Reviewing a Rendezvous...in SPACE!

 This week I'm turning the dial on my time machine to 1967! NASA had just completed the Gemini program, which was the last stepping stone before Apollo. The idea of Gemini was to show how vehicles could rendezvous in space- a maneuver that would be needed in order to make it to the moon. Space fever was everywhere in the U.S.A., and toys were no exception. Actually, toys were pretty much the rule!

I was at an antique mall in Mesquite a few years ago when I spotted this-

This is a bagatelle game (some people call it pinball) made by the Wolverine Toy Company. Upon doing a tiny bit of research, I found that it appeared in the 1967 catalog. Wolverine made quality tin toys from the early 1900's to the 70s. "Rendezvous in Space" was their tribute to Gemini. Let's take a closer look...

Here's the Wolverine logo- and the only rules you get. "Black ball counts double."

Here is an interesting illustration of two Gemini capsules meeting up...

Here we have their version of a Titan II. Here is the real deal...

Pretty close, actually! 

The graphics are pretty nice overall!

The game originally came with a stand that fit into holes in the bottom. Mine was missing this part, but a bent clothes hanger works just as well...

As cool as I think this game is, I actually didn't buy it right away. The reason is that it was around 40 bucks! That seemed like a lot (it still does) but after I left the store, I kept thinking about it. I finally justified it by noting that it was in great condition, it combined my love for space and toys, and I had never seen one before. Sometimes you just gotta step up to the plate!

It's actually pretty fun to play with- for a couple of minutes at a time. But, it's more fun to look at. I'm glad I got it!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

Modern Stoneage Fairgoers!

 I was at my local antique mall on Thursday (being off for Spring Break and all that) and something caught my eye. On a display rack of various comic books I found this:

Now, I didn't actually go to the New York World's Fair (although I did attend the Hemisfair in San Antonio about three years later), but I have collected a few things from it over the years- due mainly to the Disney connection. 

I was not aware that The Flintstone's went to the fair, but apparently they did and they put out their very own "official souvenir" comic book about it! Now, the condition was not great (the cover is almost falling off due to "wet basement syndrome.") but I figured five bucks was fair (pun sort of intended) so it came home with me! 

I considered copying every page but there are a lot of pages and quite frankly the stories aren't that good, so I'll just hit a couple of highlights...

The inside of the cover (where you can see the water damage clearly). Here we see a few NYWF lamdmarks. They'll show up later in the book...

The first page shows the gang showing up at the fair straight from Bedrock. How did they get there? Helo-dino of course! How did they travel through time? Don't ask too many questions...

There are quite a few attractions and exhibits in the stories. In fact, the first story has the kids getting lost just so the characters could tour the fair looking for them. Cheesy, but I guess it works...

There are also tons of cameos from other Hanna-Barbera characters. So many, in fact, that I had forgotten some of them. Here are the future's answer to The Flintstones... No word on how they managed the time travel either.

Ah, TC! I remember liking the cartoon as a kid, but I really can't remember it.

These guys, I remember even less. All in all, Hanna-Barbera never amused me like Disney or Warner Brothers did. 

Another one...

Ok, here's a headliner! Yogi, I like! Hey, Boo-Boo!

Nope. Not really a fan...

I have no idea who these guys are. I could Google it, but that takes effort. Sorry!

Quick-Draw! Oh no!!! He shot Barney!!!

Oh wait, it looks like he's ok. 

I was hoping that there would be a bunch of Disney references, but this is the only one. In this story, Dino is "fetching" various objects from around the fair (don't ask why- it really doesn't make sense). Apparently that "wooden fish" is supposed to have come off of Rolly Crump's Tower of the Four Winds. The fact that there never WAS a wooden fish on the tower makes no difference to the crack team of story tellers that came up with this mess. Oh well, at least Disney got a little nod. 

I kind of wonder if Hanna-Barbera didn't want to give another animation studio a plug.

This drawing of it isn't terrible, but the third and last story is- so I didn't even include it.

The back cover features more real photos and the fam.

I like the front and back covers better that anything in between. I wish it wasn't water damaged. 

All in all, the comic is a dud, but I'm glad I got it anyway. It will look good on my shelf, so that's a good thing. It's fun in a silly kind of way.  

Speaking of silly, I left a very important postcard off of last week's post! This slightly blurry pic is Punch and Judy on the Planet Mars! Why is this important?

Because it came from the very short lived  Spaceland amusement park! 

The same place that THIS treasure came from!

So there you have it! I hope you enjoyed my souvenirs! Even now I'm finding stuff!

So, remember to keep searching for treasure!

Rando Postcard Palooza!

 The way I do this blog isn't hard. I simply look around the house until I find something that either I think is interesting, or that I think you guys will think is interesting and there we go! This week I was looking through a box and I stumbled across these fairly random postcards. Now, I don't actually collect postcards, but if I stumble across one that I find interesting while looking at an antique store (or junk store) I'll plunk down a few cents. Ok, that's enough intro padding- Here we go!

This first one is probably a dime a dozen in California, and I'm pretty sure this company did them for every state in the union (I've seen Texas examples too). Still, this retro look at CA is cool in an "Ultra-Touristy" way. I was not aware that Disneyland was actually in the Pacific, though...

This is the only card that I can find a date on. 1976 was a good year.

Next, we have this Knott's example featuring our favorite prospector. I'm not sure how climbing up on that huge rock helped him find gold, but it made for a good picture, I guess.

And here we see that the people who sent this were from my home town of Denison, Texas! At first I thought they somehow got confused berween Disneyland and Knotts (weirdly common), but then I noticed that they said they were going to Disneyland that morning, so it hadn't happened yet. I also noted that there are no ZIP codes on this card, which might date it before July 1, 1963. ...but maybe not.

Wait! Didn't I just show you this card??? Demand your money back!!!

Oh, wait, the pose is a little different, so we're good. No refunds today, I'm afraid!

Also, nothing written on the back. And there IS a ZIP code on the bottom. Nice card, but fairly dull...

Hey, let's bop on over to Disneyland! (They should have used that line in their promotional literature). The Jungle Cruise is looking very Jungle-y today! 

No writing on the back, but a nice card! 

I remember picking up this "26 Colorful Scenes" pack at a flea market in Forth Worth, Texas. I almost didn't get it because it was around five bucks and I'm very cheap. Still I'm glad I did. It's hard to date it from the featured pictures because they reused so many, but America Sings is included, so that means after 1974, possibly much later.

Here we have a nice card from the other coast! It features the Life Magazine opening day photo.

This one is cleatly dated April 1, 1974. Madeline (from Mount Pleasant, NJ) was a very neat typist. Her assessment of WDW might seem a bit underwhelmed, but as it seems she might have just lost her husband, Dick, we can certainly forgive her. 

Lastly, we have this card that I picked up simply because it featured my name and a really cool art deco diner. 

I tried to look up the address to get a current picture of the property, but apparently Jackson, Tx no longer exists, having been gobbled up by Houston. I then jumped down a DEEP rabbit hole... Hours later, this is what I found from a Houston architecture site...

Well, that was in 2012. Now, they serve chicken there...and the building is apparently finally completely gone.

Well, there you have it. But on a larger scale this is why I collect things in the first place. If I hadn't picked up those postcards we would have never known about the Calson family from Denison, Madeline and Dick from New Jersey, or the fate of Stuarts's Club and Grill (with their A/C hoses!). These things tell stories, and they should be listened to.

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!