Humpty Dumpty

An excellent 1950s vintage gift from my pal Steve a few years ago: A McCoy pottery Humpty Dumpty (inserted Chinese yoyos were a cheap find).

Electric Teens, Archies & Slam-O-Matics

Three board games in my collection from the mid to late 1960s: Hullabaloo, Archie and Hands Down. One is electric, one involves human leverage and another only needs a roll of the dice.

One Banana, Two Banana, Three Banana, Four...

Five bananas make a bunch and so do many more: Images from The Banana Splits TV show (which ran from 1968 - 1970) and its many pieces of merchandise.

Little Lulu Says...

Lookie! Two 1940s Kleenex ads featuring Lulu, who also had a neon billboard in Times Square during this decade.

Mmm-boy!

1940s and '50s advertisements illustrating items from the shopping list of a wholesome, happy home.

Old Maid

Details from a beautifully illustrated deck of 1950s Whitman Old Maid Game Playing Cards that I purchased at a flea market last year. With character names like "Salty Junk" and "Betty Bumps" this is a pretty unique deck.

Back Issues: Esquire

A series of covers, spreads and illustrations featuring girlie pinups, starlets and the magazine's classic mascot "Esky".