Son of My 50 Year Junk Obsession 16 16

[MattTheDuck]

This is either 1968 or 1970.  Honestly I don't remember this bike at all.  Not too many years after this I received for my birthday (I think) a bicycle that looked like a motorcycle - "gas" tank and everything - which was later stolen (which I'm fine with in hindsight - it was heavy), and then used paper route money to buy a Schwinn 10-speed which cost about $100 - a fortune in those days.

Somewhere around here I have a Christmas picture of a battery-powered car that ran on a "track" consisting of small tubing.  Anyone remember that?  I also think I received the "Mousetrap" game one year and have a picture of that as well.  Have to go through my mom's pictures - a 2022 goal.

 

Edited December 29, 2021 by MattTheDuck
2nd paragraph

[PopKulture]

On 12/29/2021 at 11:18 AM, Robot Man said:

Got a cool post Christmas present from a friend yesterday. She thought I might know who this was. Indeed, a 1920’s/‘30’s newspaper character. A larger than normal box. Great graphics and a flip down front.

Maybe even better, they are just starting to clear out their grandparent’s house. “Full of junk” she said. I am going to help her out to make sure they don’t pitch anything good. Nothing better than the archeology of going through an old house of “junk”.

@PopKulture

The only Winnie Winkle boxes you see with any frequency are the 50/13's or just "50's" as they are usually termed because they contained 50 cigars in four rows of 13 (and one row of 11 usually with a dummy block). Yours is a "drop-front" 100, which naturally held 100 cigar boxes (also packed 13 per row) and the little paper-hinged drop-front that provided even more room for advertising copy. The 50 is the size most people think of when they think "cigar box."

Your friend set you up with a cool example of a comic-themed box. Keep your fingers crossed she digs up a Buster Brown box next or even a Yellow Kid!

(not mine, sadly!)

[Robot Man]

On 12/29/2021 at 11:53 AM, MattTheDuck said:

This is either 1968 or 1970.  Honestly I don't remember this bike at all.  Not too many years after this I received for my birthday (I think) a bicycle that looked like a motorcycle - "gas" tank and everything - which was later stolen (which I'm fine with in hindsight - it was heavy), and then used paper route money to buy a Schwinn 10-speed which cost about $100 - a fortune in those days.

Somewhere around here I have a Christmas picture of a battery-powered car that ran on a "track" consisting of small tubing.  Anyone remember that?  I also think I received the "Mousetrap" game one year and have a picture of that as well.  Have to go through my mom's pictures - a 2022 goal.

 

Great photo! We were all such geeks as kids weren't we?

The only time I remember getting a new bike was when me and my brother both got one for Christmas. They were the Sting Rays with the banana seat, gear shifter and the slick tires. My brother got a "Lemon Peeler" and I got an "Orange Crate". Man, we rode the Hell outta those. Growing up in CA every kid spent his life on these and skateboards all year long.

Me and my friends were "gear heads" long before we knew about cars. We would make our own bikes out of old beaters. My friend's dad was a welder and would make raked forks for us. We would take old parts to customize our bikes. I had many of them stolen and crashed a few. Later came go carts and mini bikes. 

[Robot Man]

On 12/29/2021 at 3:54 PM, PopKulture said:

The only Winnie Winkle boxes you see with any frequency are the 50/13's or just "50's" as they are usually termed because they contained 50 cigars in four rows of 13 (and one row of 11 usually with a dummy block). Yours is a "drop-front" 100, which naturally held 100 cigar boxes (also packed 13 per row) and the little paper-hinged drop-front that provided even more room for advertising copy. The 50 is the size most people think of when they think "cigar box."

Your friend set you up with a cool example of a comic-themed box. Keep your fingers crossed she digs up a Buster Brown box next or even a Yellow Kid!

(not mine, sadly!)

Thanks Pop. I knew you were into these. Good to have a little background on this one. That Yellow Kid is top of the mark! I suspect at least 20 years earlier than Winnie. @Yellow Kid Hey Rich, you got one of these?

I remember seeing some early cigar boxes with Baseball players. Cobb and Walter Johnson maybe come to mind. I would probably pay up a bit if I ran into one of them. 

[MattTheDuck]

On 12/29/2021 at 5:13 PM, Robot Man said:

Great photo! We were all such geeks as kids weren't we?

The only time I remember getting a new bike was when me and my brother both got one for Christmas. They were the Sting Rays with the banana seat, gear shifter and the slick tires. My brother got a "Lemon Peeler" and I got an "Orange Crate". Man, we rode the Hell outta those. Growing up in CA every kid spent his life on these and skateboards all year long.

Me and my friends were "gear heads" long before we knew about cars. We would make our own bikes out of old beaters. My friend's dad was a welder and would make raked forks for us. We would take old parts to customize our bikes. I had many of them stolen and crashed a few. Later came go carts and mini bikes. 

The Stingrays were cool.  We had a street path through the neighborhood we called "The Circuit" - probably a half-mile total - and would ride our bikes around it and time each other.  We used to build (non-motorized) go-carts too.  Going down the steepest, longest hill in our neighborhood, I realized the steering left something to be desired and there weren't any brakes.  Pro-tip: don't use your knee to try to slow down.  Still have the scar.

Edited December 30, 2021 by MattTheDuck

[Yellow Kid]

Bob, the picture is of the large Yellow Kid cigar box.  There is also one that is about half that deep.  I sold most of my YK collection some time ago with the exception of my pinbacks and Sunday tear sheets.  I also have a set Palmer Cox figures advertising cigars but not a box.  I will try and get a picture of them tomorrow.

[PopKulture]

On 12/29/2021 at 7:17 PM, Robot Man said:

I remember seeing some early cigar boxes with Baseball players. Cobb and Walter Johnson maybe come to mind. I would probably pay up a bit if I ran into one of them. 

"Pay up" is right, as you no doubt know you're up against the well-heeled sports crossover collectors. By far the most common baseball player you'll find on a box is Al Simmons, a brand that was made in Milwaukee for some forty years or so. Joe Tinker is probably the second most encountered box, but is by no means common. There is a Wagner and a Cap Anson, along with a few other examples that I saw in Barry Halper's collection, but they're very tough to track down.

Generic Victorian scenes of baseball, like the box pictured below, are numerous but scarce and highly collectible.

Cigar boxes differ from comics in that many boxes are either unique or maybe have at best two or three surviving examples. Action 1 and Detective 27 would be considered "plentiful" if they were cigar boxes!  

 

[PopKulture]

On 12/29/2021 at 8:11 PM, Yellow Kid said:

Bob, the picture is of the large Yellow Kid cigar box.  There is also one that is about half that deep.  I sold most of my YK collection some time ago with the exception of my pinbacks and Sunday tear sheets.  I also have a set Palmer Cox figures advertising cigars but not a box.  I will try and get a picture of them tomorrow.

The 100-count is the most common, but always pricey. There are 50-counts and I've seen one example of a 25-count box as well, sporting the same label as seen above. There is an embossed and gilded Yellow Kid box as well, but it's very rare and all those gilded boxes are tough to find with all the gilding intact. Still, I wouldn't turn any of them down! 

Looking forward to seeing your examples, Yellow Kid! 

 

[Yellow Kid]

I used to have the 100-count and the 50-count Yellow Kid cigar boxes.  I also had the tobacco store Yellow Kid counter cutter for cigars which is quite rare.  When James Challenger's outstanding advertising collection was sold, I got one of his favorite pieces, eight Palmer Cox figures advertising Rainmaker's 5 Cent Segar.  I have those characters standing in front of a Palmer Cox label. There is also a label for Brownies cigars.  I am also including two Buster Brown cigars.  I think the rings could be saved and exchanged for premiums in the booklet that is pictured.  Because the early comics were aimed at adults to encourage them to buy the paper, the advertisements were also aimed at adults.

[Robot Man]

Happy New Year to all my friends on these here boards! Here is to a better year next year!

[Robot Man]

Haven't done a new "subset" in a while. A recent purchase made me think about some others in my collection.

One summer I actually got a job in the Lake Tahoe morgue. I was up visiting a friend and needed a job. His mom did make up on the really departed. She got me and my friend part time jobs there.

Now before you say no way... It was a swing shift job from 3:00-11:00 PM. Allowing us to hit a few parties after work and sleep on the beach during the day. We didn't have to cut our hair (big thing back then) or wear uniforms. The best thing was the pay however. While, our friends were making $2. an hour working in restricted jobs dealing with the public, were were making $5. an hour working basically un-supervised.

What did we do? Mostly clean-up and maintanience. But the creepy part was we had to wash up the new guests as they came in. So we would tie our hair back, put on a smock, gloves and mask and scrub them top to bottom with a scrub brush and rinse them off. Then back to the cooler. Real creepy at first but mostly older folks that passed from natural causes and the occasional OD. But once in a while... But pretty quiet and easy overall. And lots of practical jokes and gallows humor.

Easily, the weirdest part time job I ever had and none of which is portrayed here except maybe the occasional card games...

[Robot Man]

[Robot Man]

[Robot Man]

[Robot Man]

[buttock]

On 1/24/2022 at 10:31 AM, Robot Man said:

Haven't done a new "subset" in a while. A recent purchase made me think about some others in my collection.

One summer I actually got a job in the Lake Tahoe morgue. I was up visiting a friend and needed a job. His mom did make up on the really departed. She got me and my friend part time jobs there.

Now before you say no way... It was a swing shift job from 3:00-11:00 PM. Allowing us to hit a few parties after work and sleep on the beach during the day. We didn't have to cut our hair (big thing back then) or wear uniforms. The best thing was the pay however. While, our friends were making $2. an hour working in restricted jobs dealing with the public, were were making $5. an hour working basically un-supervised.

What did we do? Mostly clean-up and maintanience. But the creepy part was we had to wash up the new guests as they came in. So we would tie our hair back, put on a smock, gloves and mask and scrub them top to bottom with a scrub brush and rinse them off. Then back to the cooler. Real creepy at first but mostly older folks that passed from natural causes and the occasional OD. But once in a while... But pretty quiet and easy overall. And lots of practical jokes and gallows humor.

Easily, the weirdest part time job I ever had and none of which is portrayed here except maybe the occasional card games...

I was just talking with someone yesterday about how their grandfather wouldn't let their dad back in the house after he went to college and grew his hair out.  As the parent of a 17 year old, rebellion sure has changed. 

[adamstrange]

Mystery Tales #9?

[adamstrange]

On 1/24/2022 at 12:31 PM, Robot Man said:

Haven't done a new "subset" in a while. A recent purchase made me think about some others in my collection.

One summer I actually got a job in the Lake Tahoe morgue. I was up visiting a friend and needed a job. His mom did make up on the really departed. She got me and my friend part time jobs there.

Now before you say no way... It was a swing shift job from 3:00-11:00 PM. Allowing us to hit a few parties after work and sleep on the beach during the day. We didn't have to cut our hair (big thing back then) or wear uniforms. The best thing was the pay however. While, our friends were making $2. an hour working in restricted jobs dealing with the public, were were making $5. an hour working basically un-supervised.

What did we do? Mostly clean-up and maintanience. But the creepy part was we had to wash up the new guests as they came in. So we would tie our hair back, put on a smock, gloves and mask and scrub them top to bottom with a scrub brush and rinse them off. Then back to the cooler. Real creepy at first but mostly older folks that passed from natural causes and the occasional OD. But once in a while... But pretty quiet and easy overall. And lots of practical jokes and gallows humor.

Easily, the weirdest part time job I ever had and none of which is portrayed here except maybe the occasional card games...

Night Shift!

 

[adamstrange]

On 1/24/2022 at 12:46 PM, buttock said:

I was just talking with someone yesterday about how their grandfather wouldn't let their dad back in the house after he went to college and grew his hair out.  As the parent of a 17 year old, rebellion sure has changed. 

The hair may have been the obvious and stated reason, but I would guess there were deeper, unstated concerns.

[buttock]

On 1/24/2022 at 11:31 AM, adamstrange said:

The hair may have been the obvious and stated reason, but I would guess there were deeper, unstated concerns.

I don't know.  The guy was going to Penn premed.  The next year he told him he wouldn't support him if he transferred to Ohio State.  Sounds like the issues were clearly parental control.