A man went to an eye specialist to get his eyes tested and asked, "Doctor, will I be able to read after wearing glasses?"
"Yes, of course," said the doctor, "why not!"
"Oh! How nice it would be," said the patient with joy, "I have been illiterate for so long."
If you think that's funny, check out this eBay auction for a vintage cardboard eye chart. It was produced by American Optical and has No. 1930 on the bottom.
Up for bid on eBay is this vintage, poster-sized, salesman sample, Hula Girl pin-up calendar
calendar from the Thos. D. Murphy calendar company of Red Oak, Iowa.
"Stunning Hawaiiana," says the seller, "Idyllic and yet industrial themed image titled, "Where Romance and Progress Meet" by the talented Ruehl Heckman, who was known for his majestic soaring machine age imagery. This is one of our favorites, and a rare complete view of a pre-Pearl Harbor Hawaii which depicts all of the beauty and charm of the islands and the exotic allure of early aviation. With a January 1941 date pad as this was a sample."
You won't believe how much money this plastic KISS Scream Machine cup is going for on eBay.
"Have A Pepsi Day" and check out more outrageous KISS items by clicking here.
A rare and wonderful, circa 1880, Sherwin Williams Paint jigsaw puzzle is up for grabs on eBay.
This chromolithograph paper-on-wood, boxed jigsaw puzzle, a promotional item from the famous paint company, features a map of the State of New York.
"On the back side of this double-sided jigsaw puzzle there is a fantastic, color lithograph advertising image for Sherman Williams Paints," says the seller.
This outstanding item is housed in its original paperboard box. There is a large, chromolithograph paste-down label on the lid of the box that features a fantastic image of pixie-type characters, representing the nations of the world, including a dignified Uncle Sam and others.
The Puzzle was manufactured by Rev. E. J. Clemens of Clayville, New York. For more details and to see other images of the jigsaw puzzle, click on the link provided above.
Up for bid on eBay is this original, circular, hand-pulled silkscreen Doors poster, which promoted a three-day performance by the The Doors at the Kaleidoscope Club in Hollywood on 21-23 April 1967.
The seller explains, "A series of 20 posters were issued by Kaleidoscope in 1967, one for each concert that year. This Day-Glo fluorescent poster is considered to be the most rare in the Kaleidoscope series because of the type of ink used by artist John Douglas Kline in production. Posters in this series are almost non-existent because they were issued for promotion only and the silk-screens used to produce the posters were burned in a fire. The Kaleidoscope was a psychedelic rock venue run by the management of the band Canned Heat. It was only open for roughly six months in 1967 with many memorable bands performing in that brief time. The venue was housed at the Earl Carroll Theater, which was then located at 6230 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood and featured two concentrically rotating stages at the center of the venue. For The Doors performance, the show was moved to a club called Ciros at 8433 W. Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, which is now the Comedy Store, since the original location of the club, at the Earl Carroll Theatre, had yet to be finalized.The Circular poster depicts a silhouette of the faces of The Doors with the band names in psychedelic's font, and is printed in bright shades in a color combination meant to play tricks on the eye, as if looking through a psychedelic kaleidoscope. Previously owned by Alan Brackett, the original bass player in the Peanut Butter Conspiracy, who played with The Doors at this venue, along with The UFO."
Up for bid on eBay is a beautiful Jazz-Age Double Orange Soda advertising sign.
Says the seller, "This dazzling art deco original soda advertising Americana document features a sultry, flapper beauty for Prohibition-era Double Orange Soda. This phenomenal advertising sign for "Truly Delightful Double Orange" is by the talented Rolf Armstrong and housed in a handsome custom black frame behind glass."
According to the listing, this item comes from the remarkable collection of Mike Wooldridge, a lifetime collector and co-author of "Pin Up Dreams," a monograph on Rolf Armstrong that was researched and enthusiastically compiled by Mike over many years.
I've featured a few items from this seller that came from Mike's collection. Click the link in the first paragraph to see what else is being offered from this remarkable Rolf Armstrong collection.
Up for bid on eBay is a great John Deere collectible advertising piece from 1885, "Farmers' Pocket Companion Issued by Deere & Mansur Co., Moline Illinois".
According to the listing, the catalog includes wonderful steel engraving illustrations of the Deere line of agricultural implements such as rotary drop planter, Deere wire check-rower, and others.
The seller says, "This piece of company history pioneer ploy maker John Deere's son, Charles Henry Deere's Company. When John Deere's Plow Works were incorporated in 1868, Charles was VP and GM of the operation until John Deere's death in 1886, when Charles become President of the company. In 1869, Chalres Deere and Alvah Mansur established the first branch house of the John Deere Co., Deere, Mansur & Co., in Kansas City. A semi-independent distributor of Deere products within a certain geographic area, it is the forerunner of the company's current farm and industrial- equipment sales branches and sales regions."
This Tron movie poster, now up for bid on eBay, was given to the first 100 people in line to see the midnight premiere IMAX showing of TRON LEGACY in downtown Disney.
The seller says, "Not a lot of these posters came out in mint or near mint condition because fans went on a frenzy when one of the workers started to distribute them! We manage to snag a couple of them in NEAR MINT condition. You get it the same way we got it, no holes, tears, bends, or major folds."
Investigate this hot auction by clicking on the link in the first paragraph.
A vintage Owsley Stanley bronze belt buckle is up for bid on eBay.
According to the seller, the backside of the Grateful Dead belt buck is inscribed "OS BT/GDP copyright Owsley Stanley 1983." There is a number 6 in the center. This is the original finish; its original condition.
Stanley was an accomplished sound engineer and the longtime soundman and financier for seminal psychedelic rock band the Grateful Dead.
Up for bid on eBay is an original (circa 1847) mining company stockholder manifest. According to the listing, this 19th century manuscript contains a full roster of individual shareholders in three companies engaged in early mining activities in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. All three companies, Lake Superior Copper Co., Northwestern Mining Co., and Eagle Harbor Mining Co., were founded in the 1840s, and were principal players in the early speculation and mining of the Keweenaw Peninsula, the northern-most part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Begun in 1842 and lasting until about 1850, this was the first copper boom in United States history. This original manuscript lists shareholders in the Lake Superior Copper Company [L.S.C.Co.] who simultaneously held shares in both the Northwestern Mining Company [NW.M.Co.] and Eagle Harbor Mining Company [E.H.M.Co.]. In all, nearly 150 different names are listed holding a total of 1200 shares of L.S.C.Co. stock, 250 shares of NW.M.Co. stock and 100 shares of E.H.M.Co. stock. A remarkable manuscript documenting the earliest mining companies in America's first copper boom.
"The Lake Superior Copper Company, which was the first that engaged in those mining operations that gave value to this [Keweenaw] district, opened its first mines on Eagle river in 1844. Under the very unfavorable state of things which then existed in the savage and uncivilized state of the country, and after two or three years' labor, they very unfortunately sold their mines, at the precise moment when they were upon the vein that now has been proved to be so very rich in copper and silver. The Phoenix Copper Company, formed of the remains of the Lake Superior Company, opened these mines anew...". [Report of Israel D. Andrews on the Trade and Commerce of the British North American Colonies, 1852].
"The present Phoenix Consolidated Company is the lineal successor of the Lake Superior Copper Company, the first regularly organized corporation to engage in Lake Superior copper mining. The Pittsburgh & Boston company begun actual mining on the Cliff property a few months before the Lake Superior company did its first work, but was organized later. The Lake Superior company located 21 square miles under permits from the War Department, and actual mining was begun Oct, 22, 1844...In 1847 the Lake Superior company had expended $98,790.50 and the shareholders were tired. In 1849 a reorganization was effected, and the Phoenix Copper Company took over the assets of the original corporation." [The Copper Handbook, 1900].
"Eagle Harbor Mining Company, [was formed] for the purpose of mining, smelting and manufacturing ores, minerals and metals in the upper peninsula of the state of Michigan." [Acts of the Legislature of the State of Michigan, 1847].
"Northwestern Mining Company was organized in 1845 and then reorganized in 1848. Work continued until 1857 and resumed again in 1863. All work ceased in 1865 and was absorbed by the Central Mining Company shortly after 313,000 lbs. of refined copper was recovered [from the mines]...Copper, silver, analcime, and prehnite can be found on the poor-rock piles." [United States Geological Survey, 1992].
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