What A Book!: 'Catalog - The Illustrated History of Mail-Order Shopping'

Hello, everybody! Today I want to tell you about a terrific book I discovered. Whilst poking about the shelves of our local Border's book store, I stumbled upon 'Catalog - The Illustrated History of Mail-Order Shopping' by Robin Cherry. I tell you, this gem of a book is FILLED with wonderful examples of mail-order consumer products, and it is a visual pleasure to be sure!

"In 'Catalog - The Illustrated History of Mail-Order Shopping', Robin Cherry traces the timeline of these snapshots from American history and discovers along the way how we dressed, built and furnished our houses, worked, played, and got around. From corsets to bell-bottoms, from baby-doll dresses and Doc Martens all the way to iPods, the history of these catalogs is the history of our lives and our culture."

With a book like this, you hope for more images than text, and, fortunately, this one really delivers! And guess what? I selected some of my faves to share with you. I'll bet you didn't see that coming...

Montgomery Ward, 1930

Men's Flannelette Pajamas

Boy, they must've felt REAL manly

wearing their "flannelette" pajamas.

Sears, 1928

Women's Hats

Ladies, measure your

head size carefully...

Sears, 1971

Men's Body-hugging Underwear

Ssssexy!

J.C. Penney, 1974

Women's Polyester Bell-bottoms

Wow.

Sears, 1959

Erector Set

Consult your physician if you

experience any toy creation

erect longer than 4 hours.

Sears, 1958

Dolls

Be a doll, would you?

Johnson Smith & Co., 1940

Novelty Toys and Masks

Holy crap, that Hitler mask

gives me the willies!

Sears, 1961

Play Kitchen

Now, get in there and fix my dinner, bitch!

Sears, 1971

Shag Bath Carpet

All this talk about "pile" makes

me have to use the toilet...

Sears, 1961

Aluminum Xmas Trees

Aluminum-minum-minum!

That'll do it for this edition of 'What A Book!'. I sure hope you had as much fun as I did. But if you didn't, well, lighten up, would ya? See you next time...

Show & Tell: Our Playmobil Victorian dollhouse, a Christmas tradition.

I have mentioned before that I never really outgrew toys, right? Well, here's even more proof of it! Yes, this beautiful Playmobil Victorian dollhouse has graced our home for the holidays, proudly displayed by, or near, the Christmas tree for almost 18 years. And it is certainly one of my favorite Christmas traditions!

When it isn't out at Christmastime, it's tucked away up in a closet the entire rest of the year, so you can imagine how dusty it gets. I actually kind of enjoy the whole process of taking it down, meticulously cleaning it (inside and out), and then, the BEST part of all... placing the furniture and people inside!!

The following photos are a somewhat goofy gallery of interior shots (plus a few exterior) just to give you a closer look. Btw, for some reason, I had a devil of a time getting the lighting just right. So if they seem a bit funky, that's why. Enjoy!







Here is the back side of the house, with
"handy" access to all rooms and floors.

 

These lovely ladies are relaxing in the living room and
enjoying a command performance by the pianist
on the left (you'll see his piano in the next shot).

Here is the artist at work, on a piano that really plays!
(Well, technically, it's just an electronic tune when
you press down on the keys...)



One of many maids, Sophie arranges place
settings at the formal dining room table.

Meanwhile, out in the nearby moonlit forest, a small
family of deer is seen grazing along the barren, icy floor.

Jane, the kitchen maid.

Jacques, the house chef.

Maxwell, the family dog.

























Grampa enjoys his newspaper next to a toasty fire.



Unbeknownst to Grampa, a fiendish
imposter lurks in the shadows nearby...

Look out, Grampa... She's right behind you!

Between the den and the veranda lies one of the
bedrooms simply referred to as the Flower Room.
(Notice the detail of the chamber pot sitting on
the floor, next to the bed. Sign o' the times!)

Out on the veranda, a professional photographer
takes a lovely holiday portrait of a fine couple.



Here we see the other bedroom, aka the Red Room,
and it looks as though we've caught a young couple
just settling in for a nice, long Winter's nap... 

Yet another maid, Louise, ensures that sanitary
standards are upheld at all times in
the house's one and only bathroom.
(It ain't a fun gig.)

As we progress up the stairs to
the attic nursery, we can see both
kitties AND kiddies.
(Har, har! Get it?)

Like typical children, this close to
Christmas it's real hard to go to sleep!

Well, folks, that concludes our tour of the Playmobil Victorian dollhouse. Sure hope you liked it! Until next time, I wish everyone a very merry Happy Holiday and a shiny New Year!!


~ All photos property of Anthony See. ~

"Hey, Santa! Whatcha sellin'?" - The jolly old elf in advertising.

How can anyone say "No" to a face like that? Besides, it's freakin' Santa Claus! And WHO doesn't like him?? Well, if YOU don't, go play on the freeway. You're dumb! Plus, you'll probably get coal in your stocking...

Anyway, for the rest of us who DO still like good ol' Saint Nick, I've compiled a gallery to display just some of the finer examples of his contribution to advertising. This would also be considered an "old skool" edition, mostly because I don't think any of these ads date past the 1960s. Oh, and F.Y.I., these are only the tip of the iceberg. As I continue to sort through and find more gems, I'm sure the urge to share will be much too hard to resist! So, for now, please enjoy what I've collected below.






I really like how colorful this is! And how great is it that
the "train" is actually one of the Christmas crackers?!





























I think the detailed artwork in this is very
impressive! Love the lettering font, too!

































As if Santa wasn't already huge enough with
everyone, here he's quite literally HUGE...
He's a GIANT! Just look at how he towers
over those rocky mountains beneath him!
And I'm sure it's because he eats lots and
lots of Sunkist Seedless Navel Oranges!

 



































I can't even tell you how MUCH I absolutely
LOVE this image! It just makes me HAPPY
in all sorts of ways! Even just the name
"Ribbon Candy Rocket" makes me giddy...
Yep, I'm gay.



































I like this, but what I DON'T like is how
Jack and Betty just demand, "Bring us
Tinker Toys." WHERE, may I ask, is the
"Please" in that request? Hmm? I think
Santa ought to skip their house!



































Isn't this great? I just hope that was the
LAST house on Santa's route...
































Again, another very pleasing one to me!































I don't know about you, but a Thermos has
NEVER been on MY Christmas wish list.



It'd sure be a shame if all Santa was carrying
in his bag-o-tricks was Colgate products, huh?
He'd BETTER have some toys in there, too!

  































Not sure if this is from the 1950s or '60s, but it
rings early '60s to me, for some reason. Is Santa
actually demonstrating that the television is
slightly narrower than his own waistline?
Could that really be a selling point?



































This is quite nice.
It reminds me of Santa's Village!






























Well, that'll do it for today's gallery, kids. Check back again, real soon, to see what else is NEW at the circus! In the meantime, try to relax and enjoy the holiday season. "See" you later!


~ All images taken from the book, 'Christmas: Vintage Holiday Graphics'. Edited by Jim Heimann. Published by Taschen. ~

Coming Attraction: NEW Annie Lennox album, 'A Christmas Cornucopia'

This November 22nd, 2010, Annie Lennox will be releasing her first Christmas album titled, 'A Christmas Cornucopia'. The album features Ms. Lennox's unique and personal interpretations of some of her favorite Christmas carols as well as a completely new, original composition entitled, 'Universal Child'.


Here's what Ms. Lennox had to say, regarding the album:

“I’m absolutely delighted to be working with Island Records on my upcoming recording,” stated Ms. Lennox. “This album is something I’ve wanted to do for many years. It’s a true labour of love, and I feel very fortunate to be in partnership with such a cutting edge team, especially when I’m at a stage in my creativity when I want to diversify, and pursue my passion in my own individual way. I’ve never been part of a “mold,” and Island are really supportive and appreciative of where I’m coming from. I want to make timeless music that people will love in many years to come...and I’d like to think that 'A Christmas Cornucopia' is going to be of those recordings.”

I don't know about you, but this is very exciting to me! After all, this takes both Annie and Christmastime, two of my favorite things, and rolls them into one! What's not to love about that?? I've long imagined the awesome possibilities for such a winning combination. Now, I'll finally get to see and hear it come true! This is very good news. Very good news, indeed!


~ Image and info via official Annie Lennox facebook page ~

C'mon everybody... to Santa Claus's party!

This last week before Christmas is typically real crayzee for most of us, trying to finish up our gift shopping, wrapping, cooking, baking, cleaning, decorating, etc. And I'm sure that some people probably have Holiday To-Do lists that are even longer! Of course, the stress level only increases for those of us who must find a way to complete those lists while also working full-time jobs...

But I'm happy to say that, at this point in the game, my gift shopping is done! The only chore left is the wrapping. I refer to it as a "chore" mainly because I'm retarded-ly slow at it. Seriously, if you could watch me wrap a present you would likely think I was somehow mentally disabled! I know how to gift-wrap, it just takes me forever to do it. Being a perfectionist doesn't help matters, either. So, evidently, I still have a bit of work to do. However, before I go grabbing the scissors and Scotch tape, I thought it would be fun sharing some of my favorite old Santa Claus images with you.

It'll be like a Santa Claus picture party!

Same as the ones in my Halloween post, these are also from a book of collected vintage holiday images put together by Editor/Art Director Jim Heimann, and published by Taschen. There's one in the bunch that isn't from the book, and it should be fairly obvious which one because it looks as though it could've been taken right out of a murder case file. I had to include it since I've never seen anything quite so scary! What's that? "This is Christmas, not Halloween!", you say? Well, you can just go tell Psycho Santa that, yourself... But please, remove the baby first!





I get the feeling that these boys are up to
something a bit sexually deviant...
If you'll notice, all the other children are happily
playing or just completely focused on Santa.
Meanwhile, Red & Blondie are both much too
busy making themselves some sort of
bondage chair with their
multi-colored string and clothes pins. I wonder
who they're planning to tie-down on it, the
girl with her new dolly... or Santa?






Man, this cop sure is a jerk, huh?!
What could Santa possibly have done
to get a ticket?! I don't see his sleigh
anywhere, but perhaps he parked it
in a No Parking Zone?






Exhibit A:
Murder suspect, Bebe Keeler
(Notice the dainty little ladies watch
on her gloved, left hand. And it is that
very hand with which she is so tightly
clutching onto her next meal.)






"Bye, for now, everyone!
Remember to be good boys & girls
if you don't want to find coal in your
stockings... But if you must insist on
being bad, well then, you can just go
to my room!"



I wish everyone and their families a very happy holiday! I also hope that my loyal readers, or Captivated Spectators, will continue enjoying my circus throughout the New Year to come...

Sincerely,

Anthony
Pop Circus Ringmaster


~All images, except for Bebe Keeler's case file photo, were taken from Jim Heimann's book, 'Christmas: Vintage Holiday Graphics', published by Taschen. 'Exhibit A' photo via sketchysantas.com~

'Tis the season to be tacky...

Just when I thought I had seen everything in the way of cheap and tasteless outdoor Christmas decorations, I passed by this not-so-little gem on my return trip home from work last evening...

I thought that I had imagined it at first because, I mean... Come on!
It was a huge inflatable nativity scene?! Really?!

I've never liked any of those outdoor inflatable-type decorations. They just look cheaply made and totally crappy to me! And they all seem exactly the same, no matter what the character or theme is. It's all very generic. Makes me want to take a BB gun and do some target practice!

But this nativity scene is a new low, people. I'm not at all religious, yet even I cringed when I saw the blow-up Jesus prominently displayed out on Joe Schmo's lawn! It somehow rings disrespectful (toward God, in a way) to see such a cheap and tacky thing used as a visual declaration of one's Christian beliefs for all the neighborhood to see. Know what I mean?

Some people are just clueless, I guess!
Hey, you wanna grab your BB gun and join me for some rootin' tootin' tacky decoration shootin'?


~Photo via Google Images~

Christmas is Dead.

Photo by Team Dziobecki


The above picture seems appropriately symbolic for beginning this follow-up post, since it's all about the sad present-day reality of a once magical place we knew as Santa's Village in Skyforest, California. As you can see, the image is of an almost perfectly preserved Christmas tree inside of what could be interpreted as a glass coffin. How perfect is that? I'm also amazed, considering the current condition of other areas in the park, that vandals hadn't already destroyed the glass-encased display. I'm no trespassing, property-trashing redneck asshole, but aren't those windows begging to be broken?! And isn't the act of smashing windows and/or glass one of the first things you learn in Vandalism 101? I'm just saying.

As I mentioned in the previous post, my research found that the old parking lot is now being used as a lumber yard. Yes, a lumber yard! I have no idea if any of the old village houses or buildings are being utilized by the "lumberjacks", but even just using the parking lot seems bad enough. See the pictures below...

Photo via alamedainfo.com

THEN: This was Santa's lovely parking lot, back-in-
the-day. It's even more attractive with those great

old cars, huh?!

Photo by Hockeynut 10

NOW: Here is the current-day "lumberjack" parking
lot. If you squint, you can see the giant candy cane that
welcomed thousands of tourists to Santa's fantastical

home for more than 40 years! You can also see the

green Bumblebee Monorail track towering above,

amidst the forest.

Let's move on to the village grounds and interior. Remember the Good Witch's Bakery that looked like a giant gingerbread house? Well, take a look below for another staggering before & after comparison...

Photo via alamedainfo.com

THEN: The Good Witch's Bakery, covered in
bright and cheerful sugary goodness.

Photo by Team Dziobecki

NOW: Not so much.




One of the most exciting attractions that didn't make it into my first post, was the Alice in Wonderland Magic Looking Glass mirror maze/fun house. It was just a simple hall of mirrors that you walked through, but the Alice theme made it seem a lot more exciting! Here, take a look...

Photo via alamedainfo.com

THEN: An inviting, mysterious hall of wonders!





Photo by Kaitlin Johnson

NOW: A graffiti-laden vandal's playground. This is the
same big "looking glass" window that we can see the
little girl (and elf companion) gazing into, above. The

White Rabbit must have been added in later years. It

also looks like an alternate entrance/exit? Either that,

or the glass panel on the right end was broken out.

Photo by Kaitlin Johnson

Here's a shot inside the maze. Notice, the accumulation
of dirt and twigs on the floor. Also, those flowers are
painted onto the mirrors.

Photo by Kaitlin Johnson

Another shot inside the mirrored halls. It's kinda

spooky, all dark like this...

Photo by Kaitlin Johnson

This is a sad-looking empty corner of the maze. If the

writing on the wall is any indication, it would stand to

reason that something (Cheshire Cat?) used to reside

here.

I'm pretty sure that Tommy and I walked through the mirrored Alice maze when we were there together, as we share an interest in all things Alice related. And my parents probably took me in there as a child, but I don't really remember any of the interior details. Yet again, it's another attraction I would've loved seeing when new!

This next thing, I don't recall at all. But it's pretty neat, and the pictures prove that it did exist, whether I saw it or not. Don't know how I could've missed it, though...

Photo via alamedainfo.com

THEN: There's a lot going on here! First, we've got

Jack Pumpkinhead with an elf, in front of a castle

turret-like thing that also has what looks like puppets

on its roof. Then, to the left, we can also see the Easter

Bunny crouching down and doing something...

suspicious. Meanwhile, in the background, Cinderella's

pumpkin coach goes rolling by.

Photo by Team Dziobecki

NOW: It almost looks like the

Partridge Family's outhouse, huh?!

Photo courtesy of Vintage Roadside

Here's the castle turret "toilet" from a different angle.

Notice the broken-down blue railings and bridge that

led to the turret. You can also see the back side and

main entrance to the Alice in Wonderland mirror

maze/fun house. You entered through that big tree, the

one that looks like it has a face. I don't know what the

cathedral-like "windows" are all about...

I'm frustrated that I could not find any vintage pictures of the hanging Bumblebee Monorail ride. And believe me, it's not for lack of trying! So, anyway, this before picture is more recent than the others, but it shows the ride in action...

Photo by Steve Wilson

THEN: Some passengers "hanging out"

on the Bumblebee Monorail ride.

Photo by Flickr 7500 (AKA James)

NOW: "Don't just leave me hangin'!" The bees were left

to fend for themselves, along with the entire support

track which keeps them in suspended animation.

Photo by Flickr 7500 (AKA James)

This was the entrance to the monorail, complete with

beehive ticket booth.

Well, folks, that's about it for now. I might do some additional related posts in the future, especially if I find the old photos from my very own visits. You know that I'll have to share those!

Hopefully, you didn't find all of this too saddening. But in case you did, here's just one more shot to end things on a happier note...

Photo via Google Image Search

NOW: Turns out that Santa's guard shack, a crooked

tree house and several giant mushrooms were bought

at the village's public auction and then successfully

transplanted here, at the Flower Fields of

Carlsbad, California. Since then, they continue to be

enjoyed by thousands of visitors each year.