Golden Age Collection 22 22

[detective35]

[font:Arial Black]Shadow Blue Coal Trolley Sign

(28" x 5 1/2")[/font]

 

Hi,

 

Just picked this up for my personal collection (circa. 1930's)

 

This is an incredibly beautiful vibrant two-sided Blue Coal thick cardboard like material sign. the colors are so extremely bright and the condition is so wonderful, that I don't believe this one was ever displayed. not many of these signs have survived, especially in this shape.

 

Blue Coal was the sponsor for the radio serial "THE SHADOW" from the 1930's and 1940's. As you can see the program was on Sunday afternoons when all of the family was together and it didn't interfere with Sunday worship.

 

The sign was used in store front windows to be seen inside and out. It was used in bus stations and on buses, in train stations and on trains, trolley platforms and trolleys, and perhaps even airports. The signs slid in slots and were changed each month. This month is Oct.

 

The month is on lower left side where as most are on the right. BLUE COAL must have sent out a set of twelve each year to their advertising venues so every month a different sign could be displayed. Talking to the person who had this sign, NONE of the other 11 signs had the shadow on them, they were just generic blue coal signs.

 

 

 

 

[Scrooge]

I'll get to Sickles book as soon as I've "seen" the Norm Saunders book.

 

That turned out to be quite a nice book and a great price point too (like the Sickles book was). (thumbs u

[Scrooge]

I visit the Today's Inspiration blog from time to time. (thumbs u

BZ, do you read Illustration Magazine? It is quickly becoming my favorite mag

now that CBM is no longer being published.

 

http://www.illustration-magazine.com/

 

I'm halfway through with the most recent issue and the interview with the lady artist who learned at DeSoto's easel is fascinating (thumbs u

[adamstrange]

I'll get to Sickles book as soon as I've "seen" the Norm Saunders book.

 

That turned out to be quite a nice book and a great price point too (like the Sickles book was). (thumbs u

 

I have the Saunders book but didn't really want to say "read" it since it has so many pictures.

[Scrooge]

I'll get to Sickles book as soon as I've "seen" the Norm Saunders book.

 

That turned out to be quite a nice book and a great price point too (like the Sickles book was). (thumbs u

 

I have the Saunders book but didn't really want to say "read" it since it has so many pictures.

 

I understood that (thumbs u Been reading your posts for years now

[adamstrange]

I'll get to Sickles book as soon as I've "seen" the Norm Saunders book.

 

That turned out to be quite a nice book and a great price point too (like the Sickles book was). (thumbs u

 

I have the Saunders book but didn't really want to say "read" it since it has so many pictures.

 

I understood that (thumbs u Been reading your posts for years now

 

 

I was surprised at the amount and quality of the color pictures in the Saunders book. The original painting to Strange Stories from Another World was sweet!!!!

[BB-Gun]

...I think there also must have been an influence by Noel Sickles who provided a simple style to visualize complex action.

 

BB, are you familiar with the "Today's Inspiration" blog?

 

Leif Peng posts a boatload of old illustartion art.

 

On August 18th of last year, he posted lots of illos from the "Scorchy Smith and the Art of Noel Sickles" book: Link

 

The latest artist he focuses on is William Smith: Link

 

 

Thanks for the link. I had forgotten our discussion about the Crane and Shuster connection. In my mind, Crane, Caniff, Sickles and Shuster are all connected as if they studied with each other. Toth was one of their off spring. But as Scrooge points out, the connection is most obvious with Crane and Shuster. However, other contributions to the Superman style, such as costume design and perspectives, are probably influenced by Raymond.

[rob_react]

I just read the following thing. Does anyone know if this is true?:

 

All American #16 While not possessing the mainstream cachet of some of the other books in this list, this, the first appearance of Green Lantern, has gained considerable attention in the past few months. A notoriously difficult book to find in high grade, the best known copy (the Edgar Church/Mile High copy) was recently graded by the Comics Guaranty Corporation at Near Mint (9.4 out of 10 in their numerical grading scale.) That by itself was exciting to many in the hobby as books that significant rarely come up for public appraisal like that. Beyond even that, it was learned that it was graded by its owner, long time dealer and super collector John Verzyl, in order to facilitate a sale. As of this writing all rumors point to a sale price of 1.1 million dollars, a figure that, if verified, would triple the previous record price paid for a single comic book.

 

http://itsalljustcomics.com/collecting-superhero-comic-books/

 

 

When I wrote that, although not verified, I'd heard it was close to a done deal from several sources (several of whom post here ) You can see the discussion here in several threads.

 

Then? It went quiet and then I started to hear the news going in the other direction.

 

I've never adjusted the original print article in its home on the web.

 

[Scrooge]

...I think there also must have been an influence by Noel Sickles who provided a simple style to visualize complex action.

 

BB, are you familiar with the "Today's Inspiration" blog?

 

Leif Peng posts a boatload of old illustartion art.

 

On August 18th of last year, he posted lots of illos from the "Scorchy Smith and the Art of Noel Sickles" book: Link

 

The latest artist he focuses on is William Smith: Link

 

 

Addictive! Thank you, ... I guess

[BangZoom]

BZ, do you read Illustration Magazine? It is quickly becoming my favorite mag

now that CBM is no longer being published.

 

http://www.illustration-magazine.com/

 

I've been picking up back issues from dealers when they come up for sale.

 

I have about 13 of them now. It's a terrific magazine.

 

I also enjoy Comic Art Magazine which is from the same publisher.

 

[BangZoom]

Just picked this up for my personal collection (circa. 1930's)

 

 

 

 

That's a great looking sign, Dwight

 

Congrats.

[Flee-Marquette]

BZ, do you read Illustration Magazine? It is quickly becoming my favorite mag

now that CBM is no longer being published.

 

http://www.illustration-magazine.com/

 

I've been picking up back issues from dealers when they come up for sale.

 

I have about 13 of them now. It's a terrific magazine.

 

I also enjoy Comic Art Magazine which is from the same publisher.

 

Thanks for the tip! I just ordered one to check it out. (thumbs u

[BB-Gun]

I think I have one or two of the Comic Art magazines thanks to a LCS but I don't think I have the illustrators mag. They both look pretty good. Now I will have to search for them.

bb

[BB-Gun]

This item is a little out of my area but I found an illustration in an old scrap book.

Apparently, Blackstone Sr. was a bit of an artist. He signed his autograph with a little illustration.

I found an example on line and compared it to the one that I found from 7/5/44. It looks pretty authentic to me.

I also found autographs by Boris Karloff and Lou Costello in the scrapbook.

I haven't read the Blackstone comic very much and wonder if he had some comments or an agreement with Street and Smith.

By the way, the second drawing, I believe, is of my mother-in-law.

[BB-Gun]

And one of my favorite actors was also included in the scrap book.

My mother-in-law didn't get the picture of Boris. She only got an autograph.

But she said he was a very nice man and a good tipper.

bb

[BB-Gun]

I am still trying to identify the rest of the autographs. There are a couple of band leaders that signed autographs and a few musicians. One that I recognized was Gene Krupa and the another was Claude Hopkins. She also had some trumpet players signing autographs. I am not sure who they were. The only one that I remember from the big band era was Harry James. By the way, he grew up in the circus. His mother was a trapeze artist and his father was the band leader.

bb

Sorry, I am off on a tangent again.

[Scrooge]

Tangent away (thumbs u

[BB-Gun]

I checked my MIL's record collection but I didn't find any of the other band members listed in the autograph collection. I saw the regular people listed on 78 rpm, ie, Sinatra, Doris Day, Frankie Laine, Kay Kyser, Harry James, Hank Williams and Lefty Frizzell. Too bad my mother in law died 30 years ago. I would like to track down the rest of the names but I guess I will have to google it.

bb

[BangZoom]

And one of my favorite actors was also included in the scrap book.

My mother-in-law didn't get the picture of Boris. She only got an autograph.

But she said he was a very nice man and a good tipper.

bb

 

Nice collection of autographs your mother-in-law assembled.

 

What was her employment that enabled her to have access to the various personalities?

[BangZoom]

This item is a little out of my area but I found an illustration in an old scrap book.

Apparently, Blackstone Sr. was a bit of an artist. He signed his autograph with a little illustration.

 

I like the little sketch.

 

I picked up this Harry Blackstone pulp at a magic convention I attended in the 70's.

 

1930

 

According to J. Randolph Cox's "Man of Magic and Mystery," the magazine was ghost-written by Shadow creator, Walter Gibson.