January 25, 2012
When Bay Area artist Lea Redmond, known for running the “World’s Smallest Post Service,” stumbled across Parlor Coo Coo on eBay, she knew she’d found something special. Sure enough, handheld punch-board parlor games, like Coo Coo and its companion The Fortune-Teller in Rhymes, were the icebreakers du jour at cocktail parties of the 1920s and ’30s.
Sold by the checkout at five-and-dimes, these palm-sized stacks of pressed cardboard had all the scandal of a slumber party: You’d push out an accordion-fold paper slip, and it would tell your fortune, pose a quiz question, dare you to … (continue reading)
December 15, 2011
When coins were withdrawn from circulation in the northern states during the Civil War, opportunists began minting private pennies that became de facto legal tender throughout the Union. The coinage of a few cents may seem like small change, but in 1863 alone, almost 9,000 different token designs, depicting everything from patriotic flags to beer barrels, were struck. Some so closely resembled … (continue reading)
November 11, 2011
Today, America honors its military veterans, who have served our country in times of war and peace. If you want to delve in the human side of our U.S. military history, look no further than Show & Tell, where militaria collectors like scottvez and AR8Jason share their collections and knowledge about hats, medals, and badges, as well as photos, letters, … (continue reading)
October 24, 2011
There’s something to be said for being easily amused. In the 1940s, toy inventor Eddie Goldfarb saw an ad for a false-teeth holder called a “Tooth Garage” and he started cracking up. In his head, he saw a pair of dentures, chomping and sputtering down the road like a car, and parking on their own.
Thus, in 1949, Yakity-Yak Talking Teeth—the wildly … (continue reading)
October 21, 2011
Today Kevin Mackey, aka AR8Jason, topped 1,000 Show & Tells. Congratulations Kevin! When Mackey first started posting photos and descriptions of his militaria, watch fobs, pocket watches, wristwatches, pinbacks, art pottery, and countless other things back in February of 2011, we knew a thoughtful individual had just joined the community. His first Show & Tell was about a painting of Robert … (continue reading)
October 11, 2011
In case you missed it, there’s a tremendous public debate roiling in the U.S. about whether bankers and Wall Street financiers profited from the current economic downturn after being bailed out by taxpayers. Certain politicians and talking heads have admonished the Occupy Wall Street protestors for engaging in “class warfare,” but populist rage against “fat cats” is not new.
“George S. Parker was bored by moralistic games.”
Cast-iron … (continue reading)
August 30, 2011
Why would anyone pay $500 for a rusty piece of barbed wire? Well, if the 18-inch long specimen, or cut, is the only known example of the Thomas J. Barnes patent of 1907 (shown above), some folks might pay even more than that. In fact, for collectors of barbed wire, or barbwire as it’s … (continue reading)
August 26, 2011
Today the “New York Times” reports that as many as 30 museums in Europe have experienced thefts of rhinoceros horns in 2011. A recent example occurred on July 28, when the horn of a stuffed rhino that had been on display since 1907 at the Ipswich Museum was unceremoniously snapped off. Two other rhino horns, including one still attached to its skull, were also grabbed. Ignored was … (continue reading)
July 20, 2011
Here we are, in 2011, a.k.a. “The Future.” We’ve made leaps and bounds in science that we couldn’t even imagine 50 years ago. You’d think the science toys of our age would be mind-bending in their ability to awe and inspire young chemists and biologists. Instead, kids today are being protected within an inch of their lives, while adults apparently live in dread of unsupervised children running amuck with the … (continue reading)
June 23, 2011
When we started inviting people to post items from their collections on Show & Tell, we knew that sooner or later we’d be faced with a Nazi swastika. At first, we simply followed the lead of eBay and deleted anything with a Nazi swastika on it that was not a coin or a stamp. But then we noticed that the handful of people who were uploading these … (continue reading)
May 20, 2011
These days, “snake oil” is synonymous with quackery, the phoniest of phony medicines. A “snake oil salesman” promises you the world, takes your money, and is long gone by the time you realize the product in your hands is completely worthless.
But get this: The original snake oil actually worked. Save this … (continue reading)
April 28, 2011
Apparently there’s a small wedding in England this week. While we’re sure that Kate Middleton’s wedding dress will be a fashion tour de force, we’re also sure that it can’t possibly be as romantic as this one, which is from the collection of the Smithsonian. Here’s their description:
“This wedding dress was made from a nylon parachute that saved the groom’s life during World War II. Maj. Claude … (continue reading)
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