MetaFilter posts tagged with collections

'Favorite dolls may fade with time - our love for them never will.'

anastasiav — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:31:11 -0800

Doll Kind :: Dolls of the 20th Century - A Celebration in Pictures and Histories

Photo Real

dersins — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:16:54 -0800

The American Image: The Photographs of John Collier Jr. at the University of New Mexico. "In 1941 to 1943, Collier worked as a photographer with the Farm Securities Administration and the Office of War Information under Roy Stryker and documented many areas around the eastern U.S and northern New Mexico." The full photoset is at flickr here.

Mad Props

dersins — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 12:24:41 -0800

There was a typewriter repairman in North Hollywood, California. He couldn’t believe it when all of a sudden someone deposited 24 vintage typewriters on his doorstep and said, “Make them look new.” He probably hadn’t had that much work in the last 25 years. He was probably just about ready to hang up the “Going out of business” sign and cursing the arrival of the laptop computer when all of a sudden here I come with 24 typewriters. The Collectors Weekly interviews Scott Buckwald, propmaster for Mad Men.

myQSL

dersins — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:19:41 -0800

"QSL cards confirm either a two-way radiocommunication between two amateur radio stations or a one-way reception of a signal from an AM radio, FM radio, television or shortwave broadcasting station. They can also confirm the reception of a two-way radiocommunication by a third party listener. A typical QSL card is the same size and made from the same material as a typical postcard, and most are sent through the mail as such." Here's a substantial collection of them.

Woodward realized that it was only a question of being pestered forever or quietly throwing open his place

jessamyn — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 10:25:14 -0800

"The What Cheer House catered to men only, permitted no liquor on the premises, and housed San Francisco's first free library and first museum." Opened in 1852 by Robert B. Woodward it became immensely popular. "[S]ailors enjoyed staying there... [he] was such a well-liked man that they would often bring him trinkets from around the world when they’d come to town. For Woodward, these gifts were the beginning of what would become a life-long obsession with collecting." He moved the collection and opened Woodward's Gardens in 1866 between Mission and Valencia at 13th-15th streets. Called the Central Park of the West, it was San Francisco's most famous public resort. - more information, photos and rememberances on this lost landmark - guidebook entry from 1879 describes the gardens - what San Francisco was like in 1856 - SF Chronicle article about the gardens from 1913, photos from the SF Call in 1907 - the origin of the phrase "what cheer" - what's there now

Do Not Disturb. Or Do. Either Way.

dersins — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 11:51:02 -0800

"When my grandfather passed away last year, my family gathered to go through his belongings. He had been in the foreign service and he had filled a whole wall of his study with hotel door hangers from all his travels throughout the world. They're really beautiful, in aggregate, and I wanted to share. Enjoy."

Аста ла виста, беби

madamjujujive — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 15:30:31 -0800

Stalin's Secret Weapon - a Russian hobbyist's terminator-esque diorama painstakingly constructed from military action figures. (Via buzz

Captains Courageous

doctoryes — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:19:13 -0800

Have you ever wondered what you would look like dressed as a captain in every branch of armed forces of every nation who fought in World War II? This guy did and then recreated it. Buried in the pages of what appears to have started as a resource on Diggers (previously) is this amazing collection. The "Captain" has taken a portrait of himself and photoshopped on uniforms, medals, ribbons, and in some cases facial hair and facepaint. Most entries also include a little personal history of the virtual captain explaining why he's wearing certain things.

"The most interesting thing about a postage stamp is the persistence with which it sticks to its job." - N Hill

anastasiav — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 05:57:17 -0800

Dan's Topical Stamps

Magnificent collections collection

stbalbach — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 06:03:50 -0800

Public Collectors is an eclectic archive of off-line and on-line collections to which anyone can contribute. It is "founded upon the concern that there are many types of cultural artifacts that public libraries, museums and other institutions and archives either do not collect or do not make freely accessible." The best part is the discovery but here are a few to get started: *Marc Fischer's record collection in Chicago. - "I’ll give you my phone number and we can set up a meeting time that is mutually convenient. You can then come on over and listen to the record(s) you want to hear. Headphones will be provided if desired. My tolerant neighbors will not mind if we crank up the stereo."
*Adult Comics from Mexico (NSFW)
*Bibles stolen from hotels - "This collection is ongoing."

NIOBY

dersins — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 11:26:03 -0800

In Our Own Backyard: Resisting Nazi Propaganda In Southern California 1933 - 1945, a digital exhibition from the Oviatt Library at Cal State Northridge. "The Nazi Propaganda period, 1933 to 1945, chronicles a crucial twelve years in American history. This exhibit's story about the local threat to American ideals demonstrates how European events reached across the ocean and affected people in Southern California -- in our own backyard." Magazines, pamphlets, newspapers, stickers and more. The site navigation, especially as pertains to the digital materials, leaves a good deal to be desired, but it's still a fascinating look at an aspect of the Depression era most people don't think about. [via, which is in itself one of the best link blogs out there, from (formerly?) Metafilter's Own™ plep ]

Patches

netbros — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 22:19:17 -0800

The Quilt Index is a growing research and reference tool designed to share access to information and images about quilts provided by an array of contributors. You may search by category including time period, style and technique, location, or fabric.

Where billionaires shop to build their libraries

nímwunnan — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 18:50:08 -0800

Jay Walker's Library was just profiled by Wired [via], but they failed to mention where many of those books came from. Big players like Maggs, Simon Finch and the Baumans still compose most of the rare book world. (Heritage is gone but Michael Sharp got four of their employees.) They're all excellent places to shop if you're building an Überlibrary, but, if you're Jay Walker, you start with Phillip J. Pirages. I had the pleasure of working for Phil for about two years starting in 2000. I won't go into detail, but I owed my job to Mr. Walker's insatiable appetite for books. Having heard so much about the Walker library as it was being built, I was thrilled to see the photos in the Wired piece. (I even recognized some of the books.) The rare book world is small, peculiar, and, besides the intrusion of the internet, probably operates in much the same way as it always has. Reputation and specialized knowledge matter. Phil's small firm, located in charmingly rural McMinnville, OR, is known to be as trustworthy and considerate as they get (despite my time there, ha ha) and regularly produces massive, meticulously-researched catalogues so full of charming anectdotes and useful bibliography that they sometimes end up for sale on eBay. Don't let the web 1.0 look of their site fool you (remember this is the rare book world) -- they are one of the big players now. I won't go into business arrangements, but it's well known now that Mr. Walker worked more closely with Phil than any other dealer to build that amazing library. As Phil used to say when he outbid one of the Big Guys, "Not bad for a farmboy from Iowa." I doubt that I'll ever again work for someone as honest and fair as Phil. If you have a chance to visit the New York, California, or Seattle Book Fairs, do yourself a favor and stop by Phil's booth. It should be easy to find, as it usually sparkles. Yeah, most of the stuff is phenomenally expensive, but he'll treat you well regardless of how much money you have, and even the cheap stuff is pretty great. Say hi for me.

Japan through wonderful vintage photos

madamjujujive — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 10:30:07 -0800

Vintage 3-D stereoviews of old Japan, Meiji and Taisho era swimsuit girls, working people, geisha, and kids, old Japan salt prints, dozens of T. Enami glass slides, and strange or offbeat images: all part of a vast and superb collection of Japanese photos from 1862 to 1930 by flickr user Okinawa Soba. More on the work of T-Enami, "King of the Stereoview, Master of the Lantern-Slide And Prolific, Anonymous Contributor To the World of Yokohama Album Views"

This deal here is new

dersins — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:55:46 -0800

"New Deal Programs: Selected Library of Congress Resources was created to serve as a starting point for research using Library of Congress collections of New Deal program materials." Includes links to numerous collections of digitized materials, including photos, posters, music, manuscripts and more. Some of these individual sites have been linked here before, but the "New Deal Programs" portal in the first link is the first time the individual collections have been...uh... collected by the LOC.

"The fact that I was a girl never damaged my ambitions to be a pope or an emperor..."

dersins — Thu, 22 May 2008 11:23:45 -0800

The Willa Cather Archive is an incredible resource provided by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, including biographies, letters, photos, and even full (often annotated) text of much of her writing, including scholarly editions of two of her greatest (and most famous) works, My Antonia and O Pioneers. About the archive.

That's just strange...

msaleem — Mon, 19 May 2008 14:31:46 -0800

Guide 25 Strangest Collections on the Web includes items such as a collection of navel fluff, 700 artistically decorated toilet seats, a scratchcard collection, 2,500 unique aol disks and cds, and much more. Here's one use for all those CDs

Legally Resetting your Credit History

Fuzzy Skinner — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 20:06:29 -0800

How to Lawfully Reset Your Credit History. A fascinating true story of how Max successfully deleted thousands of dollars of debt from his credit history. The follow-up, Why Max Won, has some interesting insight into removing emotion from the credit equation. (Previous Make Your Nut appearances on MetaFilter here and here.)

Anybody got a match?

dersins — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:31:54 -0800

From Aircraft to Zodiac, from Tricks to Trucks, the Zippo Gallery has something for everyone. (Well, everyone who likes Zippos, anyway.)

Vintage photography from China and Australia

madamjujujive — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 09:22:52 -0800

Two historic photography collections from Sydney's Powerhouse Museum: The Tyrell Collection - glass plate negatives from the Sydney studios of Charles Kerry and Henry King from 1884-1917 depicting a local record of the times; and the Hedda Morrison Collection - photographs from China, 1933-1946. The collection also includes personal papers and objects, such as Chinese papercuts, belt toggles, and photos from a 1930s-era folk festival in Germany.

Nicholson Baker on Wikipedia

ed — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 04:52:16 -0800

Nicholson Baker, who in his book, Double Fold, argued for saving newspaper collections, explores "The Charms of Wikipedia" with insightful and hilarious results. He also has a new book, Human Smoke, coming out (excerpt)

Smith Corona

growabrain — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 20:57:14 -0800

Collecting Vintage Typewriter Ribbon Tins. (From Uppercase). Lots more on the internets

Tiny treasures - classic and contemporary netsuke

madamjujujive — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 09:10:10 -0800

Netsuke of the Meiji Period is an online exhibit from the Los Angeles County Museum, noted for the depth of its collection. (more). The György Ráth Museum and the Ferenc Hopp Museum also house a fine classic collection. (more). Today, netsuke carving is alive and well - see the Kiho Collection for one young master. If you would like to explore more sculpture for the hand, the International Netsuke Society has a good link list to many excellent contemporary netsuke artists.

The Pulp Gallery

dersins — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 11:09:12 -0800

"The Pulp Gallery is a visual reference guide to the wonderful cover art of pulp and pin-up magazines." From the bizarre (Lovecraft!) to the breezy (NSFW?), the savage (Any relation to Adam?) to the spicy (Eel Trap!). And don't miss the gallery of recycled art.

Battle of the Flashlight Museums!

dersins — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 10:57:03 -0800

There are two-- two-- awesome flashlight museums on the web. One of them is on geocities; the other is not. One of them has a page of art deco purse lights and a page of interesting and unusual lights; the other has bullet flashlights and the Dukes of Hazzard signal flash. I love them both.