Raiding Dad's Stash

Ugggghhh...I wanted to have a nice big post for y'all, but honestly, I'm currently knocked on my ass with one of the worst mega-colds I've ever had. I went through 3 rolls of toilet paper blowing my nose today, and there's no sign of letting up. I've got each nostril plugged with toilet paper as I type this. Charming. Blaggghhh, I hope I can make it to the Andre Williams book reading and show in Detroit on Saturday! Anyway, needless to say, this update has less research, a little less rambling, but my head hurts so bad I couldn't even work on artwork I NEED to get done, today, so fuck it.

In today's post, I bring you some old "Rodding and Re-styling" magazines. These all belonged to my dad when he was a teenager in the early 60s(he turns 65 this week). When he went into the army in '63, they became my uncle Christopher's. When Christopher got killed in Vietnam in '68, they got stored and forgotten about in a closet at my grandmas house(talk about hoarding awesomeness...I still cringe when I think of the things that got shoveled into a dumpster by my folks when she died!). These were unearthed when my grandma died, and given to me. I still love flipping through these things as much as I did when I was 11. There's probably 50 in all. Here's a few favorites...


This killer '34 Ford roadster was built by owner Don Vargo, and the famous Alexander Brothers of Detroit. The Alexander Bros. also built the '32 Ford on the cover of the Beach Boys "Little Deuce Coupe" LP.



This is the most famous car in the bunch...Ed Roth's Beatnik Bandit. Maybe the coolest show car in history. The Beatnik Bandit survives to this day...you can see it at the National Automobile Museum in Reno, Nevada. Look out for more on Ed Roth, and the underground monster hot rod culture he created, in future updates.



This '56 Oldsmobile was, according to the article, built by a 21 year old for $3500...That wouldn't cover the upholstery today.



That red Henry J is UUUUGGGGLLLLLYYYYY! But it was built for only $200!



...I have no idea why this totally bad ass '34 Ford truck wasn't on the cover instead.



I had a blown up version of this cover on my bedroom wall when I was a kid.



This was a '56 Corvette. I kinda like it...but I think given the choice, I might take a stock '56 Corvette instead.



Those Harley fenders look as strange on this '32 Ford Coupe as the googie print upholstered wheel cover does on the '32 Ford roadster.



Speaking of being sick, this '39 Bantam dragster is pretty SICK!....



...But not as sick as this hemi-powered Ford!(and neither is as sick as how I feel!)



Here's more...To cool!



I'll post more car magazines, both more from my dad's 60's stash, and some I've bought over the years, in the future. But now it's time for some cold medicine and bed.

Pulp Friction; a quick peek in my big box-o-steamy, sleazy smutty paperbacks

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Owl Movement

Owls seem to be the kitschy collectible bird of choice these days...Sorry, pink flamingos. I have a bunch of owl stuff. I don't collect owl stuff or anything...hell, I really don't seriously collect anything(maybe records and vintage lamps), I just buy what I think is neat...and cheap. Anyway...

One little jewel-eyed Owl...


Two little jewel-eyed Owls...


BIG God damn jewel-eyed Owl!


Here's another picture of that monster, because he's awesome!


The salt and pepper shaker owls were made in 1956 by the George Zoltan Lefton Company(Geo Z Lefton Co.) of Chicago. Lefton was one of many importers of cheap, but nifty Japanese ceramic and porcelain goods...other big names were Holt-Howard and Napco. Lefton stuff is pretty popular as of late, but these owls are by no means rare...Most of the ones I come across(with both eyes intact) are around the $20 range. I got these at a Goodwill in Kalamazoo for a buck 50 each. I don't understand why Goodwill insists on selling a set of salt and pepper shakers individually, but I don't really understand why Goodwill does a lot of things they do. Definitely NOT my favorite thrift store, but every now and again, you can still score cool stuff.

The Big(over 16" tall!) Owl we found in the basement of one of our favorite semi-local(because there is NOTHING in Coldwater) antique malls. He wasn't as cheap as the salt and pepper shakers, and it took several antique shopping trips before we finally said 'screw it, we NEED that'...but I'm glad we got it, because it's probably the most awesomest thing on the planet! It was made in 1967 by the Universal Statuary Corp, also of Chicago, Ill. Universal was started and run by brothers Jack and Leo Lucchesi(Wonder if they're related to Tina Luchessi, of Trashwomen fame?), who brought in artists from Italy and Guatemala to design all their statues, lamps, wall plaques, and whatnot. They are the source of all those ugly 70's Spanish explorer wall plaques and lamps you see at garage sales. Universal made a lot of VERY cool chalk ware tropic tiki-ish stuff in the 40's and 50's, and that stuff goes for relatively big bucks now days, or so my quick scan of Ebay tells me. They also made a pair of cats that I need.

Finally, speaking of owls, here's a poster I drew for a show my band's playing on Saturday(The Burning Hatreds).

When I Say I'm In Love, You Best Believe I'm In Love..L.U.V!

Ah, Saint Valentine's Day...a fake holiday invented by card companies...and candy companies..and flavored lube companies. I'm not a huge fan, really. I prefer Christmas and Halloween and My Birthday. Hell, I prefer Thanksgiving, The 4th of July, New Years, City-wide junk pickup day, and Hollywood Week on American Idol. My girlfriend always ends up working On Valentine's day, and everyone else is either out being romantic with their significant other, or complaining excessively about being alone. I used to look forward to the History Channel's 2 hour St. V-day Massacre special, narrated by Paul Sorvino, but I never came across it this year, which is too bad. Anyway, this year wasn't too bad, even though Melanie was working. She got me a big bag of Kit Kat bars and took me record shopping the next day, so now I've finally heard the new King Khan and BBQ record. Plus I found a long outta print Zodiac Killers record I didn't have, so Happy Valentine's day to me! Anyway, enough rambling...

A few years ago, my old band was playing a house show in Grand Rapids. I wish I would have taken pictures of the place. The Kid that owned it had inherited it from his grandparents, who designed and built the killer ranch house in 1956. It looked straight from the pages of Atomic Ranch. Really an amazing place to explore, since most of the guy's grandfolks' stuff was still there. He knew I was into neat old junk and asked if I would be interested in some old Valentine's and X-mas cards. Turns out, his grandma and great grandma, and maybe even great great grandma were all elementary school teachers. He ended up giving me 2 large Hefty bags full of old valentine's cards, the earliest dated one being from 1901, the newest being sometime in the late 70's. Condition ranged from half mouse eaten, to looked like it was made yesterday and still sealed in the original envelope. I (poorly) scanned some of the best ones.

These ones are all from the early 1900s, mostly made in Germany.



The girl with the bowl of cherries has a tab on the back that makes her arms move, to look like she's woofing down the cherries. The other girl has a tab on the back that moves her eyes, and used to turn the pages of the book she's holding. The Fatty Arbuckle-looking kid is cool, but I added the other creepy kid as space filler.



Nothing says 'Be my valentine' quite like some good ol' American racism. the black girl's arm moves, and on the back, somebody wrote "Happy Birthday, Happy New Year, Merry X-mas. Happy 4th of July. Nuts To You Nancy. XXX".



move the heart on the side of the card, and the boy moves his arm, I don't know if it was intended to be as dirty as it seems, but I have a suspicion that the guys at the card company had a few giggles over this one. I'm not sure what it says at the bottom, as it's missing a chunk, but I imagine it's something filthy! The cowboy and Indian engage in some light bondage, while the pervo bear has a message for you in his sweaty jacket.



These two cards fold out as shown. Pretty cool pre-WWII cartoon art.



The chalkboard girl's arm spins, and the chalkboard says all sorts of generic lovey stuff. Pull the bottom Dog's ear to move his eye and tail. I think the bottom two cards are from the 1930's, the top two from the 1940's.



...and a few more cool one's from the 30's and 40's.



I got these both for 99 cents at two different Goodwill stores, the Blue one(R&W Berries Co's 1971) here in town, and the devil(R&W Berries Co's 1972) in Battle Creek. I'm sure they were someone's Valentine's gift at one time.



I got this bad-ass rock art(or whatever you call that stuff...little glued-on colored rocks) poodle for Melanie for Valentine's day this year. It's gotta be from sometime in the 50's or 60's...not sure. She loves it, so do I.



Finally, I got this at the other Goodwill in Battle Creek last year, and it's one of my favorite possessions. It was in a huge box of pretty terrible art I imagine was donated from some community center art class. The sweater and the girl's hair are textured with puff paint. It doesn't show up great here, but the teeth are drawn in pencil. The hands are all shaped weird and stubby. There's some random glitter on the guy's shirt for no reason. But they sure are in love. Happy (late)Valentine's Day!

The stuff that Dream Pets are made of...Saw Dust!

Dakin Dream Pets...I love them! I only started picking them up recently, but with over 2000 different Dream Pets made between 1957 and sometime in the late 70's, I think the collection will be exploding in no time. Every time I buy one, it seems, some old lady in the antique store/at the garage sale tells me how "Dream Pets are the original Beanie Babies", which to me, is like saying "The Damned are the original My Chemical Romance"...Dream Pets Rule, Beanie Babies are fun to light on fire, and that's about it. Fun fact...Dream Pets came about when the Japanese R. Dakin & Company wanted to ship toy trains to the US and decided to use these adorable little sawdust and velveteen bastards as a cheap and original packing material. The Dream Pets were super popular and the trains, not so much.

These three hang out down at my girlfriend's cake shop. The deer came from our local antique mall...The same booth where Melanie picked up those masks in my last post. I don't remember how much it was...less than $10. All the Dream Pets were picked up for $10 or less...Dream Pets are perfect for the collector on a budget. The Skunk(as seen on our X-mas card) and the Octopus were found in a junk box in the swap meet area of the Auburn, Indiana classic car auction(which I hear may not happen this year, 'cuz they're millions in the hole...bummer). I don't know any of their names(Dream Pets all came with a cardboard tag with their name on it), or what year they were made(some of the later ones have years printed in their tags). My guess is early 60's on the deer, late 60's or early 70's on the other two...not that it really matters.



This guy is called Bernard...real original. He came in a box of a dozen or so Japanese Sawdust toys that I got for 99 cents on Ebay. This is one of the ones that was reproduced in 2004, but this one is an original from 1965. Not that it matters. As far as I know, none of the Dream Pets are worth big money, and that's one of the things I love about them. When I was a kid, I collected Hot Wheels. I used to be able to pick up some of the early ones for $10 or so, but then the Hot Wheels market exploded (no)thanks to Ebay, and everyone started thinking every Hot wheels should cost in the triple digits...ruined the whole thing for me. Sorry 'bout the rant.



Dunno the Giraffe's name either. He also came in the big box from Ebay. I think it's the ugliest of my Dream Pets.



This turtle is from 1975. Also from Ebay box. He's a less cool version of Honolulu Harry, which is also in this post...guess I should have thought more about the order when I uploaded pics.



Ebay box poodle. It looks dirty in the picture, but it's not. My shirts(Black Sabbath and The Teeners) acting as the backdrop look washed out too...they're actually neon green. I suck at photography...and life.



Also From Ebaybox...



...So is this. This is my favorite of all the Ebay box crew(including the non-Dream Pets that are not included here). It's also one of the ones remade in '04, but this one is also an original from 1967. It's name is Hawaiian Hound Dog. The sticker on the surfboard says 'Souvenir of Cypress Gardens, Florida'.



This Tiger was found during the annual US 12 garage sale that stretches from Detroit to Chicago, and usually ends up draining my wallet half way through day one. This guy, however, was a thrifty 25 cents. His tag says he's from 1975, when the quality was really starting to slip.



Honolulu Harry! By far the most expensive Dream Pet in my collection, at a whopping $10. He's also been remade, but this one's from the 60's. He lives on top of my TV.



These are all 2004 remakes that we picked up at Hollywood Mirror in Chicago. HM is always a must stop on trips to Chicago, along with Uncle Fun, Quimby's and Permanent Records, and it's like walking into my brain. They are Tobasco Bull(1970), Billy Goat(1959), Henrien Hippo(1965), and my favorite...Mimi Octopus(1962).



Well, I need to go to bed...It's 5:30 am! I plan on doing an update soon on Dream Pet knock-off Japanese import sawdust toys from the 50's-70's. Yes, I am also shocked that I am heterosexual. Finally, FUCK Beanie Babies!

Here's the promised X-mas edition of Hoarder Of Awesome. I was gonna have a huge blowout post about not only presents given and received over the holidays, but I was gonna show some of my favorite vintage decorations my town puts up every year, as well as show off some of my favorite X-mas items I've obtained over the years...but I'm starting out 2010 just as lazy as I was all last decade...so I present a shortened version of that epic post in my brain.

I found this guy a couple years ago at the local Goodwill, before they started ebaying, shipping to other stores, or tossing in a locked dumpster every vintage item that came in their doors. I have a lot of contempt for Coldwater's Goodwill store these days. Anyway, I picked up this late 50's/early 60's inflatable Santa(that holds air surprisingly well) for a buck. That's another thing about Badwill...they jacked their prices WAY up in the last few years. No way I'd get this thing these days for anything less than $15. Phooey.



My mom gave me this for Christmas. It's by Marx toy company circa 1969. it's got wheels on the bottom. Thanks mom!



The ketchup guy was pretty cool, but I was super stoked when my mom gave me these, that she found recently at an estate sale.



Melanie got me this totally kick ass Quisp action figure. I have a slight obsession with the Jay Ward created cereal mascot, as anyone who has milled through my artwork can tell you. I find it odd though that it comes with his holster, but no ray gun. I guess we live in different times.



Melanie also got me these 60's Halloween masks. I love the Colonel Sanders mask...what kinda weirdo kid wanted to be Colonel Sanders for Halloween(well, I did, but I was a very strange kid...still am)...?!



I bought these for Melanie(and myself too, of course!) the second I saw 'em. We have A LOT of cool atomic lamps, but these are our first matching pair, and I think they are exceptionally fucking killer! We wanna put pink or aqua shades and sputnik toppers from moonshineshades.com when we save up a million billion dollars.



I got these large mid-century wall hangings at the same antique store as the lamps. I couldn't find a box big enough for the big one, so I wrapped the other two and hid the big guy in the basement. These will be in next year's X-mas card, for sure.



I got these from Melanie. I'd had my eyes on 'em at the local antique shop for awhile, but I thought they were way too pricey, like the Gene Shalit collectible plate. I think she talked 'em down a bit. I LOVE them!



I pussyfooted around too long about taking pictures of the vintage decorations downtown, and they took 'em down. I did manage to snap this pic of our giant Santa right before they put him back in storage. He is ENORMOUS. The city spent a shitload on it too. It's a replica of the one Coldwater had built in WWII. Both my parents grew up with it. Then it was destroyed in a fire in the early 80's, and replaced with a sad little 8 feet tall Santa standing on a plywood box painted like a present. Luckily, our city council is reckless with money, so this replacement was hand built and shipped to Coldwater a few years back, even though the city doesn't have enough money to properly plow roads this winter, and they just took out the stoplight at a dangerous intersection because they couldn't afford the power to run it.



Well, I hope all my readers had a good time over the holidays. Stay tuned. I think my next update is gonna be on Sad eye art, squeak toys, or maybe part one of cool lamps.