July 29, 2011
The times they are a-changing: Last weekend, lesbian couple Kitty Lambert and Cheryle Rudd made history, exchanging the first gay-marriage nuptials in New York State. Just a few days before, President Obama certified the repeal of the “don’t ask don’t tell” policy in the U.S. military. But homosexuality has not always so understood and accepted in U.S. society. In fact, in mid-century America, being a lesbian was seen as aberrant and morally corrupt, and because of its social stigma, authors willing … (continue reading)
July 8, 2011
On February 26, 1955, a Cleveland deejay named Tommy Edwards became the first music promoter to book a Southern singing sensation named Elvis Presley north of the Mason-Dixon line. The event was the Hillbilly Jamboree at Cleveland’s Circle Theater. That fall, Edwards brought Presley back to the Cleveland area for several more shows, including one on October 20, 1955, at Brooklyn High School. On that … (continue reading)
June 28, 2011
People are always telling us about their collections. Some even send us links to Web pages they’ve built. Naturally we encourage them to post their stuff on Show & Tell, but every once in a while a collection stops us in our tracks.
“Mint-condition cars don’t have the same kind of soul.”
That’s what happened when we heard from Michael Spengler, a German photographer who is … (continue reading)
June 24, 2011
A beer is served in a glass with a pretty woman on the front. As you drink, something catches your eye—inside your glass you can see the bare butt cheeks of the same glamour girl presented fully dressed on the outside. Maybe you’re a little startled; maybe it makes you smile.
“The earliest peek-a-boo glasses feature a cartoonish woman with a freakishly big head and eyes, like … (continue reading)
May 12, 2011
Remember when you were a kid how dinosaurs were the coolest ever? In particular, the stories of Big Three—the brontosaurus, the triceratops, and the Tyrannosaurus rex—dominated children’s books, coloring books, cartoons, games, and figurines. Plus, these great beasts weren’t just some mythological creatures like dragons; no, we had the fossils, and everything we learned about them was based on science.
Well, information unearthed during the past … (continue reading)
May 10, 2011
From 1952 to 1957, a not-so-shy model and camera-club girl named Bettie Page worked for a New York City men’s magazine publisher named Irving Klaw. His younger sister Paula was the photographer and director of the black-haired beauty, who posed for the bondage and fetish photography market that Irving helped create.
Though mostly tame by 21st century standards, many of the Page images would be considered very disturbing even today. Little wonder, then, that along with comic … (continue reading)
May 4, 2011
Lady Gaga has a reputation as a wildly original trendsetter. But based on the evidence we found in “Born This Way,” she’s also a mega recycler of pop-culture history.
Being connoisseurs of cool old stuff, we noticed that even her most outlandish imagery in the head-spinning video for “Born This Way” owes a great debt not only to Madonna’s “Express Yourself,” but also to works of science fiction, movie history, famous artworks, … (continue reading)
April 15, 2011
Vinyl record geeks and turntable enthusiasts all over the blogosphere have been digging in their couches for coins all month to save up for tomorrow. Why? Well, it’s Record Store Day. Musical artists of every stripe—rock, hip-hop, soul, country, jazz, punk, and metal—are releasing special limited-edition albums, mostly vinyl LPs and 45s, for this event, now in its … (continue reading)
April 14, 2011
Helen Hall, an expert in entertainment memorabilia and the director of Dig Gallery in London, alerts us to a beautiful Fender Stratocaster that’s coming up for auction at Christie’s.
This guitar was purchased in 1965, when a young girl from New York City discovered rock ‘n’ roll. Knowing she was a big fan, her father went to a local New York City music store and bought … (continue reading)
April 8, 2011
Today’s guest blogger is Helen Hall, an expert in entertainment memorabilia and the director of Dig Gallery in London.
You have no idea how many pairs of John Lennon “Granny” glasses I researched when I was the Head of Entertainment Memorabilia at Christie’s in London. Most of them could be dismissed fairly quickly—the prescription was wrong or the provenance was not strong enough. But every so often, a pair came along that made me stop and think…. (continue reading)
April 1, 2011
Today’s guest blogger is Rebekah Kaufman, also known as Steiffgal, who runs a terrific blog called My Steiff Life.
What we have here are two Steiff Niki Rabbits. Easter season or not, many Steiff enthusiasts consider this “hare-raising” design to be one of the most beloved and collectible postwar Steiff patterns ever produced. Measured standing, and not including their ears, large Niki is 22 cm and little Niki is … (continue reading)
March 23, 2011
Today’s guest blogger is Helen Hall, an expert in entertainment memorabilia and the director of Dig Gallery in London.
In 1962, during the filming of “Something’s Got to Give,” three photographers were invited to the set to shoot Marilyn Monroe as she swam in a swimming pool for a scene with Dean Martin. It would have been Marilyn’s last film but was never released because two months after the … (continue reading)
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