You are proving many of my peers in the antique business totally wrong. First we heard from them that Ebay would be the death of the sellers’ market, lowering the value of collectibles as more and more items were uploaded for sale. Then came the crash of the Beanie Baby craze – and that we were assured, was the death of all collecting, as many novice collectors/ dealers were caught with vast quantities of the B-B’s, mass produced and declared retired.

The latest pronouncement from the antiques selling community is the lack of collecting by younger folks. That’s because they just want new stuff. Well, gentle readers, collecting is alive and growing and we are here because of your desire to learn and share information on collections, whether new, vintage or antique.

As a youngster I collected sports cards, Cracker Jack trinkets, Hoppy toy guns and a wrist watch, comic books, radio premiums, Lionel trains, and plastic models of cars, airplanes and navy ships. Young girls collected dolls, doll houses full of furniture, stuffed toys, trading cards, 45 records and figurines of dogs and horses. (gee, wish I had my stuff now).

Today my collections are useful or decorative, and sometimes considered over the top. Can you have too many ice buckets? Not me. Sill adding to my Depression glass Modern Tone, cobalt blue dish set? Sure, if the price is right and I don’t have the example already.

I’m accused by friends of having more flatware serving pieces than many good restaurants including a pastry server, cake server, asparagus tongs, sugar cube tongs, olive pincher, grape shears, and cheese shaver. But many were picked up on our antique hunting trips to the South and East coasts and considered souvenirs of those adventures. 

 We ignored each prophecy of the impending collapse of the collecting market, by selling antiques and collectibles on the web, and even with a down economy, collectibles still sell. Collecting is collecting and when the bug bites early, collections grow. So I salute your efforts in hunting for your next addition and hope your plan is to share your finds with the Collectors’ Quest community. And if you do upgrade or switch your collecting direction, you can now take advantage of the new feature on Collectors’ Quest and offer your extra items for sale on the CQ Marketplace. See the tab at the top.

Women Born From 1905 to 1909 Had The Fewest Children

Anyway, I find this snippet (buried on page 63 of the issue dated February 20, 1979), titled “Women Born From 1905 to 1909 Had The Fewest Children.” And it fascinates me.

You know how I love to read about that feminist stuff — or, as some might say, turn everything into feminist stuff. But there’s just the three scant paragraphs. And it’s the National Enquirer for gosh-sake.

So, being in ‘the library’ (yes, that’s a euphemism for the bathroom) and, still pondering the subject of childless women who were born in the early 1900’s, I reach for whatever other reading material might be laying in the magazine rack.

Through what, again, can only be described as the Serendipity Of The Collecting Gods, my hand finds a back issue of The Keynoter, the Journal of the American Political Items Conservators published by the American Political Items Collectors.

On page 42 of that Winter, 2007, issue is an article titled “I Am For Playgrounds” by Steve Baxley. It describes the story behind the William Howard Taft celluloid button bearing the same slogan.

Taft: I Am For Playgrounds

You, like political memorabilia collector Steve Mihaly, might wonder why this would be a political slogan — after all, who could possibly not be for playgrounds?

Baxley explains how back in the 1890’s urban areas were opening play lots where children could play within urban areas. Baxley writes:

Many women involved in the women’s suffrage movement also became involved in the Mother’s and Children’s Movement, which tried to influence state and local legislators to pass legislation protecting women and child laborers and create schools, kindergartens, and playgrounds to keep children off the street. Though these women could not vote, they were very successful in influencing stare and local government officials in achieving these goals. By 1905, many of the larger cities were providing appropriations for the maintenance of playgrounds.

In 1906 the Playground Association of America was founded. President Taft supported the group’s work as well as appropriations for playgrounds; this is where the button comes from.

What’s all this got to do with the low birthrate among women born between 1905 and 1909 — the very girls who would have played on those playgrounds?

I don’t know. Not really.

But the historian in me must make (educated) guesses.

The women born between 1905 and 1909 were the same young girls who grew up during the years of the women’s suffrage movement in the US. They would have seen the struggle, heard the talk, and knew they could have greater freedom of choice in living their lives. They too would see, if not quite be, part of the flapper movement. Activism and parenting being almost completely at odds with one another, some may have opted not to have children — and at this time, birth control, thanks to Margaret Sanger, was becoming a realistic option.

And, just as these young women were perhaps thinking of starting a family…

Along comes The Great Depression — the one of that started about 1929, not the one some say we are approaching now — and the birthrate fell about one-tenth globally from the rate during the “prosperous” 1920’s. In America, the birth rate dropped below the replacement level for the first time in history.

Pretty good guesses, huh.

But then I have all my ephemera to thank for that.  And my ‘library’ time.

I bought myself a case of Series 5 Dunnies. With 25 figures in a case, the figures worked out to cost about $6.50 each, after shipping. I could justify this expense (like I justify most expenses) by telling myself that this was for the love of art, and that I was going to customize and improve any of the figures I didn’t really like. If I was really lucky, I’d score a rare Dunny worth $30, $75, or even $300. Since every figure is blind boxed (as in : you don’t know what you’re getting), you run the very real possibility of pulling a large number of very unappealing figures. And some of them, although ‘designer’, are the very essence of ug.

With the odds of finding each Dunny listed on the side of the package, I knew what I was in for. The odds of finding the Frank Kozik Mechadunny that I really loved were 1/100, the slimmest odds of the whole series. You’d have to buy four full cases to tilt the odds in your favor, and even then there’s no guarantee of the contents of each box. The flocked Kathie Olivas Dunny was roughly 1.5/50, though the box stubbornly refused to reveal its numbers, and the much coveted Huck Gee Dunny was also roughly 1/50. As far as designer toys are concerned, Huck Gee is a complete goldmine.

Nothing to do but open up the case and see what was inside. I don’t know if I can properly explain the exhilaration of a case blind boxed toys. I’ve even bought inexpensive cases of things I didn’t love to get the rush of defeating the odds, completing sets, and a series of 20 or more surprises. It’s genuinely addictive.

When my very first box contained the rare ‘chase’ Huck Gee Dunny, I couldn’t really believe my luck, and then I panicked. Was I accidentally sent one of the erroneously distributed cases that were STUFFED with Huck Gees? This recent debacle had colored the whole ‘Dunny 5’ experience for many collectors.

I opened a second box and was relieved to find that this box indeed had a different Dunny. The next three boxes all had new, interesting figures in them - a cute Amanda Visell elephant, a Reach, and a Mad Barbarians pizzaDunny. So far, so good!

Box number five contained another surprise - the uncommon Kathie Olivas Dunny that I wanted! I have a weakness for flocked toys, having fleeting experiences with a Masters of the Universe Mossman in the mid-90s. Olivas is one of the hotter pop surrealist artists right now, so anything by her is a sure sellout. Box six contained a common Dirty Donny Dunny, but I’d already had some pretty great odds.

Box number six is when the doubles started pouring in - and not even of designs that I liked. TOOFLY, Clutter and Aya Kakedas started overtaking my desk. That initial thrill of new figure after new figure became dulled with that quiet dread of ‘I paid $160 for this?’ That’s always part of the emotional arc of collecting cases of blind-boxed toys : the initial excitement, the disappointment at a mass of doubles, and by the end, things perk up as your collection fills out and a sense of completion warms the scene. Still, after a dozen cases of Heroclix and way too many gashapon, I’m never prepared. At least I could use these doubles to make my OWN Dunny designs and further infiltrate the custom toy world.

A few more boxes in and I found the rare 1/50 Jellymon Dunny, which existed in only 50% of all cases, and was WAY too ugly to keep. The Steve Harrington I wanted showed up in the 22nd box, another rare Huck Gee showed up in box number 23, and with two boxes left, I still had no Mechadunny.

Box 24 was a decent JK5 that was destined for the scrap pile. Box 25, glorious box 25, had my much-coveted Mechadunny, grand in its mechanical, spiked rabbit form. I had a pretty lucky case, even if I missed out on the common Devilrobots Dunny, and the rare Junko Mizuno. Otherwise, my collection was technically complete. I didn’t plan on keeping them all together, honestly, because I was genuinely in it for things I liked - even if completed Dunny sets can retail for hundreds of dollars.

I went onto the Kidrobot forums to talk about the case ratios, and I was almost immediately hit with messages asking for my extra figures - notably, the Jellymon and Huck Gee. By the end of it, 5 of my undesirables were traded away for eleven more Dunnies that I could use as art fodder, so even that ugly Jellymon served its purpose. If times every get really hard, there’s always that $75 Mechadunny to fall back on. You can love something for how cool it looks, but that doesn’t preclude that you need a new muffler.

So, collecting my first case of Dunnies was a rewarding experience, and I immediately started in on turning three of them into better things. Anything that eventually becomes art is inherently priceless to me anyhow.

Here is another addition to my growing “Wish List”: a piece of Steuben Glass! I wrote not too long ago about Lalique and still continue to admire the work and hope to someday own an example. Steuben is another glass maker of the highest quality. Their commonality is that they are both top-notch American glass makers. Only these two makers were included in the 1936 exhibition by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. That really tells you something about them!

Steuben was founded in 1903 by Fredrick C. Carder and Thomas G. Hawkes in Corning, New York. Hawkes was already very well-respected as the owner of a large, successful cut glass firm, located in Corning. Carder was from England and held the position of designer for Stevens and Williams. Because he had been passed over for a promotion, Carder agreed to come to the US and manage Hawkes’ Steuben factory. Carder’s great love was colored glass and he continued the experiments that he had started in England. He is given credit for perfecting Gold Aurene, similar to the iridescent art glass that Tiffany was making. They continued to make colored art glass that eventually was produced in over 7,000 shapes and 140 colors. This all ended at the start of World War I due to restrictions on materials. The company was then sold to Corning Glass Works, becoming the Steuben Division.

The depression and decreased desire for colored glass brought about a lot of management changes in 1932. John MacKay was appointed to Carder’s position and Carder became Art Director. Another change, in 1933, was the appointment of Arthur Houghton Jr. as President. A newly formulated glass was developed and the designers incorporated Art Deco and modernistic themes into their glassware.

Steuben has received tremendous recognition since 1934. Numerous exhibitions at leading art galleries and museums through the United States and Europe, the Gold Medal of the Paris Exhibition of 1937, and examples in leading museums, both in the US and elsewhere, are among their achievements. I have read that Steuben crystal was considered to be “the clearest and most transparent material produced by man and more free from flaws and imperfections than any glass produced.”   When you view the marvelous examples by designers such as George Thompson, for example the “heavy bowl on cut foot”, you can truly appreciate that statement.

Other designers included Kiki Smith, Peter Aldridge, Lloyd Atkins, David Dowler, Dante Marioni, Ted Muehling, Robert Cassetti, James Houston, Paul Schulze, Sidney Waugh and others.

Engraved glass is definitely my all-time favorite. And Sidney Waugh was the best known and most experienced American designer. The Zodiac was a popular subject as were commemorative pieces reflecting incidents in American history. Many of his pieces are now in permanent collections of museums, in the U.S. and Europe. So much for my chance of getting any! But I will continue my searching, you just never know what will turn up at the next estate sale, auction or antique mall.

Hawaii’s first modern government was established in the early 19th century, but it wasn’t until 1847 that they established a modern treasury and issued currency.   Prior to this time, the native currency of traders and visiting ships was used, and the local economy was so small it was not difficult to trade in foreign money.   As the economy and population grew, it became more difficult to exchange disparate monies, so a new, local money was established. The 1847 Kamehameha penny was the first coin issued by the Hawaiian government.  The penny was just the smallest denomination, with one “dala” (or dollar) was the largest, and several coins in between paralelling the structure and value of the U.S. dollar of the time, and all were minted in copper.   These coins were produced in small numbers, just enough for the small population on the island, by a private U.S. mint known for producing Hard Times tokens. The public didn’t completely take to the money, so the local banks had plenty to use, and no more coins were produced until the reign of King Kalakaua.

King Kalakaua was much more a product of Victorian times than his predecessors, and wished to make Hawaii a power in the South Pacific.  He increased trade with the United States, bringing more income to his small nation, and as such needed new money to improve his country’s economy.  The old coins were eliminated from circulation, and a new set of money was commissioned.

The U.S. Mint (as it still does today for other countries) produced this new coinage for Hawaii, and in 1883 they came up with Hawaii’s four requested coins: 1 dollar, 1/2 dollar, 1/4 dollar, and 1/8 dollar.  The first three matched U.S. coins of the same size and value, but the 1/8 dollar was a sticking point.   Coming up with a custom coin size would require a significant amount of mint re-working and new planchettes just for Hawaii, so a compromise was made:  Hawaii would have a dime instead.   While the 1/8 Dollar never reached regular circulation, in 1884 20 ‘proof’ sets of Hawaiian currency were produced by the Mint in Philadelphia…and the 1/8 dollar was included.    These 1/8th dollar coins are the most rare coin from Hawaii’s kingdom age, nearly impossible to find aside from private collections.    Pre-1880s coins are also extremely rare, due to their destruction and unlikeliness of leaving the islands at the time.   The Kamehameha pennies were slightly more common, because the lack of a penny denomination in the Kalakua era meant some people still circulated the old pennies for making change between the dime and the quarter-dollar coins.  Larger denominations were also produced as paper currency, up to a $500 bill, in the allegorical style of most Western Hemisphere money of the time.

In 1898, Hawaii officially became a territory of the  United States, and eventually the U.S. dollar supplanted their local currency.   Because the Hawaiian dollar was already based on U.S. dollar parity, it required no significant effort.   This wasn’t the end of special Hawaiian money, though.    In anticipation of World War II spreading throughout the South Pacific, the U.S. Treasury came up with a plan to avoid inadvertently financing Japan’s war.   Money distributed to Hawaiian banks was stamped with the word “HAWAII” on the front and back.    As long as Hawaii remained under U.S. control, those dollars would be the equivalent of a regular U.S. dollar, but if Japan were to invade and take over Hawaii, raiding their banks for funds, the Hawaii-stamped dollars would become as valuable as Monopoly dollars.  Thankfully, that day never came, but money stamped “Hawaii” remained in circulation for a short amount of time, a few returning in the pockets of sailors and soldiers stationed in the South Pacific.  These do not appear to have been minted specifically for Hawaii, but were stamps added to regular-circulation dollars in preparation for shipment to Hawaii, and most are of the 1934 and 1935 varieties.    As these eventually went back to the treasury and were destroyed, few still exist today.   While they can be relatively easy to find, they do demand a significant premium, $10-$50 depending on denomination and condition, and appeal to both numismatists and WWII collectors.

‘Mugen’ means ‘infinite’ or ‘endless’ in Japanese - and these Mugen keychains are meant to simulate a certain feeling or experience infinitely,  usually focusing on experiences that are exhausted after one use : tearing open a new toy package (Mugen Peri Peri), popping soy beans out of their pods (Mugen Edamame), and now, popping bubble wrap with Mugen Pop Pop, which has recently entered the states via Bandai.

Of course, popping bubble wrap is something that translates to most cultures, whereas popping open soybeans isn’t something that the US does on a regular basis (though I do suggest going to your local Japanese eatery, ordering a plate of steaming edamame and trying it out!). The real question is this : is infinite bubble wrap worth $6, and does it suitably simulate bubble wrap, and does it warrant precious keychain real estate? I know that my PVC Batman mini-figure is looking fairly ragged, but I have no plans on evicting him until his thin little plastic arm gives way.

Mugen Pop Pop comes in four colors, and each has eight buttons across its face. These are pressed, and they make a clicking noise, and respond with that visceral little bubble-wrap-like ‘pop’. This has led me to analyze exactly what is it about the experience of popping bubble wrap that makes it enjoyable, and why that differs from the unique experience of this toy. Is is the louder sound of bubble wrap, or is it the very fact that bubble wrap remains defeated after it deflates, and doesn’t fight its way back into fullness?

One would also think that the general experience of a well-executed bubble wrap simulacrum would be enough, but this bubble wrap is battery powered. Two tiny batteries rest in its back, right neat a small speaker, and emit this quiet digital popping noise reminiscent of an 8-bit video game. Every 100 ‘pops’, the device also emits one of five or six alternate noises - a hiccup, a bark, a flatulent noise, and so on. If we’re going to digitize popping, we might as well add little animal noises and Hilary Duff song clips and hell, why not a button that shoots vanilla pudding at your face? That’s what bubble wrap is all about, right?

Most telling, though, is that after I put it down, I actually and genuinely picked it up again subconsciously and started popping away without realizing it - until the spell was broken by what sounded like a little digi-cat meowing at me from my hands. Popping during commercials, popping between writing paragraphs as I ponder my next hilarious and cutting observation - it’s unstoppable, and it’s a perfect little bizarre stocking stuffer, and I have little doubt that it’ll infectiously spread through the keychain owning population, and on into the younger generations who don’t have any use for keys just yet as well.

I missed Wall-E in the theaters because I’m a lonely hermit who’s too embittered against love sub-plots to avoid them even when they involve robots, but catching the movie on DVD was possibly even better - because I didn’t have to get into a toxic-emission-pumping car to drive home afterwards, or walk through a cloud of shame for having driven to the theater in the first place. While I’m not here to discuss the movie itself, it was a moving experience. You know you’re watching great animation when you find yourself ‘what a great movie!’ instead of ‘what a great cartoon!’ My natural predilection for robots aside, I completely dug the movie.

The DVD comes in a few formats, including Blu-Ray (a format which I’m not completely sold on just yet), a single-disc Standard Edition, and a 3-disc Special Edition. The copy that I happened to get was the 3-disc edition, which seems to be the best deal of all the varying editions. It comes packaged in eco-friendly cardboard packaging, with ‘drawers’ of a sort that slide out from either side of the DVD case - and given the theme of the film, eco-friendly packaging was the only thing that Disney and Pixar could do without being completely hypocritical.

There is one gigantic, explosive irony in the general distribution of the DVD, however. Without playing too much of a spoiler, there’s a certain sub-theme of the film that deals with the future-peoples’ collective lives being simultaneously dulled and overwhelmed by little portable screens that forever hover in front of their faces, obscuring the beauty and excitement of real life. The irony enters the picture with the inclusion of the extraneous third disc included in this set : a Disney File Digital Copy of the disc, specifically made to copy onto your iPod or mini video device. A little, portable screen that you can carry around to immerse yourself in instead of the real world.

Instead of saving plastic and practicing what the film preaches about breaking away from the screen, Digital Rights Management rears its ugly, wasteful head and demands that plastic be used for a third disc, instead of figuring out a less wasteful method, or just, like, dealing with it. Movie thieves are going to get around your DRM on the main DVDs anyhow, and I understand that it seriously sucks, but you have to appreciate the biting irony of the whole situation.

Aside from that, the DVDs are stuffed full of a crazy number of worthwhile extras.

Five of these extras are deleted scenes - two are half-rendered bits that change story pacing a little, and three aren’t scenes so much as animated storyboard sketches. There are also two complete short films included - one happening within the Wall-E universe as the main story is also happening, and one theatrical short called ‘Presto’. Pixar’s tradition of including a bonus short film before all of their features is one that I always forget about before the movie starts, and always love - but much to my disappointment, Pixar seems to have dropped the ‘blooper reel’ that they used to include with their film credits.

Of course, there’s director commentary, as well as some stuff about sound design and ‘Wall-E’s Tour of the Universe’. Disc 2’s main feature is a long documentary called ‘The Pixar Story’ by Leslie Iwerks (granddaughter of Ub Iwerks, the real designer behind Mickey Mouse), which is essentially a history of Disney through the late 1970s and branches off into Pixar upon its formation. It includes a lot of early home video footage inside the Disney studios, shot by friends and excited animators, so it’s a beautiful and rare look inside the world’s most important animation studio. For anyone who takes animation seriously, this is a must see (in addition to the documentary included on DC Super Heroes : The Filmation Adventures DVD). Also notable are 5 short how-to and informational videos from the future, and the disc is rounded out with Making-Of features, info about various robots & a minigame. It’s really stuffed full of every possible extra, and the documentary makes it truly invaluable.

The DVD arrives on shelves on November 18th. It’s a hopeful message for the future of a planet in flux, it’s visually breathtaking, and it’s very charming without ever becoming sappy. I’m in love with robots all over again.

Glassware, pottery, jewelry, paintings and other art forms evolve over time with avant garde today, passe tomorrow, but adding to the date-ability. Post card styles and processes become easily identifiable after studying dated examples.

Price guides {found at brick and mortar and on line stores} help to date items with time lines of the maker’s mark used. Country names change, Germany, Western Germany, West Germany and back to Germany. Occupied Japan is a favorite labeling for many figurine collectors, used from the end of the war until 1952, Nippon is older than Made in Japan.

Let’s look at other clues for age recognition that will help date lots of vintage items. First off, many items of a mechanical nature were stamped, printed or had a patent date or number cast onto the product. US patent #1 was issued in 1836 to protect the inventor from copycat product. By 1911 one million patents were issued. The two million mark was reached in 1935 and it only took till 1961 to pass three million. Design patents started in 1843 with D1.

Photographs in my collection are easy to date, many just by the dress of the subject, items or places in the background. Here I also have a Web site to help. Classy Image

Packaging, which adds greatly to the value of many products and often is a collectible unto itself, may also provide dating clues. The name of a manufacturer can be traced to a set time line, and the address is also helpful. In 1943 a two digit postal code was added to addresses in larger cities, (for example, Milwaukee 10 Wis.) and in 1963 Postmaster General John Gronouski promoted the five digit ZIP code at a conference in Annapolis, Maryland. The Zip + 4 was introduced in 1983.

The next addition to package dating is the UPC code, now found on everything from pencils to railroad cars. First patented in 1952 the product code was a circular pattern of  concentric circles of varying widths created by Bernard Silver and fellow college student Joe Woodland, at Drexel Institute, from a request by a grocery store owner looking for a quick price recognition system at the check out counter. The first commercial use didn’t occur till 1966 with the first bar code scan of a package of Wrigley Gum. It became an industry standard in 1973.

The traditional abbreviations {Wis., ILL. Conn.}, were amended to a two letter system by the US postal Service in 1987.

Phone numbers from small towns advertising items I have sold (Drug Store Labels) had one or two digit phone numbers. In larger cities a telephone exchange location would be named and the first two letters acted as the Alpha prefix followed by four and later five numbers. (MI tichell 1000). New York had used the two alpha - five digit dialing system starting in the 1930, with others adapting to five numbers in 1950. Most but not all phone systems adapted the number only dial system with some merchants continuing to prefix the five numbers with the older letters in their advertising well into the 1970s.

Some items are best left to an appraisal expert if you’re not sure of an item’s age or can’t confirm its provenance. Furniture styles are reintroduced as demand for a style is revived. Paintings need an expert to confirm age and authenticity.

And with all collections, new or old, it’s the hunting for and the display of, your trophy items that makes collecting fun.

Elected in 1836,  Van Buren caught the brunt of the banking changes instituted by Jackson, as we learned with the last coin.   Andrew Jackson was opposed to a national banking system, government control over banks, and a national Mint.  This laissez faire attitude toward the young country’s finances resulted in the Panic of 1837, just a few months after Van Buren took office.  Jackson promoted transactions in ’specie’, or actual precious metals, but the lack of government oversight meant banks were underfunded for the currency they issued, and the process encouraged people to hoard precious metals for when the Real Crash happens.   Business-owners, threatened by a lack of currency and unable to secure reliable financing, combined their political complaints with their monetary needs and supported the minting of Hard Times Tokens.

Because Van Buren was a supporter of Jackson — going so far as to state his intent to follow in Jackson’s footprints during his inaguration — Van Buren was a solid target for people’s resentment due to the failing economy.   The Hard Times tokens were minted in cheap copper and bronze blends by private businesses and infividuals, and enthusiastically decorated with political satire of all kinds.   Van Buren’s face didn’t adorn many (if any)  of these tokens, although caricatures of Jackson were quite common.   Mostly, Van Buren was mentioned as Bad Things To Come, represented by things such as the ship “Experiment” seen to the left, breaking up in stormy seas, representing the attempt to do without banks, despite the lack of previous evidence that it works.    Van Buren’s inauguration statement, “I follow in the footsteps of my illustrious predecessor” stuck with him — but were combined with a picture of a jackass to show just what his opponents thought of him.   That donkey, originally used as a visual ersatz Andrew Jackson, eventually became the way the public saw the Democrat party, and was revised to be a donkey for today’s Democrat logo.  These Hard Times Tokens were some of the first lasting representations of the Democrats as a donkey.

These tokens weren’t exactly currency, although some businesses accepted them in lieu of actual monies, seeing that due to the bank’s actions and Jackson’s opposition to federal currency these Hard Times tokens had just about as much monetary value as the so-called ‘real thing’.  Mostly, they were passed around like political buttons today, demonstrating political affiliation and making a statement against the government at the time.    They fall under the same umbrella of collectors called ‘exonumia‘, or the collecting of coins that were never legal tender.    As far as the age and time period of these coins, more of these survived than one might think due to their novelty and connection to personal beliefs.    They also are a bit cheaper than pennies of the same area, and are often in a bit better shape because they had not been passed around as much as the currency of the time.  Be careful, though:  true ‘Hard Times’ tokens hail from this specific time period of the mid-1830s to very early 1840s, from just before to just after Van Buren’s presidency, although people will use the term as a way to hook some keyword searchers.   Uninformed or truth-flexing sellers could actually be selling later private-minted tokens unrelated to Van Buren’s “Hard Times”, or coin-like medals with a hole drilled in the top that were popular during presidential elections, but were not exactly used as tokens or currency.

While today’s new Presidential Dollar is the first real currency to bear Van Buren’s name, it won’t be the last.   Van Buren served his presidency without a wife, so his corresponding First Spouse $10 coin, to be released on November 26th,  will have the generic “Liberty” front.   The reverse, however, will have a nicely-carved relief of a young Van Buren reading a book, sitting beneath a tree.  This coin, unlike his presidential dollar, is minted in 1/2 ounce of pure gold — a fitting coin for a president who believed a country’s money should be minted in precious metals.  It only took 170 years to get there.

For the collection-minded, many of these original toys unfortunately fly under a larger radar while they still sell out to dedicated fans, and will later escalate in value as the rest of the world becomes aware of ‘em.

As I started adding smaller production toys and original toy customs to my collection, I came across the works of Onell Design. Not only are they robot-ish, but a variety of them are translucent, have interchangeable parts, and hearken back to the very earliest of my formative days, playing with those amazing little Micronauts, intermingled with the family’s collective Star Wars figures. The Onell figures walk the always interesting line between ‘art toy’ and ‘action figure’, sharing both aesthetics, but also completely durable, playable, and having about 12 points of articulation.

Onell was gracious enough to help me add a small army of these polybagged and boxed guys to my ever-expanding army of small-scale warriors - each with a name and a purpose in some larger intergalactic story. The 3” Pheyden and Excellis figures are similar in form, but feature different torsos and heads. Between the two forms, there are many colorways of each, and the joints are uniform, so pop-and-switching is exceptionally easy, creating a uniquely decorated warrior to your choosing. Every joint, even the mid-torso joint can be easily exchanged - a feature that not only adds immensely to play value, but surely makes production a little bit simpler.

Some of these figures include extra heads, leg armor, or arms. These designer figures sell for $8 each.

Standing at about 1” tall are the Crayboth. These were the guys that originally caught my eye for their passing resemblance to crabs, or some other exoskeletoned marvel of the deep. These are available in 2-packs for a very inexpensive $6, and currently exist in ten different colorways (including glow-in-the-dark). Even cooler is the fact that these tiny guys can switch out parts with the larger figures, so the possibilities for customizing are endless. Onell is on to great things, even contributing a piece to the recent Suckadelic designer toy show.

There seems to be updates to their blog every few days, showing off a new arrangement of figure parts, or displaying a new product, so check out what they have to offer, and check out my mini-gallery of their figures here in the Community.

Bow Ties Gifts

I remember one of my first shopping experiences as a young girl. I was with my Aunt Molly and we were looking for a ’special present’ for dad’s birthday. I knew exactly what I wanted to buy him – a bow tie! He had worn one to my cousin’s wedding and I thought he looked so elegant! We went to a local department store and they had a big selection and it took quite a while. Aunt Molly was very patient, understanding this was important to me. I settled on a red one with blue polka-dots.

When he opened it I remember he was very happy! “Oh, just what I need” he exclaimed. He wore it the very next night to go bowling with his buddies. Looking back, I am sure he was a real hit at the alley! My dad was a blue-collar guy, very down to earth, so wearing a tie with his bowling shirt was just for ‘his girl.’ In fact, I bought him one for Christmas and his next birthday too. Then one day we went to a relative’s house. They had recently moved and dad asked mom to get the map out of the glove compartment. When she opened it, I looked inside and saw the three bow ties. I wondered why they’d be in the car. Not too much later, I understood. He was wearing them out of the house for me, and then putting them in there when he got to his destination. At first I was a little hurt, but when he explained that he wanted to make me happy, we laughed about it and I promised to never buy another bow tie for him, since he had a good supply and a small glove compartment!

Tie Bars Clasps, Advertising

I imagine that’s how men got a lot of their cufflinks and tie bars as well. While French cuffs on shirts were popular for quite a while, you could still only wear one set at a time, and a lot of little girls were buying 2 or 3 sets a year for their daddies. They have come back into popularity, or so it seems, since I do sell a number of pairs. And there are just so many variations on them. Some have company names, maybe given to a loyal employee as a reward for years of service.

Sport & Hobby Cufflinks

Others have initials or monograms. Some are hobby or sports-related, perhaps with a bowling ball, old car rifle, or team-logo. Of course, I am not forgetting the truly elegant cufflinks from the early part of the last century. These were often of 12K gold, or sterling silver, and with beautiful designs. Those are harder to find and the recent high price for precious metals has probably led to lots being sold for their cash value.

Letter "H" Cuff Links

Some cufflinks came as a set, having a tie bar that matched, or studs for the collar or lapel. Once again, harder to locate a full set. Perhaps one of the studs went missing, or the tie bar was kept as practical, but not the cufflinks themselves once the ’special shirt’ was no longer used.

I still like to think of the ‘good old days’ when men always wore a suit and tie, whether it was a silly bow-tie like my dad’s or a classy silk one, with a pocket handkerchief that matched it. When we dine out, hubby is often the only one in the group with a tie, and then it’s with a sport coat. Call me old-fashioned, but I think men’s accessories are wonderful. They can really make the man! But, wait, a good friend who is in a managerial position in Chicago, often wears cufflinks with HER shirts, so I should stop thinking of them as a masculine accessory. Whether you continue to wear them or simply display with your collection, they are often easy to find and reasonably priced – happy hunting!

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It’s So Easy

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Happy Hunting,

Liz

The Statehood Quarter program started out as an idea from the Citizens Commemorative Coin Advisory Committee (now the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, in true bureaucratic fashion) in the early 1990s.   The Mint had been producing commemorative and collectible coins for many years, with custom coins commemorating the moon landing and the bicentennial being the most visible coins to make circulation.   The Committee wanted to move forward with a long-term, elaborate coin release for all 50 states, but the scope and cost of such a program seemed unmountable by some.    Momentum built with support of both the House and Senate, and the bill authorizing the monumentous program was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on 1 December 1997.   In just over a year, Delaware’s state quarter would be released, finding its way into Commemorative Quarter Folders, piggy banks, and soda machines all across the United States of American.

The general public has also been enormously proactive in collecting the quarters:  nearly half of the U.S. population has kept them as collectibles.   Through the arbitrage between the currency market versus the collectibles market, each quarter held as a collectible is a twenty-two cent profit for the U.S. Government, meaning billions have been saved by the Mint’s action in making this collectible series.   The numerous variety of collectible quarters has also helped produce a new generation of numismatists in kids who have grown up with a decade of watching their pockets for the missing member of their collection — and setting them in motion with the ongoing US Presidential Dollar series and a variety of other commemorative coins like last year’s Jefferson Nickel variations and next year’s Lincoln Penny variations.   An accounting windfall isn’t the only way that these statehood quarters have had a place in our economy:  the collector’s market has used the quarter as a basis for their own profit-making, such as the identification and sale of minting errors.  Creating a collectible series of legal-tender coins has produced a ten-year span that has benefitted coin dealers, collectors, and the government itself.

The new Hawaii quarter, however, has a short-term profit to those who have it:  the opportunity to fill in that last free ‘hole’ in the Statehood Quarter folder.  Having a complete collection provides the profit of satisfaction, knowing that you’re done and you have every single one.   I’m sure most people are like me, and still have a number of open holes for a few states that have still slipped through your fingers.   Eventually they’ll be filled, but coming up next year, there will be something new.   In 2007, long after most of us had started our quarter collection, the U.S. Mint decided to add another 6 coins at the end, representing Washington D.C. and 5 other U.S. Territories.   The ending of the U.S. State Quarter series should not be a sign that you’re done collecting — the U.S. Mint has demonstrated it will continue to give coin collectors new designs to work with for many years to come.

For just $5 of that $20 I get me a nice old box of ephemera. The stuff of other people’s travels, everything from travel books & maps to unsent souvenir postcards and — believe it or not — table toppers proclaiming the drink minimums, but not the location.

Retro Drink Minimum Table Topper

These people saved everything, and I love them for it.

Here are a few of my favorite finds so far — I’m sure there will be even better gems once I slow down and really look at everything. (You can keep up with my sorting by watching my collection here.)

Unsent postcards from Harrah’s in Reno, publicity for TV’s “F Troop” in the Headliner Room:

F Troop Postcard

The airline flight instruction card from TWA’s Convair 880 jet:

TWA Laminated Flight Card

There were many copies of a brochure for Cleveland’s Terminal Tower Observatory — I dig this one for the arrow, presumably to illustrate to friends just how high they went in the tower:

Terminal Tower Observatory Brochure Marked With Arrow

The daily dinner menu from the Prince of Wales Hotel, 1962. Mmmm, the cold buffet features Ox Tongue.

1962 Prince Of Wales Hotel Menu

Even if I could to afford to travel like these people, I’d never see what they saw. The places, logos and times have changed. In some cases they’re long gone. But since they saved all this ephemera, I can see it just as it was. It’s almost like traveling in a way… Of course, this way I don’t need to watch other people eat cold ox tongue. That’s a bonus.

My love affair

I’ve told the story here before : Futurama gets canceled because of grievous mishandling by FOX, and many years later, fan fervor causes it to be resurrected in the form of four direct-to-DVD animated movies (which eventually make their way to Comedy Central). This week marks the release of the third DVD movie, and like the others, it includes the full original voice cast and almost all of the original creative team that made the show so great the first time ‘round. The fate of the show is still uncertain after the release of the fourth DVD, but us Futurama nerds are really, really hopeful. There are way too many creative possibilities, aliens to meet, and scientific theories to eviscerate to stop making the show now.

The most recent DVD, Bender’s Game (a reference to Orson Scott Card’s classic science fiction story, Ender’s Game), continues to live up to the standard that Futurama has defined for clever space adventure animation. One of the prerequisites for bringing the show back was that each DVD movie would have to be easily divisible into four full-length TV episodes which weren’t too reliant upon the events of the other episodes, and somehow, I found it impossible to see where the seams might be. That right there is the definition of smart writing.

Without going into too much plot summary, the first 44 minutes are spent in the Futurama world as we know it, as the world faces a fuel crisis not unlike our own, while in a subplot, Bender tries desperately to discover his imagination. Around the 44 minute mark, the two plots merge and some science-magic happens (which almost definitely has some actual science counterpart, as most Futurama events do) and the whole Planet Express crew is transported into a Dungeons and Dragons / Lord of the Rings parodyverse of Bender’s subconscious design. Whether or not this is a thin premise doesn’t concern me, because I’m watching new Futurama stuff, and shut up. The whole thing ties up nicely, with a startling character-revelation retcon as only Futurama can write.

The DVD is stuffed with extra features, my favorite being the Genetics Lab, which is a simple little DVD game in which you select two Futurama Characters (out of six) and merge their DNA, resulting in a displayed image of just what the concoction would look like. I can’t articulate why, but it amused me to no end. A bizarre Fry / Bender combination named ‘Friender’ shouldn’t have tickled me in so many places. Seriously. I’m calling the authorities.

The movie commentary, as always, is great stuff - Billy West and John DiMaggio just bein’ themselves is endlessly listenable. There’s a short documentar-ette about Futurama’s past D&D references (including a very notable episode in which D&D creator Gary Gygax provided a voice as himself), some sarcastic ‘how to draw’ lessons, only one deleted scene, and a scant two minutes of watching the voice actors do their thing behind the mic. All of you DVD extra creators, hear this : more voice acting footage.

Of course, this is an essential part of any Futurama collection, and very directly complements the existing episodes, and it made me laugh. The DVD was packaged, and created, with carbon neutral standards, so while you’re enjoying your ‘toons, you can also rest easy knowing that they didn’t shorten the planet’s lifespan. You know, as long as your TV isn’t somehow powered by a V6 engine and orca blood.

Our plan for the coming year includes hunting adventures to some of our favorite haunts within a day trip from home, and hopefully taking several days to travel to some we have not ventured into. And that’s where I’m asking for your help, to give me some ideas on where to find the best places you have found on your own travels or in your own area.

I’d like to go through Indiana east to Ohio, visit the Rock and Roll Museum in Cleveland, then shop for collectibles on the return trip back to Wisconsin, stopping at the Heart of Ohio Mall, and maybe getting down to Louisville. Another thought included the North Eastern states, since it’s been far too long since we combined antique hunting and lobster eating. And naturally Florida is our normal fall trip.

The type of store or mall we look for need not be on the beaten path, just off a freeway. Those locations are usually found with billboards near an exit, but please include them in your replies if you find them to be a worthwhile stop.

To meet my criteria the place must have a good mix of antiques and collectibles. Staff in good stores are attentive, friendly and helpful, readily opening cases and pointing to like items that may interest us. Booths should be clean and clutter free. Stock rotated so that price tags are not faded to the point wjere it’s not readable. Management should limit items to a certain age or if a mall has newer decorative collectibles or reproductions they should be identified as such and taking a minimum of total space, in separate booths.

Recently we made a visit into Northern Illinois, I had some business in Rockford for my real job and dropped Wifey at the newly reopened “Antiques On East State” (5411 E. State, 815-229-4004) just west of I-90 at State Street exit. This mall and its sister store had closed a while back and had been a favorite for many years attracting customers from great distances. We’re glad to see this one reopen.

After my business meeting and a quick lunch,we headed to another of our favorites, a location we first visited a few years ago and have been back to many times. Wifey said I had not mentioned this location, and wondered if I was trying to keep it as my secret.

The Roscoe Antique Mall located in South Beloit, Illinois is just south of the Wisconsin border, on State Hwy. 75 west of I-90 Exit #1.

We were warmly greeted by owner Gaylene, pictured on the left with staffers Jerry and Bert, at the checkout counter. They helped us find some interesting items, opening locked cases to closely inspect pieces of interest. And boy were they kept busy as we both found so many great treasures.  Of course we can’t buy everything we see, but it’s educational inspecting antiques and understanding their value in today’s market.

The whole mall meets the requirement for our “A” list, and let me just point out some special booths that caught my interest. Kitsch was the theme in this booth, and while not in our current decorating scheme, I like the look. Antique hanging lamps featured near the check-out area. A Masonic goat used in initiation Ceremonies, everyone needs one of these, sits near the checkout counter in an area of many interesting finds.  And other antiques oddities included dental equipment. But that’s what you expect to see in a 20,000 square foot mall with over 100 dealers, with management that only allows items that predate the 1970s, to insure fine items for every collector, every taste, every décor or for the investor looking for a safe investment.

Now I must show you this three chair antique, from a fraternal group and my favorite place to sit while hearing the amount of Wifie’s purchases.

These slips are powerful little bits of international diplomacy: You purchase an IRC from your local post office, who postmarks the form, then gives it to you.    When you mail your friend in London, you enclose an IRC, which they then present to their post office in exchange for the correct postage.  This allows someone at the other end of the world to mail something to you internationally, without bearing the cost of postage.

As with most postal collectibles, there are two major aspects to desirability of these IRCs:   Age and Country of Origin.  While an IRC from your local post office might be a novel addition to a collection, collecting IRCs from other countries has a far greater scope than your hometown.    Getting an IRC from another country is the difficult part, which accounts for their somewhat rarity:  You need to get a local resident of that country to send one to you.   This happens casually in other hobbies, such as QSL trading among Ham Radio operators (another CQ article in itself), or even philatelic trading groups who exchange local stamps with other international hobbyists.  These IRCs will, of course, only have one single postmark, even though there are two blanks.   The second blank is for your local country’s postmark, validating the return postage, but once the local postmark is added the IRC is traded for stamps and the post office keeps the IRC.   As such, an IRC with two postmarks is probably quite rare - in my brief research, I found no examples with two stamps.

Throughout the life of the International Reply Coupon, the design of the Coupon has had only a single design at any one time, although the design has changed progressively over the years and languages varied in some versions within the same style.    The earliest design had an allegory of international communication, a woman passing an envelope around two stylized globes.    Today’s design, newly revised for the centennial of the IRC, returned to an allegorical design using two hands (a detail of the Creation, from the Sistine Chapel) in front of an outline of a postage stamp.   Other versions existed between the two, with varying degrees of ornament and bureaucracy.    The particular forms were printed in enormous numbers and distributed to the four corners of the globe, and largely serve for identifying the time period they were issued in.    The first day the IRCs were issued was October 1st, 1907, and IRCs with that stamp are quite rare because they were only issued in very few post offices.  As not every post office is able to issue an IRC, you cannot expect to find them from every city or postal code, but every UPU country has the ability to issue them — how often these were purchased and remain unredeemed is nearly impossible to determine, so great diligence is needed to identify examples you need for your collection.   Another variance in IRCs occurred when postal rates occurred within a country.   Just as when you had to add a three-cent stamp to get your local mail delivered, IRCs purchased within certain time periods may have both a postmark and an additional postage stamp attached to cover the difference in postage.   Despite their general rarity, there is not a lot of demand for them as this is an overlooked collectible for the most part.   Good examples dating back even to the 1930s can be had for under $10, while the earliest of them can go for hundreds of dollars.

Nothing about sports escapes toymaker Todd McFarlane, though. In addition to helming the most revolutionary action figure company of our time, McFarlane is also a sports paraphernalia collector. Most notably, he’s the proud owner of Mark McGwire’s $3 million 70th home run ball, which he parades around mercilessly. McFarlane Toys has based numerous series of figures around various sports personalities also, spanning Hockey, Football, Basketball and Baseball - all displayed in dynamic action poses, and sculpted with stunning accuracy.

Because these figures are based on real people with real lives and team changes, they naturally lend themselves to outfit variations. Hey - if the jocks can call my action figures ‘dolls’, I can call their matching uniforms ‘outfits’. I’ll also be renaming the traditional football ‘tackle’. From now on, it’s called a ‘fancy power hug’.

By way of example, while there might be a huge number of Brett Favre figures in his usual Green Bay Packers uniform, McFarlane would also hypothetically release a Favre in his new Jets outfit also. The same goes for variations in home and away colors, as well changes in team numbers, and changes that occur to team uniforms over time. While it’s impossible to cover all of the bases, no pun intended, these figures that represent the occasional variation in uniform are very sought after by collectors, and when you combine the fervor of sports fans and the awkward passion of toy collectors like myself, you get a frightening level of excitement.

McFarlane has just announced a second Babe Ruth figure, to be released in their 6th Cooperstown Legends line. Two versions will be released : one in his Red Sox uniform, and one in his Yankees uniform. While almost all of these Yankees Ruth figures will represent one appearance of Babe Ruth, McFarlane is producing five Ruths that are different. Just five, for the whole world - and two of these are going to be stored away in the McFarlane archives. So, out there on some mysterious toy shelf somewhere, you might find the rarest action figure ever ‘mass produced’. Keep an eye out for a dark blue Yankees hat, and the package itself will be sealed with blue tape along the back.

Previously, McFarlane had released a variation of Jets player Teemu Selanne. While most of his figures featured his usual number ‘8’, 13 limited figures were released that featured his rookie number ‘13’ - and the secondary market price exploded up to $8500, so even if you’re not a sports fan, keep an eye peeled for ol’ Babe Ruth in a dark blue hat.

Our oldest granddaughter is eligible to vote for the first time in today’s Presidential Election. My husband and I have encouraged her, as did her parents, to read as much as she can and study the candidate’s platforms before she makes her decision. And of course, we all have impressed upon her the need to go to the election site in her area and cast her ballot.

When I last talked with her, she said she has every intention of voting. Although she stated that it can be tough because of her school work and her involvement in an upcoming class play. I asked “Is that an inconvenience?” She replied “I suppose a little.” But she insisted she’d get to the polls, so I did not have to play the ‘grandma card’ and explain what women before her had to go through to get to this point.

The Women’s Suffrage Movement was run mostly by working-class women. They were frustrated by their social and economic situation and wanted to be involved in, and initiate, change. One of the advocates for women’s rights was John Stuart Mill, who presented the idea to British electors in 1865. He was later joined by numerous others, men and women, fighting for the same cause. Their first efforts were not successful, in part because they took action and displayed some violence, causing the Liberals to argue that women were “too emotional and could not think the same as men.”

In the early 20^th century, the suffragettes continued with the movement and began to make demands. They would hold demonstrations and parades, chain themselves to railings, smash windows, and even die for the cause. One suffragette, Emily Davison, died after she stepped out in front of the King’s horse at the Epsom Derby in 1913! Many suffragettes were imprisoned and went on hunger strikes, then were restrained and forcibly fed. In spite of this suffering, protests continued, both in England and in the US. Alice Paul and Lucy Burns led a series of protests against the Wilson Administration in Washington. I had of course heard of Susan B.Anthony, but it seems that Alice and Lucy took it to the next level. In 1916, Paul and her newly formed National Woman’s Party (NWP), campaigned against the refusal of President Woodrow Wilson and his associates in supporting their Suffrage Amendment. In January, 1917, the NWP staged their first political protest to picket the White House. In July, picketers were arrested on charges of ‘obstructing traffic’ and many, including Paul, were convicted, incarcerated and tortured at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia. She was subsequently moved to the prison’s psychiatric ward. But continued efforts kept the pressure on the Wilson Administration.

The real turning point seems to be World War I when there was a shortage of men and women had to take on more traditional male roles. In 1918 the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed an act that granted the vote to women over the age of 30 who were householders, or the wives of householders, occupiers of property with an annual rent of 5 pounds, and graduates of British universities. Boy, talk about “jumping through hoops.” The right to vote for American women was codified in the 19^th Amendment of the Constitution in 1920.

The first Presidential election that women were able to cast a legal vote was in 1920. This election pitted Warren G. Harding (Republican) against James M. Cox (Democrat.) Of course, we all know that Harding was the victor. He had a rather ‘front porch campaign’, in the style of William McKinley and even received visitors at his home. Even though it was women’s first time to vote, the campaign lacked enthusiasm and only half the eligible voters cast their ballots. I could not find any history showing the number or percentage of females that voted. Two of Hardy’s campaign pinbacks shown in our book on political buttons make mention of women’s vote. I would imagine that these buttons would be pretty valuable since they are most likely scarce. I found no buttons listed that indicated this was women’s first vote in Cox’s button collection – maybe that was his mistake.

Overall, there were fewer varieties of campaign items in 1920 than in any previous election since 1896. President Harding’s running mate and soon-to-be Vice President was Calvin Coolidge. Harding buttons are hard to find, and those featuring Harding and Coolidge (jugates) are extremely rare! History tells us that Harding died in 1923. His cause of death was never known because Mrs. Harding refused to permit an autopsy. “Cool Cal” then became our President. When he ran for re-election in 1924, one of his valued campaign items had pictures of the candidates and the wording “The Lady on the other side is requested to vote for Coolidge DuPont Robinson.” Of course, when it was turned over you’d find a mirror. Pretty clever.

I realize that there are a lot of collectors of political items and election memorabilia. If you have a special ‘find’ you’d like to share with us at Collectors’ Quest, we’d love to hear about it. And once you’re done reading my blog, get out there and vote for the candidate of your choice!

WWII didn’t create the genre, however.  The bread-and-butter books of publishers weren’t always the big-name authors, but were instead small collections of previously-available content repackaged for the mass market.   1931’s The Pocket Book of Boners, edited and illustrated by none other than Theodore Geisel himself, had already been selling well before it shipped out to PXs around the world.  After it hit the soldier’s outposts, by 1942 it was #4 on Pocket’s Army best-seller list, behind a Ripley’s Believe It or Not! book (also an anthology of previously released material), Nana by Emile Zola (already over 60 years old by that time),  and the dictionary.  When thefreely-distributed, cheaply-made Armed Services Editions were being planned, books of humor were the third most numerous titles of any other genre.   Bennett Cerf, an expert in storytelling and bookselling, quickly assembled The Pocket Book of War Humor and sent it to the presses. These light-hearted, low-effort books of humor helped our soldiers get through their tours of duty, and when they returned stateside they brought their taste in literature with.

This burst in quick, cheap wit continued beyond the end of the world war.   Bennett Cerf continued publishing his collections of funny micro-stories and brief punchlines, while others got into the act as well.   Magazines also saw their popularity grow, and their need for short, entertaining articles bred a generation of witty writers well-suited for an anthology of their comedy bits.  Kermit Schafer epitomized the genre of re-publishing previously used funny bits by building it into a publishing empire with his Bloopers series of books and albums.  Nearly all the content was gleaned or recreated from radio broadcasts, had previously been