The Woe Of The Weekend Warrior

While cataloging the Poul Anderson books (for my super-sweet online database), I've come across this National Safety Council pamphlet promoting regular exercise for the Weekend Warrior.

Being a 'weekend wonder who rides a desk all week' myself, I took a special interest in this campy warning.



And, as this is my last post before the New Year, I think it's extremely fitting that I could tie today's find in with the most cliched New Year's resolution around: Exercise, Exercise, Exercise!

The Lonely Bookman's Top 3 New Year's Resolutions:

1. Paint More
2. Read More
3. Lose Weight (Yes, yes, I know what I just said. But it's still a good one to have.)

What are your resolutions?

Thank you for reading my blog this year, and I hope that you'll return next year for more interesting finds and stories!  

Prescribe After Reading

Finding an old newspaper/magazine article in a book is quite common, but today's find falls into the double whammy category.

At first glance, you can see that a child has artistically expressed his or herself all over the top of the page. Scribbled words, portraits, random letters...again, all common things to find in a book (most notably 'Children's Books. Duh.). But what you might have missed is: 

 "Save for Philip"

               --(me?)

written in the top, right corner. Now if we look back to the article's headline "First Aid For Ailing Marriages," well, you can see why I called this a double whammy. 

It could have been a joke. It could have been for research. It could have been serious. But for whatever reason, I find it entertaining.

 

You either die a hero or live long enough to publish this post.

Before the days of the widely accessible inter-nets, the want to trade and sell was sometimes done via campy newsletter (see left). A collector would self-publish a pamphlet (usually they were only a few folded & stapled pages) of what they had/what they wanted and then mailed it out to other collectors. This kind of system was much harder than using eBays and Amazons to do thy bidding, and it also required using many stamps. Stamps? Oh, they were  these little squares that people use to affix on letters they mailed. I vaguely remember them, myself. I recall them being very 'neat' looking.

These Pamphlets were much like Fanzines (A Fan created Magazine. Get it?) in that they were directed at certain kind of clientele before they were mailed. The pamphlet that I've featured was created by a man looking to trade or sell Batman & Captain Action figurines and collectibles. Folks who entered their address into a comic book store directory (or even a friend of a friend who knew somebody) might have walked out to their mailbox one day to find that they'd magically received a booklet full of things they didn't even know they wanted! People would respond, in kind, and thus go on to create a geeky, little social network of their own.

These kinds of things still exist but they do so in a different kind of format. If I were to direct you to my eBay Shop, you would find tons of magazines, books, and comics all up for grabs, most geared toward the collector, but the method of listing these items is far less arduous. Anyone with an internet connection can view the things I list for sale. 

As much as I try to make this experience as 'human' as possible it will never be as personal as it once was. I'm fighting a digital age while being totally immersed in a digital format. Eventually, even I'll go the way of the stamp (see above joke). 

"Wave harder, Boy Wonder."

Rock 'N' Roll Was His Only Answer...

"It's a tattoo. Of a bunch of pipes, duh!"

From the back of the book:

     "Mark Gutstein, a greaser from the future, learns to travel through time by an incredible new theory.
     Heading back to the heyday of rock 'n' roll, the late fifties and early sixties, he ends up instead in New York in the late seventies."

"Stay in your seats. This book isn't going anywhere."
                                      --Eric Mowery, TLB

Today's find is not something I found inside of a book, but I could not pass up the chance to share this great cover art with you. I'm guessing that Gray Morrow, the illustrator, had already drawn Gutstein and then was told that main character was part android. I know it's hard to make out, but I'm assuming that robotic-mess on his chest has something to do with his time traveling abilities? Perhaps, given enough time, all rockers will come to resemble shirtless Kirk Camerons?

 And while I have the scanner out, I may as well zoom in to see just what makes Guts tick. Literally.


Not bad, but maybe I can do better.

Oh, my gawd! It's One-eyed Willy's Map!










Well, I'm off for the Holidays, but, now that I have the map, maybe I won't be back at all?

Happy Holidays, Everyone!

Made In The Shade

Note to artist: Why the dividing wall? 

Just when you thought it was safe to open up Edmund Vale's The Seas and Shores of England here comes a postcard of epic proportions! And before you think to yourself, "Thank heavens we--as a people--are more sensitive now," might I remind you of the gift card selection at Spencer Gifts? If anything, the cartoon version helps keep it 'cute.' 

But, friends, it's not the illustration that peaks my interest. It's the writing on the wall. Or, rather, the back of the card. 

"Hi Buddie,
     Just a few lines to let you know I quit my job and am in California now. Can't wait till monday. That's when were [sic] coming home. All for now."
                                                                                                        Richie Friedman

Ah, giving the family the ol' 'head's up' via postcard. We still do that today, we just use Status Updates or text messages. 'I quit my job and am in California now.' I love it. The postmark is Burbank October 30th, 1945 so it's after the War and a lot was happening: Hollywood Black Friday began at the beginning of the month, UFO sightings were on the rise, Magnolia Park experienced a housing boom, and The Fonz was born. Well, he wasn't born in Burbank, but he was born on this date.

The beauty is, you can interpret it however you want. Maybe Richie was a motorcycle ridin,' chicken shack-jumping, perfect hair sporting, leather Dynamo? Maybe he just had a really boring job and didn't need the money? Either way, I love the candor.

Eeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhh...

Excuse me, might I use your...

It should come as no surprise that I find many actual bookmarks tucked beneath the pages of books both old and new, but I rarely come across one that I find as great as this one from Mabie Todd & Co.

It's advertising pens & ink (I love those!), it's from Rayleigh (Essex), and it's a bookmark. Fall in love yet? Hey, me too! If I've learned anything from music & books, it's that having anything to do England is instantly cool. I mean, I'm genuinely fascinated by artifacts from all over the world, but if you brought a rock into the bookstore and swore to me that it was lifted from the cobblestone streets of London, I would be in awe of it. Go ahead. Try it. Tell me that it was blessed by a mermaid and actually unlocks an ancient door to a parallel universe where inanimate objects are, well, animate. I'll believe you. You said 'London.' I'm already putty in your hands.

My lust for travel aside, the bookmark is a great find. Even if it wasn't vintage, it's got that instant 'vintage' look to it that makes you want to show it off. "Look at me, World, I'm reading Anna Karenina on a plane! And when I want to pause for a moment and 'reflect,' I'll mark my page with a bookmark of antiquity. One that says, 'I care about the printed word!'"

As if reading on a plane/in public isn't pretentious enough.

Unless, of course, you're traveling to England.

A Lovely Art

 

Today's 'find' is a fine example of the kind of ephemera that makes you want to cast aside all other duties and research it as much as possible.

I found this pamphlet in a very old movie magazine called 'Modern Screen,' and I had never heard of the academy until I came across it just this very morning. The pamphlet isn't dated, but I'm a pretty solid detective, so I can probably figure from whence it was printed.

The date on the magazine is 1943, so I'll use that for a base year. However, it's important to note that this date should only be taken as a suggestion. This pamphlet could have very easily been issued ten years before someone decided to mark a page with it.

Their dress is interesting and very twenties-looking (Sascha's look appears to be that of Rudolph Valentino while Mrs. Sascha's 'bob' gives away her flapper sensibilities), so can I say circa-1920 and be done with it? Not so fast. What I didn't scan in was the duo's International Engagement and Broadway Successes list. They've had gigs in France, Denmark, Spain, etc. and have been featured in shows like 'As You Were' & 'June Bride.' A pretty full roster, if I do say so, and if they offer 'Their Personal Attention' (see: the bit I did scan) then I would assume their popularity would've had to wan somewhat to be able to offer such personal attentiveness.

My best guess? 1930. Circa-1930.

What a great ad. I don't find many pamphlets like this. 'Main Street,' 'Arcadia building,' 'Elevator Service'...all buzz words to peak the interest of local collectors.

Well, maybe not 'elevator service.'

In Space, No One Can Hear You Rock Out!

"I told you, man, that stove is hot!"

Oh, man, flashback and a half! Yesterday I traded a couple paperbacks for a couple paperbacks, but the 'bookmark' I found inside Robertson Davies' Fifth Business made me feel like I ripped off the customer. Riker's face is just begging to be photoshopped elsewhere.

Axel Rose-Riker: "Nothing last's forever, except the vast, cold depths of spaaaace."

 Or maybe photoshopped into a crowd of cats with a caption that reads: "Holy C0w, dat wurz a gd 1!"

Long sigh.

Nevertheless, the possibilities are many.

And, you're welcome.

Old Editions: Home of the 30'' Pant Leg

"No, our girls don't wear them. They grow wild here."

At first glance, I thought this advertisement was from the Holiday Inn Hotel chain. But, no, it's probably referring to Poets, and what I can only assume was a pub.
     Hot pants were big, right? I would assume so since Poets decided to take out an Ad with a Hot Pant symbol that dwarfs their own logo (They even included a little 8'' inch measurement bar to further hammer home their slogan), but as they have not come back into Hip fashion--and they were really before my time, anyway--I can only assume that they wore themselves out pretty quickly.

'Wore themselves out?' Get it?

Rough & Tumble (Welcome Back)

"Oh, great. Here come the Mouse-sized Flies. You're going to have to orate a bit louder, Daniel."

Tucked away inside a copy of Lilian Whiting's Life Transfigured I found this cute, little advertisement for a rat poison poison called 'Rough on Rats.' Now there are many different aspects of this card that make it charming (horseflies with walking sticks, a giant rat with glasses, etc. etc.), but what I find most precious is the proportion of fly to mouse to rat to squirrel to...well, you get the point. Maybe they grew bigger bugs back in the late 1800s? If so, perhaps Rough on Rats drove that insect population into extinction? I suppose I should be thankful. One thing the card is missing, however, is a person.
 
     Rough on Rats was basically straight arsenic, and folks were taking the stuff to commit suicide.

Thank you to the Encyclopedia of New Zealand for this comic image (and validation!).

What The Card Sayeth: "Lecture on 'Rough on Rats.' This is what killed your poor father. Shun it! Avoid anything containing it throughout your future useful careers. We older heads object to its especial roughness."

What The Comic Sayeth:
Death Too Expensive.
Customer: Two pennies worth of Rough on Rats.
Chemist: We only sell it in sixpenny packs.
Customer: What, sixpenny! Then I'll change my mind; I'll not commit suicide right now.