Quote and Credit

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World's Tallest Cowboy ?


A big man thunders along the street in Colorado, 1931. Someone hired a giant. I suspected this could be an unknown photograph of Robert Wadlow, a tall drink of depression era water who passed away in 1940 at the age of 22, but he would have only been 11 years old here. Whoever it was could have certainly delivered a pretty big "HOWDY" and the ten gallon hat could actually be that! Feel free to participate. Any giant watchers out there?

Unknown parade participant 1931 Colorado "NeverFade" photograph collection Jim Linderman

Missing Mother? CDV Photographs Tinted by Hand


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Three original Cartes de Visite photographs from San Francisco around 1880, maybe a bit earlier, maybe a bit later. They were found together, but I do not know if they are actually related. It does look like red and green were popular.

Group of CDV photographs, tinted by hand, circa 1880 Collection Jim Linderman

Plane Poontang Pin Ups from Flying Fortress Flyers









Nearly 80,000 men were lost during the second world war missions by the U.S. Army Air Forces. Some 10,000 planes were shot down. It was the most dangerous of jobs and the tale is truly heartbreaking. One of the most amazing segments of recent documentary film making is found in the Ken Burns segment of his PBS series on the war which covered the Flying Fortress raids. The men (boys, actually) who went out were fighting the odds with every mission...and nearly as often as not, they didn't make it back. Shot down or run out of fuel...either way it was brutal for the squad doing it, the people on the ground and the folks back at the base waiting for them to come home.

Perhaps because of the overwhelming odds and the equally overwhelming bravery, the brass cut the boys some slack and let them decorate their planes lovingly. Many cartoonists and illustrators who returned home after the war painted similar scenes on duffel bags, helmets and such while over there. Seems to me these would make them a flying target, but then they already were.

As for "poontang" I will let you look up the meaning on your own...JFK was widely rumored to have said "I guess my poon days are over" when he was elected president. That gives you an idea.

I don't own these snapshots, but I could have. For some reason the fellow who had them listed on Ebay last week blocked my bid...some kind of snag and probably my fault. Consequently, though they had opening bids of virtually nothing, they didn't even sell. Maybe he will re-list them. A good collection lost, but nothing compared to the men.



Set of Amateur Snapshots of Flying Fortress Pin Up Girls Circa 1942-1945.

(A post on VINTAGE SLEAZE the BLOG as well)

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Perfect Practice At the Circus in Black and White #28 Dull Tool Dim Bulb



Untitled Photograph (Practice) Circa 1960 Collection Jim Linderman


AT THE CIRCUS in BLACK and WHITE is a continuing series on Dull Tool Dim Bulb This is Entry number 28.

Cuba Si Real Photo Postcard set of Tropical Paradise RPPC








Tropical paradise Cuba a few decades before Batista, before the mob tried to make the place their own personal Vegas and before Fidel kicked them out.

Set of Real Photo Postcards, Cuba Circa 1920 Collection Jim Linderman

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Milk of Amnesia by Donna Lethal The Real Deal




PHOTO BY CRAIG SEMETKO

I like to say this blog is about authenticity, and you can not get any more authentic than Donna Lethal, a woman I love like a sister and would suspect WAS my sister except she has the wrong hair color...she being one of Hollywood's most beautiful and few authentic Gingers. My love and respect is real too.

Donna has (finally) written her memoirs. Milk of Amnesia. That she is from the same town as dear Ti Jean (Jack Kerouac) is no coincidence, as lightning has been known to strike twice. And wouldn't you know it? Donna Lethal is Amazon's newest 5-star author.

Can a bright young woman survive a father who is a bookie, a mother who is an ex-nun, a brother in and out of jail and the whole scene smothered in minor crime, minor drugs and major drama? AND make it both funny and serious? Ayup!

Donna Lethal, who is pictured here in just two of her guises...truly is a genius. This book receives a Dull Tool Dim Bulb guarantee(shirt). That's right...you don't like, I send the white. Read the reviews and trust them all. Buy Today.




Massachusetts-born Donna Lethal divides her time between Los Angeles and the Mojave Desert, accompanied by her 90-pound pit bull. She won her first writing contest (third place!) in fifth grade and is currently collaborating on a book with fellow poet Nicca Ray and painter Jesse McCloskey. Intending to teach film studies, Lethal attended the New School in New York City, but decamped for Los Angeles after 9/11. She has also lived in Boston, New York, and London. Her collage work and photographs have been shown in Los Angeles galleries, and her work can be found in Dowager Quarterly, The Hair Hall of Fame, Find a Death, The LA Beat, Cold Dirt Press, Scorchy Girls and a chapter in the book Weird Hollywood. Her blog, Lethal Dose (www.DonnaLethal.com), and its collection of vintage beauty ephemera has been featured in Elle Girl (Korea). Since 2010, she has assisted celebrated photographer Phil Stern in organizing and archiving his vast collection of slides, negatives and prints, spanning over seventy years of classic material. She has also worked as a photo researcher for Cameron Crowe on The 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concert for HBO and on the Peabody-nominated special 48 Hours: Black Dahlia. She is an avid amateur ornithologist.


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The Legs of Bettie Page




Detail from an original hand-tinted photograph circa 1952 taken by Rudolph Rossi at a Camera Club session in New York City.
See also TIMES SQUARE SMUT
Also of interest is THE BOOK OF ROCK AND ROLL

Miley Cyrus versus the Fly Fisherman Feathers Hackle Tackle Lure Lore and Fashionistas









Miley Cyrus started wearing bird feathers as hair extensions. Steven Tyler did too ..a beauty trend started in Hollywood but taken from nature. Wouldn't you know it, the feathers, which are the staple of hand-tied fly fisherman who make their own lures, are now in heavy demand among fashionistas and they will pay more than the fisherman. There is a run on feathers.

Hand tied lures are part of the fly-fishing lore. Tackle makers are master craftsman, I guess. Me? I just look for cool things in my free time, and I found an enormous collection. 28 envelopes full of feathers. I'm all ruffled! As the envelopes have return addresses without zip-codes...which came along in 1963, I am guessing all these feathers are 50 years old.

Hackle is the term for a feather plume, so I guess what I have is an instant collection of tackle hackle! But if Miley wants them, she can have her dad get in touch. He ain't doing nothing.

Bird feathers! Jim Linderman All circa 1950.

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First Book Ever on African American Pin ups SECRET HISTORY OF THE BLACK PIN UP


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Intrigued by the question "Why aren't there any black pin up girls" on an internet message board, writer Jim Linderman decided to find out. With 100 rare vintage photographs all showing women of color in magazines not seen for over 50 years, Linderman not only reveals many answers to the question, he reveals a long gone part of America and African-American culture. Secret of the Black Pin Up takes us from "tease" to "sleaze" and reveals a world never before seen. Using rare photos and publications, the untold story of African-American women in the soft-core pornography world from 1940 to date. Yes, there WERE black pin ups, and they are found HERE.



$22.95 Paperback 120 Pages Over 100 Photos


FREE PREVIEW of the New Book HERE

WIN a PONY from Tom Boy Shoes!


Imagine a rural world in which a shoe company could offer a HORSE with no more hoopla than a free week at Disneyland. A contest held in the Upper Peninisula of Michigan, which actually hasn't changed much since!

Free Tom-Boy Pony! Your lucky ticket 1931 Collection Jim Linderman


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George Jones turns 80



Who said to me after I told him his music was one of the very few things I kept from my drunk days, shook my hand and said "That means a lot to me son" George has lived nearly 15 years since then, and so have I.

Life is Good

Tender Years / Battle of Love 45rpm Picture Sleeve Collection Jim Linderman

First Sin ? Raccoon Eyes on Preacher Aldrich and Wife



Someone was given a pen to shut him up in church. Note reverse: The Way to Hell --Simply Do Nothing

Defaced Church Invitation, circa 1900 Collection Jim Linderman

(Also posted on old-time-religion the blog)

Cross Writing Cross Eyed Dull Tool Dim Bulb Greatest Hit

I am working on a big project, so you get a rerun today. Stick Around.

Must click to enlarge



Two 19th Century "cross written" letters. Cross writing was a technique to save paper when paper was scarce. Every scrap mattered at one time (one of these is dated 1823) so the writer, upon reaching the end of the page, would turn the paper 90 degrees and add a second layer of text. Once it becomes familiar, the mind adapts easily and cross written letters are surprisingly legible. Charles Darwin famously used the technique.
Original Post from Dull Tool Dim Bulb the Daily Blog
Two Early 19th Century Cross Writing letters, Collection Jim Linderman

Black Forest Carvings are all BROWN Totem Pole with Jesus and a Cowboy




WHAT the? It looks like Jesus climbed up and took the ladder up after him! Actually, this is an image of, well...a totem pole? A crucifixion? Note horse, rider and weathervane! A serious conglomeration of carver crafts all mounted on one goofy pole! Incongruity defined!

This is a 1914 German postcard from the Black Forest area. Long known for their carvers (of the most bizarre things...bear cubs holding a bench up, pile of pile upon pile of fake wooden deer heads with antlers, crazy cuckoo clocks, various gnomes and yodelers) and every damn one of them BROWN. They HAD paint, as seen here, but for some reason never used it.

The carvings might be German, they might be Swiss, but they are all brown.
For those of you interested, the Black Forest belongs completely to the state of Baden-Württemberg and comprises the city of Pforzheim as well as the following districts (Kreise). In the north: Enz, Rastatt and Calw; in the middle: Freudenstadt, Ortenaukreis and Rottweil; in the south: Emmendingen, Schwarzwald-Baar, Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, Lörrach and Waldshut. Does that help? As you can see, Ida visited.

I remember once a dealer had dumped like two hundred Black Forest carvings on tables at the 26th Street Flea Market (R.I.P)...most of them deer heads and most of them busted up. No one showed any interest at all.

German "Postkarte" mailed 1914 Collection Jim Linderman

NOTE:  An outstanding and thoughtful interpretation of this piece appears on the beautiful site "THE JESUS QUESTION"  HERE. by Victoria Emily Jones. Very much appreciated and recommended...and a great site.

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Fotofun ! The OTHER Pre-Photoshop Postcard Game! Laugh your HEADS off!





As promised, the other Fotofun product from the 1930s. See the original post HERE. This booklet was also designed to encourage lopping the heads off your loved one's photographs and pasting them on hilarious templates...70 years before photoshop! (but with a one-cent stamp twist) Send them to friends! How many were actually created and mailed? I have no idea. Any deltiologists out there with one that went through the mail, glued-on noggin intact? Seems like a collection waiting to happen!


Fotofun Post Cards original booklet 1935. "Just cut the heads off photos of the family"
Collection Jim Linderman

Inherited Values (Essential) Deanna Dahlsad contest, collectibles and MORE


The lovely, talented, prolific and brilliant Deanna Dahlsad is having a seasonal Fall contest on her Antiques and Vintage Collectibles site INHERITED VALUES which provides a perfect time for you to explore her site, one of several, and one I recommend. Deanna is a writer and scholar, smart as a whip and with a far better eye than I. Check out Inherited Values. One of the best antique sites on the web and a site to treasure. Inherited Values is also on Facebook.

The Magic of Abbott's Magic What's in YOUR Colon? RPPC collection Jim Linderman


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Michigan has been blessed for the last 80 years with the Abbott Magic and Novelty Company. They have been located in Colon, Michigan since 1933. I am in love with Abbott's even though I'm not a magician...so anything I write would be biased. The firm's WEBSITE is HERE. An AMAZING collection is shown HERE in a 6 minute film.


My copy of the catalog, from which I have cribbed a few astounding images, is the 22nd edition dated 1976. It is, I'm not kidding, 433 pages. That I have never left it behind in all my moves since should tell you something.


Want a taste of the real thing? Check out this astounding and quite beautiful film made around the same time showing Percy Abbott and his business partner Recil Bordner performing in front of the store. Ignore the funky finger plunked bass-line and enjoy the show.



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