Not really a collectible but..

I grew up going to Wanamaker's in Center City Philadelphia and watching "The Tree of 1000 lights" and took my son (although he denies it now) and all the younger brothers and sisters to see it every year.

Here is an amazing performance... 683 local choir members from the Delaware Valley organized and singing... in the Wanamaker's Gallery which is now Macy's.

Brought tears to my eyes... seriously -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ab8QzT-ziw4

Check it out!

China Rolling Pins - Baby, Toy or Doll-size

Looking for a new collection?? My email friend Sterling sent me these pictures of the collection he and his wife have put together of rolling pins.  I featured some of them back in December 2009 ROLLING PINS. 

Well they recently sent me more pictures but these are of 22 "baby" or doll rolling pins. Aren't these just the cutest things?? I've loved the patterns in the top pin shown in picture #2 and the scoop shown in picture #4 for years.  Periodically I get pieces, then trade or sell them but now I'm rethinking that practice. These are too pretty to let go!





For more information about collecting rolling pins, My Rolling Pin (My First Kitchen Gadget Books) is available there (pointing back over my sentence )Search Amazon.com for antique rolling pins

The Short History of Trading Cards

I wrote about this before but wanted to discuss Trading cards again. The obvious reason is I have some listed and has others listed last week (August 10th, 2010) on my "other" eBay Id. Here's what I know about trading cards - admittedly I am NOT an expert.

In the late 1800's, tobacco companies, among others, inserted cards into cigerette packages. They also tried "silks" small silk banners

This is for sale on Bonanzle here ZIRA TOBACCO SILK

and Felts..many of which were flags of different countries - I've seen whole quilts and blankets made of these

This felt flag, from a series produced for tobacco tins I believe is for sale on Bonanzle here - French Flag

In 1894, James Duke, effectively eliminated ALL of his competition by patenting the "cigerette making machine" and strangling his competition (He owned American Tobacco company) in the tobacco industry with the resulting demise of many card producers.

In  1908, he once again began distributing cards in cigarette packages but from there was incredible variety in the cards available. In 1911 the Government busted up Duke's cartel and once again, when he disappeared so did many of the trading cards. BUT candy and gum companies stepped into the breech.

In the 1930's Goudey revived the "quality" card in trading cards putting it in a pack of bubble gum.  But by World War 2, they'd been left in the dust by GUM maker of the Horrors of War cards I'm going to post some pictures of and links to next.

No one had ever seen a set quite like The Horrors Of War cards when they debuted. The art work alone was sensationalism and graphic,  so intricate and the headlines or titles so topical that it was so successful, they issued 288 cards.

The 3 most prized cards, are also the hardest to find, the Hitler cards.

The Horrors of War were torn from the headlines of the time - the Spanish Civil war occurred between 1936 and 1939  - many of the cards in the set refer to battles, events or atrocities that occurred during it.

Other cards referred to the 2nd Sino Japanese war which occurred between 1937 and 1941 and which eventually blended into World War II.

Look at some of these: 4 Horrors of War Cards including #1

The headlines on that group include 1 Marco Polo Bridge is Scene of First Fighting =Slightly rounded corners and back has some slight yellowing.

5 Chinese Pursuers Shoot Down Jap Planes - corners are slightly rounded but the back is still very clean and the color is bright.



2 - Chinese "Big Sword" Corps Resists Jap Forces - rounded corners, worn edges, yellowed back and corner crease on the upper right corner of the front that runs thru the airplane on the right (the red one) down thru the neck of the man with the sword to the edge. - there is another small crease at the tip of the corner as well.



6 Suicide Squad of Japs is Blasted at Woosung - the corners and edges are a bit soft (not horrible) and the back is yellowed but over all VG condition.

6 More Examples of Horrors of War Cards

For 38 more auctions of Horrors of War, please visit my other id on eBay - Superjunk - click this line to go straight there HORRORS OF WAR


Toffee Cards: The Tobacco Years

The Price Guide to Golf Cards Part 1; Tobacco Cards

Cigarette card cavalcade: Including a short history of tobacco
Combo Magazine #8 (Latest News & Prices for Comics & Non Sports Cards)

Pokemon Collector's Value Guide: Secondary Market Price Guide and Collector Handbook (Collector's Value Guides)

The 3 Stooges (Non-Sports Trading Card) #42

Previous blog posts on the same topic:
Trading Cards did not start with Pokemon!

The Philadelphia Gift Show and Blogging for B&M - what it teaches us

Last week I went to the Philadelpia Gift show looking for products to supplement my antiques and collectibles sites.  Frankly, in this economy, books and colletibles and antiques are NOT anyone's highest priority.  That's a shame but reality.  The Gift Show management had several seminars set up for attendees which I took advantage of.  And even though I've been "blogging" or trying to for the last year or more,, I learned a lot - Here is my synopsis -
1. remember that this was geared to B&M retail GIFT SHOPS (sort of.. more on this in a minute)

The seminar was given by Brian Linton - his credentials are here - http://www.brianlinton.com/
http://www.sandshack.com/
http://www.unitedbyblue/.
He's basically just like us... 2 arms, 2 legs, 2 hands, 2 eyes and a serial entrepreneur. He presented a lot of info in a very short time and at his website he has the slides available. Definitely take a look at the slides - VERY concise and informative. 
So, here is what I learned -

TIPS:

1. USE the same format and layout (logos, artwork and color) on ALL your pages so your blog pages should match your website pages (and/or eBay pages).



2. Keep blog posts under 400 words - (short and sweet)



3. Give away "secrets" , tips, ideas etc. 10 at the most (at one time). People like "Top 5 Reasons to use Twitter" types of posts.



4. Link each post to some of your previous, RELEVANT posts. So I should be linking to ONLINESELLING


5. You can find free images from Flickr.com - search under "creative commons" - those images are free to use for headers, logos etc. IF you credit the originator. Make sure you give a link to the originator and mention them.


6. Find competing blogs and comment there - Competing blogs are good, because by commenting there, you'll draw their readers. Try to only comment on BIGGER ones.
7. contact the blogger (#6) about doing a guest post on your blog -
8. set up a "community" by doing that with more than one.


9. Integrate your blog into your website (he explained the mechanics of it and I do understand it but will explain it more AFTER I finish the Problogger book and putting MY blog on wordpress.

It involves making a sub-domain in your url for your blog..



8. Embed Videos from Youtube (same idea as #5) use the ones available under creative commons - give credit - make the video relevant to you topic - (and there are a lot to choose from)



9. Share Customer product reviews on your blog - this is a little hard on an antiques blog but my friend Kat could do it on her blog   or her Facebook Fan Page  because SHE sells shoes and skin therapy products.



10 - On your blog - ASK A QUESTION and allow comments so you build "community". - I think this takes time to build up but it does work.



11 Announce new product lines (this was geared toward B&M stores but remember that is US ... we're etail so it should work for us)



12. Write product reviews - if you try something - software, merchandise, service - write a review...(I'd say be careful of negative reviews so you don't get sued. You can say I didn't like it but I wouldn't say something like "the biggest piece of "s***" i ever bought"



13 - WORDPRESS can manage your entire site... (this goes with integrating your blog into your site.) use plugins (he had a list of them which I saved somewhere (Picture me, head down ina trunk, throwing stuff ALL over the place looking - LOL - that will be me later -) - I'll post them in a follow up



** just saying "good info" etc and no name and/or no link to YOUR blog or website is a waste of your time. You need to use a signature link inside the comment if you are allowed - similar to what I've done on Suzie's AskTheeBayQueen blog - SHE is more of an authority than I am so the link there has benefits because if someone clicks thru - it gives ME credibility with Google cause it comes from HER site not mine.



Brian has the slides from both his presentations up on slideshare and you can get the link from his website HE DID - and his slides from his facebook presentation which we didn't sit thru cause we was hungry.... so we went and ate... the soup was good (does that constitute a product review? Maybe)

http://www.brianlinton.com/

#blogboost

We're having a sale..are you sending kids back to school?

Well I call them kids cause I'm older than dirt but I was thinking of both little kids going to nursery school or pre-school and bigger noisier kids going to college??

And the reason is my friend Kathy - KDMORE-Crafts-and-more custom makes blankets, throws and lap robes.  So you could send that "most favored child back to Yale or Harvard with a blankee!!

They can have Simpsons, Horses, Motorcycles, Teddy bears or STARS!!- they can be sofa bed size... they can be just "nap" throws.

Little ones can have their favorite animated characters, including TRANSFORMERS, but also Princess Tiana, Dora, Disney or CARS! WHOA!  I want the pink ribbon one myself.

Course these can be made for Gram, Gramps or Grumpy for watching tv too - I have a red one with puppies on it...guess who uses it the most?? Yep the two siamese...

Now I'll tell you a secret - if you wait til tomorrow? It's 10% off... TEN!  (and they are very reasonably priced already. 

Go tell her  you saw it here first!!  THROWS, BLANKETS, LAP ROBES and nappers!

More About Non-Sport Trading Cards pt 3

Webkinz Trading Card Game TCG Booster Box (36 Packs)Every time my husband decides to "pay a bill" I learn a new category of collectible.  Well this time I am sort of a learning a new one - I've written here before about non-sport cards, specifically the HORRORS OF WAR cards he sold some of several months ago. Well he's liquidating again so I'm showing you some additional versions of those cards as well as some others.

Horrors of War was a set created in 1938 and hand drawn - some of it is truely gruesome and no way would we let our kids collect anything like that today.... ? well maybe - I mean we did have the Garbage Pail kids and kids today have "TWILIGHT MOVIE TRADING CARDS" complete with Vampires.

See???












Now sort of  in between those and the supersweet Webkinz or there are some older sets like

MARS ATTACKS!

Those Mars Attacks are from the Original series in 1962.  and these JETS ROCKETS SPACEMEN cards which I think have great "pulp fiction" type

illustrations and color.

Ok...stand by for Part 4... meanwhile I'm happy to feature YOUR collection if you want to.  Just email me.

Back to Non-Sport Trading Cards

A  couple of weeks ago I showed you some non-sport cards called THE HORRORS OF WAR and some space and western cards, well, you Civil War buffs have your cards too.

Here are some I have just sold CIVIL WAR

and some that sold recently on eBay * There are MULTIPLE sub-categories under non-sport trading cards - two of the largest in terms of listings are "animation" and GARBAGE PAIL KIDS...those outumber even the ubitqus Pokemon this week! Whodathunkit?? I mean they recalled them for heaven's sake years ago...

Ok, that's it for today - GARAGE SALING TIME!! Hoisting anchor...

Collecting First Editions 101 - Part 2

I have a list of definitions of condition and book collecting terms on a special "custom" page in my eBay store. The page has a list of
"bookspeak" terms on it. You can visit and look through it at will - no obligation and all that. It will help you with some of the more "professional" sellers on eBay or Amazon or anywhere.

Here's part 2 of figuring out if a book is truly a First Edition or not:

Publishers used a variety of methods to note that this book was their First Edition - not always consistent and not anyway consistent across the industry so here's a list of the things I've seem (but you have to buy the McBride book I talks about on the previous post to see who used what method.
 
Here is a list of some additional designations that were used:

1. Colophon - on the page of information at the back of the book... some designation that it was the first edition - typically in my experience a sentence to that effect.
2. Copyright page (will have a notation FIRST EDITION) - sometimes FIRST AMERICAN EDITION - which means the REAL first edition was published in some other country. A lot of mine are published first in the UK.
3. FIRST PUBLISHED - same as First Edition as long as there's no list there of additional editions
4. First Impression or First Printing  - on the back of the title page with no additional printings listed.  For instance, the edition of THE CAINE MUTINY that I have listed on eBay right now says 14th Printing. Because some folks want the FIRST of everything, they also want not just the First Edition but the First Printing (or impression) so some publishers will say 2nd printing or 3rd printing. Not all do this though. (a whole OTHER blog post)
5. Letter Line  - a sequence of Alphabetic letters. Typically starts at A and works up (usually about 10). The first letter denotes the First Edition so if the A is missing, you don't have a first edition in your hands.
6. Number line - same concept starts with 1 goes to 10 normally and if the 1 is missing and the line starts with 2, you have a SECOND edition not a first on your hands.
7. Same Date - early on in the 20th century some publishers put dates on title pages (some still do) but a First edition was denoted by the SAME date being put in the back of the title page. So if it said 1887 on the title page (mine have all be at the bottom of the page or right above or below the publisher's name), then the First Edition said 1887 on the back of the page too.  If it says 1888 or 1901 then it's not a first edition.

Now the main problem I have with this system is, it ain't really a system. Each publisher just does what they want. So if they want to join the 21st century I think the ABBA or the Copyright Office of the Government is going to have to enforce some standardization so "we" the buying public, many of whom are fascinated by First Editions, even obsessed with them can figure it out easier. So companies like eBay & Amazon & Biblio, who use standardized catalogs for booksellers to list with, can set up some filtering in the catalogs and stop all the carp from being listed as a First Edition when it's really a 2nd,3rd or 25th edition.

And BTW there are companies like "THE FIRST EDITION LIBRARY" which is NOT a library but a publishing company who produce a FACSIMILE copy of First Edition books... it's not a real first edition folks. It's a copy.  And it says so right on it in multiple places. So if you buy one of them, and it said in the listing FACSIMILE COPY, don't you dare ding the seller cause YOU made a mistake. Hear me??

How to Start Collecting First Editions or Not

First of all, let me tell you my opinion of First Edition Collections.  NOT WORTH THE TIME! And especially if you're collecting 20th or 21st Century Modern Fiction. 

Why you ask (you did ask, right?) Well because the other 20 million of us who bought the same books as First Editions, put the Dustjackets in to mylar covers and squirreled them away, do not need any more competition.  Seriously though, everyone is collecting "signed" first editions from people like Janet Ivanovich and Stephen King and....and....

The charm of Signed editions used to be that NO one else had one.  So what is the point if everyone else has one??  There's reduced monetary value some times to the point of worthlessness. The signature from some authors would be worth more if you cut it out of the book and framed it with something else of interest. Like a postcard.  That's my 2 cents... not worth much but..so be it.

Now if you still want to start collecting these then get yourself some reference material.

The first book I bought and I still use a later edition of it was A Pocket Guide to the Indentifications of First Editions by Bill McBride. And it really is a pocket guide. It's not very expensive either so you can easily but one for your purse or one for the glove compartment of each car.

Here's how you use it - open the book you're contemplating buying, and look at the copyright page. Who is the publisher? Now flip to the publisher's name in the McBride Guide - it will tell you how the publisher normally identifies their first editions.  Here are a couple of examples of the designations:

Col - Colphon - page of information about the book usually found at the back of the book (blog author's note - more often in older books in my experience)

CP - Copyright Page
FAE - words FIRST AMERICAN EDITION must appear on the back of the title page with no additional printing indicated.

Now every publisher listed has a designation like one or more of these to indicate how they designated their first editions so Ziff-Davis UK says FPu(y) - FPu  translates to "words First Published must appear on the back of the title page with no additional printing  and the y means a year following any other identification method so for a Ziff Davis UK published book to be a "True First" the minimum would have to be, on the copyright page it will say FIRST PUBLISHED Sept 1986 (or just 1986). 

More tomorrow (yeah I'm gonna milk this for a few days, I'm in the #blog30 challenge and I'm days behind..so I'm gonna use this one for while. LOL )

Down below is a widget with a sideshow that has the McBride book in it. If you click onthe picture it will take you to that book on Amazon and you can buy it.  Be nice and buy one for your friend, husband, wife, son, daughter or book buying buddy.  In Full Disclosure, the theory is I get referral money from amazon if you do. In reality? it's never happened yet.  

Summer Reading on Amazon

Collecting Skeletons..well not really...Genealogy today

I got started  in family history because of my love of history in general and because I could nver understand how come "they" had such a big family and we had this small nuclear bunch.... (they being anyone who had more than 6 cousins and 4 aunts).    Since I'm still "collecting skeletons" and I'm as compulsive about this as "The Compulsive Collector" is about his books, trading cards, postcards, coins, fish, autographs etc, I figured I'd post this today.  I just sent it to Rootsweb to the Manning mailing list so you might see it there too.  It's "part" of the story of my mother's family. 
My maternal Great-Grandmother was Marcella Bridget Manning -
daughter of Michael Manning and Sarah.


She died in 1905 at 40 years old leaving 5 daughters under the age of 18
parentless (her husband James Forrester had died in 1897 when the youngest was
not yet born). She had married James in April of 1888 in Scranton Pa but died
in Wilmington De.


Marcella was one of several children of Michael Mannion and Sarah Manning (they seem to have switched spellings at will or just ahead of the bill collectors or was it one step ahead of the the law?).  She and Michael are on a ship's log as coming here in 1880. Then I lose her until she marries in Scranton, Pa in 1888.

Marcella had one sister Elizabeth who married Patrick Canavan (who
witnessed James Forrester's citizenship application) but  there was also what I assume is a brother, Henry Manning ,who 60-70 years ago or more was in Wilmington, De. Two other sisters were Margaret Mannion married but name unknown and Frances Mannion, allegedly married to John McHale and was for many years postmister of Lahardane in County Mayo, according 
to my great aunt Frances (Forrester daugher of Marcella). (no dates on any of 
these and not independently verified yet).


When Marcella died in 1905 she left 5 daughters: her oldest daughter, my great
aunt Annie S Forrester was about 14. She and Frances (#2 and 2 years younger)
were put into service (maids?) by their aunts. WHICH AUNTS?? WHERE??

Elizabeth the 3rd daughter was sent to boarding school in Baltimore briefly. In
1916 - 7 she married Joseph Bradley my grandfather and had 3 children before
dying of "tuberculosis of the intestine" in 1924.

Marcella II who was 10 was sent to a convent to become a nun and died in 1911 at about 12-14 years of age. I don't have her birth certificate but I have her
interment info from the cemetary/family plot.

Margaret Forrester, the youngest who would have been only 8 when her mother Marcella I died must have been sent to the same convent or board as one of her sisters. When she was alive I hadn't started collecting the family skeletons so I never thought to
ask her. She died in 1967 after a life-long battle with Parkinson's disease.  She spent a lot of years working at Whitman Chocolates factory here in Philadelphia and we loved getting Whitman's samplers from her.  She was also the one who gave us Silver Dollar coins that she bought at coin shops for us.  (maybe my sister still has hers but I think we all "spent" them as kids or young people...didn't save them at all)

Aunt Annie Forrester lived to be 83  and spent a good part of her life in Hemstead NY where she worked at some military cafeteria for pennies. She died in 1972, in Philadelphia.  She and  Aunt Frances who died in 1980, had bought houses several doors apart on West 53rd St  in West Philadelphia.  They spent at least 10-15 years there in the late 50's and early 60's. 

Aunt Frances Forrester was quite the "looker" in her younger days and worked as a buyer for Gimbel's Department Store in Philadelphia in the China and glass dept (wonder where I inherited my love of porcelain, glassware and china from?).  In the early 1950's she went to work for "The Women's House of Correction" in Philadelphia as a matron.  (she was a jail guard).  She was the kindest, most loving person but she brooked no nonsense even from the criminal ladies in her care.  (and my mom used to say bad enough I find out you did anything, God Help You if Aunt Frances gets her hands on you).. She lied to get jobs as a young girl, making herself older to qualify so when she was 60 she had to keep working for 10 years because her employer thought she was 50.   Til she was 75+ she had her hair died a lovely auburn red and dressed quite elegantly even when she retired and was just "around the house" all day.  She was the one who told us we could be anything we wanted, if we just tried hard enough.

My great aunts were all remarkable women who, other than my Grandmother
Elizabeth, never married but they all helped raised Elizabeth's children after she died. My dad joked that he was the only man to get married and end up with 3 mother-in-laws.

SO the particular  collection of skeletons I'm looking to complete are the Manning/Mangan  aunts and their grandparents. If anyone has any info or and if you're related, I'd love to hear from you.

Next time I'll tell you about the "other" side of the family.  War heros and all.



Beth Donahue Cherkowsky

Real or Repro Part 2 - the answer!

Kudos to CatLadyCate of CatladyCate's Rlegant Glass on Tias and ebay for knowing that the telltale (well one of the telltale) hints is the knob on this green Sharon "dish".   The knob on the original "butter dish lid" was so close to the lid that you really couldn't get your fingers in there to hold it well if you grabbed it by the knob.   On this one, even klutzy me could.

But this is actually a "fake" Cheese dish. I say Fake because  it was privately produced in 1976. And there are more "clues".  The reason I call it a "fake" cheese dish is the bottom.   The bottom of this is wrong - it's about 1/2 way between flat and a salad plate with a rim of glass to hold the top in place. This rim is  thicker and holds the lid in the circle better.  Well that's not how the original butterdish was. And while rumors abound of an ORIGINAL amber cheese dish, none have been reported.  The original butterdish bottom has just a slight indentation and the lids "slid" around more...which accounts for how few survived in mint condition or even how few just survived in any condition.

And further if you look closely at the picture I put here, you can see the "join" where the side  meets the patterned top.  See how thick the "seam" is at the top of the side? The original flows over without that definitive line of thick glass

So what do I recommend?? Well Gene Florence includes a definitive "REPRODUCTIONS" section in his Collector's Encyclopedia of Depression Glass.  And he expands it as he gets wind of new reproductions.   So I keep a copy of the current editon on hand for reference.

Thanks for playing along, come back soon.  I'm sure I'll think of something to write about.  Maybe the Iris and Herringbone reproduction tumblers.. if I can remember where I put them.

Real or Repro? This is my #blog30 post for today

Ok, now that I've alarmed you, I mean reproductions or imitations of REAL antiques and collectibles.  Depression Glass is rife with them but so are other categories of thing like Head Vases, Oil Laps, and books.
 

So here are a couple of Depression Glass things as an  example because if I can be fooled...so can anyone. (not that I'm so smart but I have the real Compulsive Collector here to help me sort them out).  I sell Depression Glass on eBay so I should know a little about it, especially since I've been collecting it personally for like 35 years. BUT it just proves even veterans can be fooled.

In Depression Glass, I collect Blue Royal Lace.  Guess what's reproduced there?? The tumblers.  In Pink Cherry blossom the shakers..(I mean come on, there were only 3 known to have been made, and you think you found a set in the fleamarket for 3 dollars?   Think about that??   BUT the "repro people" also reproduced the shot glasses

Madrid, which I spoke about in an earlier post was "reissued" by the company that bought Federal's molds as well as by Federal itself, in 1976 and marked.  So look for the 76 in the design (around the border).

This is a cookie jar bottom I bought after about 10 years out of the collecting aspect because I thought it was a "newly discovered" color.  Yea ..not !!

Ok, so why should I have known it was wrong?? Because, Mayfair (which made this pattern) did not make a cobalt blue like this.  and the pattern on this one is spread...see the 2nd picture? see how the flower is spread out? well that's typical of when a mold is made of a real pattern item and then used to remold into new pieces never made or to use reproduced molds to make colors never produced.  AND besides that cobalt blue, which is what made me drool over this is way way too intense. This cobalt blue is more typical of that era .

(sorry it's small but it's all I have at the moment) but see how much more transparent and translucent it is?

The piece below is a Green Sharon piece - Sharon was made by Federal glass but THIS is not real. There are two things that should have tipped me off...see if you can figure it out and I'll tell you tomorrow ... (post your guess in your comments.

Ok - don't forget to submit your guesses as to "how" to identify this one as real or repro...

Below is a peice seen at a local event and IT's FAKE and this person (after more years in the business than me) should have known it was NOT genuine. ... (the blue one in the middle I mean. )

Trading Cards did not start with Pokemon!

Contrary to what my 7 year old nephew believes, collecting, and trading, TRADING CARDS did not begin nor will it end, with Pokemon cards.  In fact, Pokemon is the natural heir of the category. But cards have been collected for a long long time.  The proof is in the pudding so to speak, The first grouping of cards are "HORRORS of WAR" cards from a set produced in the late 1930's

This next set was also produced in the 1930-40 era. It's called "Scoops" but could have been called "Ripped from the Headlines" It consists of pictures that embody the headlines of the era. This one is the sinking of the Morrow Castle. It went down within site of shore with 137 people lost.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Morro_Castle_(1930)

The next 4 cards are from a series called alternately SPACE CARDS or TARGET MOON and were based on the Sci-Fi of the 40's and 50's.

And the 50's 60's is represented by Trading cards from TV shows like Wagon Train, Gunsmoke and Have Gun Will Travel -

Non-Sport Trading careds as they are referred to these days continue to be a healthy collectible and the assortment available includes Tv shows, Movies and autographed versions.  The value of the cards shown here is not high dollar-wise (they average $3-4 for these sets.. SOME go higher but not most) but putting together a complete set, requires some diligence and effort.  So pick your favorite show, or movie and start collecting.

Armed Forces Day - TODAY! May 15,2010

For the last nine weeks I've been watching Pacific and compairng the stories there with things I've heard from real vets. If anything "PACIFIC" has sugar-coated how life was for the "warriors" who fought that battle. 

One of my dad's cousins was in the South Pacific. Dad talked once or twice about him but only years later did I find out that his cousin Tommy died on Iwo Jima in a "non-combat" related incident. 

My mother's brother served in the Navy and was captured on Corregidor and made the Bataan Death March.  He survived time in a Japanese mainland Prisoner of War camp and came home with tuberculosis.  He eventually died of a form of cancer that is most often seen in Japanese men.  A guy of Irish-American descent?

My parents both served during WWII - both stateside. Dad was a Staff Sgt instructor for the Army Air Corp - eventually being Air Force. Mom enlisted when her brother was captured on Corregidor and served for 3 years in the WACs. 

So I always gravitated to the medals and the patches that our various armed services wore/used.  However several years ago I bought a lot of old news wireservice photos at an estate sale. Many of them were from the Marine Corp public relations dept.  Now I'm listing the last couple of dozen for sale on eBay and was surprised to turn over one and see a list of names of a gunnery crew and a hand-written notation "Cape Gloucester".  Which happens to be one of the sites featured on the show PACIFIC (long way round the barn my dad would say to get to the point) .  So I thought before I sell them all I'd show them to you along with some other military collectibles for the next few weeks.

Partly it's because today is Armed Forces Day.  Intended as a day for us to pay tribute to the currently serving forces.  And then on the 31st we celebrate Memorial Day - to celebrate those who served and didn't go home.

Armed Forces Day in the US is the 3rd Sat of May - the culmination of ARMED FORCES WEEK.  Typically during that week the various military bases in the US have open houses and present a variety of educational events providing insight into careers and lives within the services.   We'll talk more about Memorial day later.  But get your flags out today and keep them ready for the next couple of months - lots of flag-flying days coming up!

Meanwhile, here are a couple of my military pictures and links to those on eBay.

This is a wire service photo from WW1 - shows "Americans with a Machine Gun Corps" in France airing out their clothing after time spent in the trenches.  Look at the tent behind them ! The holes were ripped by shrapnel. And just imagine spending one night let alone several months living in that tent with at least one other person!  This was taking in 1918 - My grandfather was there and for all I know he's in this photo.  The wire service paper attatch doesn't mention the names of these soldiers - Doughboys!. It does say   it was for release July 22, 1918.

This is another early 20th century photo- of the Army 27th Pursuit Squadron -  over Selfridge Field in Michigan

This one is Marine Artillerymen on Bougainville setting up an observation post in  a tall mahogany tree.  They hoist the guy up and he nails boards to the tree as he goes and then they use the boards like a ladder to climb up and use the observation post to dirct fire at enemy installations.  The Marine doing the board nailing is swinging a few feet above the head of the one on the far left who is olding the rope he's tied with .  This one is undated but has all that information on the back. And says OFFICE U.S.Marine Corp Photo. It's not listed yet but well be on eBay eventually

This is another Marine Corp"official Photo" but none of the guys are named.

Marine Corp Gunnery Crew on Cape Gloucester

this one is currently listed on eBay

Black & white photo from the Marine Corp Press office shows the following men (identified onthe stamp on the back side)

Left to right front to back:
Platoon Sgt james C Culler, Timberland NC
second row:
Corp John Keanrs of Aliquppa Pa
Sgt Eugene Cunliffe, New LImerick maine,
Sgt Alvin Montgomery, Pittsburg Pa
next Row:
Gunnery Sgt, Gord Heim, Balitmore MD
Corp Ray Kindcaise, Gauley Bridge WB
Master Gunnery Sgt, Wallace Anderson, W Orange NJ
Corp John Thull, Rutland VT
Corp Harold Peters Oakland Ca

Ok more later -

Who knew?? A Play...about ? FIESTA! WOOHOO!

Newspaper story about Fiesta - not mine so it's REALLY good



Ok, so I know about compulsive collectors - I married one.. I "might" be one. BUT who knew someone wrote a play about one of the objects of our affection?  Not me. BUT they did...check out that link - it's from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

More on Fiesta when I get into the garage next week and pull out the 3 vast tubs of it that are on the bottom of the back pile...for which I need the brawny strenght of my heir apparent. So in other words, I ain't moving them without help.

But there's lots of colorful pictures on that site and some more right here to hold you over.

Left is a 10"  "medium green" dinner plate (it looks olive cause it is sitting on blue cloth. YUCK don't do that! LL) and right is a turquoise Cereal bowl 5.5" across about 2" deep - I'll measure it as soon as I get those tubs out here. ... see the rings in the middle?  CLUE to age!  especially on certain pieces.

Ok, that has to hold you for a couple of days.... maybe -

Visit my website at http://www.antiquedaze.com/ or my ebay store at http://www.depressionglasswarehouse.com/ for more goodies..included some very used Fiesta.

A Godzilla Collection (and Ultraman) for the Ages...

10-22-14

 For the record, these are MY Pictures and no one has permission to just "take" them to use elsewhere. So KNOCK IT OFF. 

This is the sequel to the story below, told in pictures 4 years ago.

This collector has since opened a website, just recently actually. So now the rest of you Godzilla fanatics can acquire some really cool figures with less stress.  Like this one 

X-Plus GODZILLA '62 Limited Edition

Or this one, just to mention two


Hedorah Figure

3-27-10

From the collection of my favorite Godzilla collector - and other Japanese movie monsters....

Ok, enough with the snow already - I'm not even a skier...or a snowman builder!

This is my backyard fence..and my neighbor's fence... Pretty but...??

And this is my butterfly bush....again, it's pretty but...it's not really supposed to be

white.

And this mess down below?? THIS is why I froze with no electricity and no heat and no hot tea or coffee for 1 full day  and no INTERNET...for two days.  That's one story shed the dang tree is leaning against and those 2 "sticks" they are each 1/2 of the branch...I am soooo buying a chain saw this summer. 

OK! The groundhog was right - 6 more weeks of winter...and probably 10 weeks of piles of dirty snow.... Please God, could we have spring right now?? Your friend in Penna....frozen stiff...

Do you know this woman?? YOU DO! Marsha Collier!

I LOVE this site! Collectibles Corner TV

First of all, she stole my idea. I would love to do what she does in terms of showcasing collectibles. And maybe this year I will pull that together after I start collecting Social Security next summer and don't have to list more/sell more to eat anything or pay a bill.



More than that, she pulls together, video, audio and INFORMATION!!  Gotta love it!  Ok, this is the first day of my new blogging routine so try to check back...better yet SUBSCRIBE - right over there is a button >>>>> that way, you get a "headsup email" when I actually do a new post!  And please stop by our new, activated website and take a peek at the new stuff being listed there. I'm thinking this week I should work on Valentines and valentine post cards...what do you want to see?? leave me a comment and I'll see what I know. (not much !)