ephemera

Beatle’s Hard Day’s Night Gum Display

This box, according to the eBay seller, once sat in a dime store's display counter. It originally held 24-packs of cards with gum. It's a pretty rare item, they say.

My favorite version of a Hard Day's Night is not by the Beatles. Actually, their version is a distant third. Second place goes to Otis Redding. And first place goes to Peter Sellers. Yes, really! Peter does a reading of A Hard Day's Night in a Shakespearean voice that conveys the true, "dirty" essence of the song.

But neither Otis or Peter had the marketing chops to get a gum company to put their faces on bubblegum cards. Now, in that respect, the Beatles were A-Number One.

 

Original Halloween Movie Poster – Very Scary Kids

This one sheet poster was issued by the studio for theatrical display when the original Halloween movie was released, according to the eBay seller.

The original Halloween movie scared the bejesus out of me. But not nearly as much as the interview I did with the Halloween Queen last year. Now that was very scary, as Count Floyd used to say on SCTV's Monster Chiller Horror Theater.

Have a safe and happy Halloween kids.

Movie Star Ephemera

I'm fascinated by large lots of ephemera. This one, being offered on eBay, is a curious example. It's a massive lot of movie star ephemera—26 large file boxes full of folders each containing movie star clippings, magazine covers, etc.

Here's where things get curious: according to the seller, "it looks like" the real big names like Monroe and Elvis had been "pulled a long time ago." Now, I don't doubt that the big name stars have been liberated from the lot as the seller claims; however, it struck me as odd that the seller would presume to know when the big names were removed.

Unless…well, I won't speculate.

Instead, I'll tell you more about this lot and you can investigate further. The listing says that the material "dates...from silent film era up to about the mid 1970s with the bulk of it in the 1920s to the 50s range. Each folder contains from several pieces to several hundred pieces, all relating to the star whose name is on the folder. Each box contains anywhere from 100 folders to several hundred folders."

So, there's estimated to be 4,000 folders are in this lot. The total number of folders is the other aspect of this hoard that struck me as strange. How many movie stars have there been since the 1920s? I mean, there must be thousands of people who appeared in films, but how many were truly stars of the Silver Screen. This lot must hold some examples of small-time character actors and other bit players, which, in some respects makes it even more interesting than a lot full of Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley clippings.

Puppet and Marionette Mid-Century Ephemera

A unique collection of historical puppetry ephemera and promotional material is up for auction on eBay. According to the seller, this lot of ephemera "introduces the world of make-believe, from the 1950s; 58 separate items, each in an archival sleeve; each item is a four-sided black and white photo-illustrated folding brochure that extols via portraiture with their puppets, often in action in various shows, locales, and stage settings the very active membership of the Puppeteers of America, including a few guests from Europe."

The list of puppeteers in this lot is legendary, and the seller goes to great pains to mentions them all. A few household names such as Shari Lewis are among them. Included are also a number of puppet-related documents, diagrams, and such.

I'd have to agree with the seller who calls it "a great 'snapshot' of the state-of-the-art of puppetry in America in the 1950s, a terrific and interesting archive of this very specific entertainment genre."

Alley Oop Comic Stamps First Day Issue

Any Alley Oop comic fans? If so, this is your chance to own all the original envelopes from the first-day issue Alley Oop stamps.

And where else would but on eBay would they be found, right? According to the eBay seller, all are dated October 1, 1995. There are 25 1st day issue envelopes with special art work on some, original drawings and photos on others, all different. One is a first day issue post card.

The seller has many of these images included with the listing. Plus, the seller is offering two Special First Day issues with authentic autographs by Alley Oop artists: Jack Bender and Dave Graue--each envelope with the autograph also has an original drawing of Alley Oop on the face and date signed. 

 

Kids TV Toys and Ephemera Book

Since before World War Two manufacturers of toys and games have sought to cash in on the popularity of children's films, radio, and television programs by producing toys and other ephemera relating to them. In 2007, Crowood Press published a book by Arthur Ward on the subject called, appropriately enough, TV and Film Toys and Ephemera, which I discovered while poking around on eBay.

According to the publisher, this book offers collectors and potential collectors a guide to what is out there, from Pinky and Perky puppets and Thunderbirds spaceships, to the huge number of toys and games that have been spawned by the James Bond and Star Wars films.

Arranged in chronological order by decade, the book concentrates on the great collectibles from the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. It also includes a guide to collectibles of the future.

Hey, isn't Christmas just around the corner? This looks like the perfect stocking stuffer for the ephemera lover on your list.

Harold Lloyd’s Eye Glasses

Up for auction on eBay is a pair of Silent Film Star Harold Lloyd's personally owned glasses with provenance. The seller says, "As a Hollywood memorabilia collector, I have not known of any to ever come into the market. These spectacles were purchased at the Chelsea Antiques Market in New York City in 1998. They were part of an estate of Gordon Bau, (Hollywood make-up artist and collector, 1907-1975) of his personal effects.

These glasses are actually not horn rimmed (as they are often referred to) but early plastic. They appear to be black in film, but are actually a deep, slightly translucent brown. Originally, Lloyd wore them without lenses on camera due to glare issues. Harold Lloyd revolutionized eye wear with his Glasses Character. Once he made his debut with the glasses, he never appeared in film without them. The rest is history…

The listing goes on to say, "Gordon Bau, make-up artist, served on many major motion pictures of the studio system. His credits include Rebel Without A Cause, It's A Wonderful Life, A Streetcar Named Desire, etc. It does not appear, according to the IMDB website, that he and Lloyd worked together on any particular film; but were rather, perhaps, colleagues. Lloyd did do numerous appearances on shows such as This Is Your Life, and What's My Line after his huge fame. Maybe this is where they met. Anyhow, the provenance is quite poignant. These glasses come with a letter from whom the glasses were gifted to. Please note: The glasses are in near mint condition. The frames are marked B.S.O. near the right inner hinge, and what appears to be Princeton near the left inner hinge. Both of these markings aren't readily visible without a jeweler's loop, it would be difficult to photograph. I once read that Harold Lloyd knocked out the original sun glass frames. These lenses were professionally mounted by Sol Moscot in NYC without any compromise to frames. Sol Moscot specializes in vintage frames. I had worn them once to a premiere."

Bob Marley Paramount Theater Poster

This poster by Randy Tuten announcing Bob's 5-29-76 appearance at the Paramount Theater in Oakland, California, is up for bid on eBay.

The poster, according to the seller, has a very interesting history:

It was purchased from Ben Friedmand at The Postermat in 1987. It has never been framed, but has been stored in acid free paper since 1989. It comes from the inventory of the former OUTSIDERS Gallery of Santa Barbara, California. The owners purchased the gallery from Pamela Auchincloss prior to her move to New York in 1987. The gallery specialized in avant garde artworks and included rock poster art from the 1960s in San Francisco, including posters from the Avalon Ballroom and Fillmore Auditorium; original paintings from local and international artists; limited edition prints and posters from artists such as Robert Hoppe, Merkin, Nico,Erte, Icart, Dali, Otsuka, Nagel, Ansel Adams, LeRoy Neiman, G. A. Azoulay and others. The OUTSIDERS Gallery was sold in 1989 and all of the original paintings, limited edition prints, vintage posters, and posters have been stored between sheets of acid free paper in large art drawers for the past twenty years.

It appears the seller plans to liquidate many of these items on eBay and this is one of the first on the auction block.

Soviet Fiery Voyage Film Poster

It's not often that you run across a genuine early Soviet Russia movie poster, but, thanks to eBay, there's one for sale. It's a poster for a circa 1930 film called Fiery Voyage—my favorite foreign movie.

According to the listing, the film was made in Siberia. It was dedicated to the Civil War in Far East Russia and the struggle of Communist partisans against the army of General Kolchak.

It's too bad Hollywood didn't do an English remake of the film in the 60s with Peter Sellers in the role of General Kolchak.

Ed Sullivan Beatles Ticket Stub

This rare ticket stub for the Beatles rehearsal performance for their 2-16-64 appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show is being offered by an eBay seller.

The appearance, according to listing, took place at the Deauville Hotel in Miami. The Beatles performed for the rehearsal show complete with full audience in the afternoon and in the evening. This stub is for their afternoon rehearsal show at 2:30pm. There were only a few hundred fans for this show, and, today, the tickets stubs are among the rarest of all Beatles concert tickets. The show was performed to a capacity crowd, but most of the ticket stubs from the event were tossed out or lost over the years. There are only a few examples know to have survived—and this one has surfaced on eBay.