FRED HARVEY on the road

Just a quick drop-in from along the road. 

Went to The Trees of Mystery today. Let's just say there's a HUGE statue of Paul Bunyan and his ox Blue standing out front. They're famous. I believe I even have some old postcards with their images, but just in case I bought a couple today. For decades I've driven by this place and never stopped. I'd laugh when I'd see Paul and Blue and think of roadside tourist attractions from my youth. Well this was worth the trip. An interesting walk through a forest, a ride in a tram to overlook the forest and the Pacific Ocean. Then they get you when you come to the finish. You walk through the door at the end of the trail into the gift shop and after paying for your visit you hear a woman saying "Free fudge sample." Oh man...I left a pound heavier...in a box to eat later. 

What really drew me to this place was the collection of Native American items in their museum. Beautiful baskets, including Pomo and Yurok, plains Indians clothes, all sorts of implements. A case of Kachinas that had me mesmerized. And then I saw this. I usually post items from my collection. I only wish I owned this. Fred Harvey Souvenir Playing Cards depicting various Native American tribes in the Southwest, all from tintype images. So though this is not in my collection, the photo of the photos is so I'm...oh geez, I'm going to say it...fudging things a bit this time.

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Back on the road. Catch you on the flipside.

The EYES have it

In 1873 Butterick Publishing Company began publishing a magazine, The Delineator, to show off it's various clothing patterns. The magazine was published until 1937. It was THE women's magazine of its day. 

During the 1930s many of the covers were done by the illustrator of the cover below, Dynevor Rhys. I've never been able to find out any information about this illustrator, but these covers are very collectible. To see more of the work from the 1930s click here. 

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He also did illustrations for ads within the magazine as shown below. This one is on the inside cover of this issue of Delineator.

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I love these illustrations. They're stylized, vivid, and even if the eyes creep you out they draw you in. And they really do feel like the movies of the 1930s when people wished that life could maybe be truly grand even if their reality was something else. Wishes are like ephemera. Gone in a moment, replaced by something else.

The evolution of a PSYCHOTIC PENGUIIN

The penguin was content with his lot in life. 

He worked as a scientist for Sears and Roebuck in the Coldspot department. 

It was a good fit. He was used to fishing and keeping some of his catch on ice.

He lectured widely about the products he invented, giving clues to the clueless.

In his spare time he was a gentleman farmer. 

Planting.

Harvesting.

Cooking.

Enjoying.

But then he realized the true benefits of a Coldspot and farm life was never the same. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. They were used as evidence in the trial.

Little Penguin had an ax,

He gave the chicken 30 whacks,

He gave the steer 30 more

Then opened up a butcher store.

This Halloween think of going as a HOME ECONOMIST!

Oh, I can get enough items from this 1954 Sears, Roebuck and Co. Coldspot Freezer booklet to last for days. It's a veritable gold mine of kitsch. When it came out it reflected what consumers were used to seeing, but today through the warped glass I view things...it's just a hoot.

Let's get started, shall we? 

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Food photos. Presentation is everything and as you'll see there are levels of success. The strawberry cake above, not bad. Not bad at all. Okay the color reproduction has that odd '50s look to it, but still it looks edible. I can't say the same for that hunk of meet that is on the inside cover. Oyyyyyyy...the fat on that slab of cow brings back memories. Not going there. Don't want to think about it. Let's just say I believe the color reproduction did little to whet anyone's appetite.  

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Now what about that limp overcooked asparagus?  Obviously cold or that pat of butter would have certainly melted under the lights. So I'm thinking okay, frozen over cooked asparagus. Not going to their house for dinner, but they are serving shrimp cocktail so it's not a total loss. Well...I think that's shrimp cocktail. Then again....

And then there are those yellow things next to the slab. I'm not really sure what that is? I'm thinking winter squash that's stuffed. There's no recipe in the book. Do you stuff them before freezing or stuff them with something that's thawed and unrecognizable that you've pureed? It doesn't matter what they taste like. Remember...now repeat it with me: PRESENTATION IS EVERYTHING. 

Which brings me to tablescaping. It's apparently a hobby. I only recently became aware of it. There are some seriously kitsch photos online of tablescaping. I'm hoping someone is gathering them for a future book. It boggles my mind. 

Speaking of boggling...do manufacturers still make mother/daughter outfits? I remember having mother/daughter/father outfits in Hawaii all made from the same Hawaiian print. I sort of like this odd domesticated scene on the back cover. Unnatural look to all of it just makes it even more fun. The mother is teaching her "little me"...are you ready? I think you can say it. PRESENTATION IS EVERYTHING.

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And lets not forget that apparently all of this was brought to us by the home economic droids. Seriously, look at the women in the lab white nurse dresses. Between the two in the room and the inset they look like triplets. Droid triplets. I'm thinking if you're going to a Halloween party consider going as the lovely Jean Shaw. She's got a little bit of Bride of Frankenstein and Betty Crocker going on. And what would you think if this woman with this expression were to bring in that slab of meat and place it before you? I'd be thinking "Oh shoot, left over parts. She's serving me left over parts!" and I'd be running out of the house past the villagers carrying pitchforks.

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Now, I've left HIM for last. The penguin. Oh sure, he looks harmless enough. He's just a scientist penguin. Well, I will present evidence within the next few days that this little penguin is no ordinary penguin. Okay, I think I already made that point when I said he was a scientist. But no...I'm talking psychotic penguin. I think there's a reason this psychotic penguin and Jean "Bride of Frankenstein" Shaw are sharing the first page of this booklet. 

Stay tuned kids. Same penguin ephemera time. Same penguin ephemera channel.

HALLOWEEN EPHEMERA collected

If you're not familiar with some of the books of ephemera that Taschen has published you're missing out on some serious visual candy. One worth putting in your collection is Halloween: Vintage Holiday Graphics. A volume with page after page after page of wonderful imagery: postcards, photos of children in costumes, illustrations from children's books, masks, advertisements, etc. This will not be a book you'll

 thumb through once and put on the shelf. You'll be back to this one over and over again and each time you'll see things you didn't remember seeing the last time you picked it up. Okay, I'll say it...I give it two thumbs up. Thumbs seriously covered with chocolate from that Snickers bar I forgot about that's now melted into the seam of the bottom of my trick or treat bag.