New Favorite Thing

Headed to the Upper East Side yesterday to pick up my Craigslist-find Paradigm surround speakers (which rock BTW), and stopped by a thrift store that I haven’t visited in a while.

Last time there I saw a great vintage wooden toy but since it was pricey–and I wasn’t sure I could eBay it for more than the sticker–I let it go. In the succeeding months though I couldn’t forget the thing, so I took a long shot that it might still be there.

Went in. Looked around. Didn’t see it. Deflated.

I noticed the same volunteer clerk from previous and asked her about the toy. She lit up, recognized me instantly and was overjoyed that I came back since the manager wanted her to throw it away. She knew how great it was though and just stashed it in the bottom of a stuffed animal bin.

Heart-warming, no? I even got a discount.

Here it is:

A child-size rotary-phone from the Brio Company in Sweden, founded in 1884 and still active today (in fact our friend’s kid has a Brio toy crane that he has to fight me for whenever we visit). It’s about 3 1/2″ tall, 4″ wide. I can’t find date information but judging by the typography on the Brio label, I’d guess mid-60s. It has a nice weight, makes a satisfying light clunking sound when you replace the receiver, and the rotary dial is spring-loaded and returns to the start position when released.

Anyway I’m keeping it. I tried using a rotary phone a few years ago and it was exhausting. We were a hardier breed back then.

I love the idea of a toy representing something that has evolved into a new form. It’s original purpose was to familiarize a child with adult tools, but now it would just be mystifying. Maybe when kids visit they can pretend they’re in Madmen or something.

Newish Blogs

In my extended period of summer blogging interia I found some new resources that having been awaiting a plug.

Here’s two newish projects from Jim Linderman, author of Take me to the Water: Immersion Baptism in Vintage Music and Photography 1890-1950 (blogging at Dull Tool, Dim Bulb):

1. A blog supporting his up-coming book on the lost art of hand-painted photographic backgrounds The Painted Backdrop–still under construction but already featuring some tantalizing imagery like this:


2. Camera Club Girls: The Work of Rudolph Rossi (tame but probably NWS). Jim’s description:

“The extraordinary hand-painted photographs of Rudolph Rossi. Rossi was an informal member of the New York City Concorde Camera Club in the repressive 1950’s. For a ten dollar fee, he photographed Bettie Page and a plethora of interracial models, then later meticulously hand-painted the photographs creating the illusion of color photography. An exceptional body of work by a previously unknown and unrecognized photographer and erotic artist from a time when such activity was taboo.”


Both are worth a look and I’ll add them to the side-bar in the appropriate categories.

Paper Sculpture Sex Education

Going through a recent large book acquisition I came upon How Babies Are Made by Andrew C. Andry published by Time Life Books, 1968; on the exterior a rather dated and pastel birds ‘n bees primer. But opening it up, I found it was illustrated with quirky paper sculptures of chickens mounting each other, puppies coming down paper birth canals, and paper people sharing “personal and special” moments.

The sculptures–created by Blake Hampton for whom I can find only one other illustration credit (The Cookie Tree)–are well executed and charming and I love the idea of a professional illustrator spending days carefully cutting out delicate paper sperm and curling umbilical cords.

A Visit to old HP

Over the summer we paid a visit to the new brother-in-law in Providence, RI and I made him take us to se H. P. Lovecraft’s grave.

As a pilgrimage, it didn’t disappoint. The cemetery walls and entrance were made of huge, sharp roughly hewn stones (sorry, no picture) which would not have seemed out of place in the sunken city of the Old Ones. Lovecraft’s grave (evidently purchased by fans and not precisely marking the place of his interment) was decorated with a mysterious key, notes and tokens like some Goth Jim Morrison.


Wandering down some stone steps on the eastern side of the cemetery you come to the shore of of the Seekonk River which is close enough to the ocean that salt water backs up into the bay and leaves behind ancient and unspeakable things like this:


As a capper–on leaving the cemetery–a ground’s keeper pulled up next to us and asked us if a backpack and sneakers she found on the trail belonged to us. We said no and that we’d seen no sign of other visitors. She solemnly rolled up the window and drove away, undoubtedly to leave these sad relics as an offering to Nyarlathotep for the appeasement of the blind idiot god Azathoth.

Photos link to a Flickr gallery with a few more images.

Summer Sabbatical

Jumping off the grid tomorrow for 10 days of lazing about in Canada’s Algonquin National Park. A long uninterrupted stretch of swimming, hammock swinging, eating and summer reading.

Here’s my pile for this year:

I’ll try to pick up the pace with blog posts once I’m back and refreshed.

Bye all.

WWII Ephemera

I stumbled on an interesting WWII-era collection at a local thrift shop and found a few interesting items worth sharing:

First this pamphlet of “Recommended War Books…Planned and Selected by The Council on Books in War Time” (Their motto was “Books Are Weapons in the War of Ideas”), distributed by the Brooklyn Public Library.

Page 1, Page 2

This is “List 14” of recommended war books. I’d be curious to see the other lists.

Next, “Honorable Spy” by John L. Spivak, a 1939 digest-size PB original “Exposing Japanese Military in the United States” with a great sinister, xenophobic cover.


This will go well with my recently acquired copy of Punch Below the Belt, The: Japanese Ruses, Deception Tactics, and Antipersonnel Measures.

Awful Library Books

A friend recently directed me to a newish book blog called Awful Library Books. It’s a submission-based blog–for and by librarians–containing scans and summaries of book culled from library collections for being particularly dated, absurd or politically incorrect.

It’s an entertaining read and I’m actually seeing a number of books I would snap up at an FOL sale for my shop (like this teen inspirational title by Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider).

Reading this blog has hi-lighted for me the difference in outlook between a public librarian and a bookdealer. Librarians want titles with a broad, current appeal and a long shelf-life while bookdealers seek titles for which a specific and rarified audience will pay through the nose.

Ironically though–if this blog becomes widely enough read–librarians will probably start getting requests for these titles again.

A Very Fine Junkie

I’m currently auctioning a stunning copy of Ace D-15; a 1953 paperback original double of Junkie / Narcotic Agent by William Lee and Maurice Helbrant (cover art by Al Rossi).

This is a fine copy of William Burroughs’ rare first novel, one of the key collectible paperbacks.


This is the finest copy I’ve ever seen. It’s unread, bright and sharp with only a few marginal flaws (detailed in the auction listing). I’m using all the bells and whistles on the auction so hopefully it will be bid up high enough that I won’t hate myself too much for letting it go.

Ends Sunday, June 28th around 7pm EST.