashin' daredeviltry, thrills 'n chills, and the va-va-va-voom dancin' ladies-- woo hoo! So let's flip through this crispy tattered copy I dug out of a dusty old drawer, shall we? (a desk drawer too, not someone's dusty under drawers!) Wow, will ya look at all that 1940's family fun entertainment!

Welcome Back...

My son started back to school this week --and now in his final year of college already, say what?! --so how about a look at this too kool for skool "Welcome Back, Kotter" classroom playset / vinyl toy case by Mattel from 1976. This one is missing a few things like the globe and homework for the desktops, but still has most of the main accessories like the desk and chairs. More importantly, the case still contains all of the TV show's biggest stars in action figure / doll form: Mr. Gabe Kotter, Arnold Horshack, Vinnie Barbarino, Juan Epstein (not that Epstein-- but please release the goddamn files, already!), and finally, Freddie "Boom-Boom" Washington. "Hi there." Condition is not the greatest, and to the person at Mattel who didn't think that adding a Julie Kotter doll (my favorite character on the show!) was important enuff, well, --up your nose with a rubber hose! Yes, in our current age where acceptance of diversity is questioned, and in some cases ridiculously erased by our countries "leaders", it's nice to reflect on a TV show like WBK, because as silly as it was at times, it was still one that welcomed EVERYONE into the room with open arms.

Kooky Patches

Of all the Wacky Packages rip-offs that I've ever encountered, N. G. Slater Corp's "Kooky Patches" (early 70's) might be the most obscure. In this kooky-wack world of sickening spoofs, Big Macs become "Big Tacs", Baggies become "Saggies", and One-A-Day vitamins become "None-A-Day." The checklist on the backside of the product card reveals even more gaggy gems to come from Series One: Junkys, Jerks, Belches, Butts, Snotties, Vomit, Doublestink Gum, Kentucky Fried Chipmunks etc. Yes sir, funny, gross-out humor was every kid's bread 'n butthole back in the day, and I'd love to see the original illustrated art which I'm sure worked out great visually. Unfortunately, in this sticky / stitchy, iron-on / sticker patch format, the gags don't really seem to translate all that well, with all of the great detail getting a bit muddied in those colorfully sloppy strings. (Googled the others in the set and in a few cases some look just fine though.) Still, another cool find, and seeing Ronald McD with a mouthful of tacks really made my day!