MetaFilter posts tagged with vintage

Where the Scent of Yesterday's Vogue Lives

netbros — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:17:31 -0800

Take your nose on a stroll down memory lane with vintage perfumery. The Vintage Perfume Vault features fragrance reviews and articles on perfume history. Perfume Shrine offers articles on perfumery including essays on the science of fragrance and aroma materials, interviews with perfumers and industry professionals, trend-watching. Inspiration in Perfumery profiles Henri Robert, Andre Fraysse, Ernest Beaux and Edmond Roudnitska. More about olfactory delights from 1000 Fragrances. Looking for that special fragrance to make the evening just right? How about: Dregs | Dirt | Earthworm | Funeral Home | Laundromat | Necco | Pinkitude | Redhead in Bed | Sex on the Beach | Stable | or the ever ubiquitous Play-Doh.

Vintage Graphics Resource

netbros — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 11:53:39 -0800

Grain Edit is focused on classic design work from the 1950s-1970s and contemporary designers that draw inspiration from that time period. Site content includes interviews, articles, designers’ libraries, as well as examples of rare design annuals, type specimens, ephemera, posters and vintage kids books from their bookshelves.

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."

Have some art.

CunningLinguist — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 13:30:38 -0800

An ever-growing treasure trove of magazine cover and advertising art from the Golden Age of American illustration. Check out wonderful covers from Theatre Magazine, Adventure Magazine, the Argosy, Photoplay, and Black Mask. Here's a scary cover from Laughter magazine, a strange and beautiful Life cover from 1887, and a copy of The Liberator that I dearly wish I could flip through. See also collections of great old ads for soap, cigarettes and books, among others. The intro page is here.

Vintage Kids' Stuff

PhoBWanKenobi — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 08:18:54 -0800

Illustrator Glen Mullaly archives hundreds of vintage illustrations in his flickr stream. Featuring work by Alice and Martin Provensen, Robert J. Lee, Charley Harper, Jack Tremblay, Jerry Smath and Dan Lawler, among others.

Ephemera Assemblyman - a weblog

Ufez Jones — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 10:06:05 -0800

Ephemera Assemblyman a weblog. Personal favorites: Film Poster Paintings from Ghana :: Magician Souvenir Programs :: Abraham Lincoln Political Cartoons :: (The Art of) Spanish Rolling Papers :: Tickets from Political Conventions. Much more to be explored.

Party Like It's 1939!

Juliet Banana — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 09:58:01 -0800

Sartorial inspiration for anachronistic atavists: Rhiannon, The Black Apple, Johanni, Solanah, Casey Brown, Strawberry Lemonade, Fleur de Guerre, The Freelancer, and Elinkan.

Old Time Radio Revival Round-up

filthy light thief — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:47:59 -0800

Old-time radio (often abbreviated as "OTR," also known as the Golden Age of Radio) refers to a period of radio programming in the United States lasting from the proliferation of radio broadcasting in the early 1920s until television's replacement of radio as the dominant home entertainment medium in the 1950s, with some programs continuing into the early 1960s. The origin of radio dramas in the United States is hard to pin down, but there is evidence of a remote broadcast of a play in 1914 at Normal College (now California State University at San José), and the first serial radio drama was an adaptation of a play by Eugene Walter, entitled "The Wolf," which aired in September 1922. Given the age of the programs and the fact that home reel-to-reel recording started in the 1950s (followed by Philips "compact cassettes" in 1963), it might be surprising that quite a few of these old shows have survived. Thanks in part to original radio station-sourced recordings made on aluminum discs, acetates, and glass recordings and other unnamed sources, many radio dramas and newscasts from decades past are available online, and more are being digitized and restored to this day. Though the term "old-time radio" may be focused on the United States, the history of radio recordings and radio dramas is international. England's first broadcast radio drama was 'Five Birds in a Cage' (Gertrude Jennings), a 1915 stage play, a social comedy, which was broadcast on November 29, 1923 in London. This play is also considered the first instance of 'gay' radio, for the the inclusion of a gay character. Canada's first national radio drama, broadcast in 1931, was Romance of Canada. Savoy Hill hosts a history of British radio dramas and the British Radio Drama History Database, where you can sort by actors, players, playwrights, years, stations, and other details. The site also has guides on radio drama writing and production. Looking for more tips on radio production? Do-It-Yourself Radio Drama is a blog post from the modern drama creators at Decoder Ring Theater. The post has loads of links for further investigation. If you're collecting radio dramas, you might find it hard to catalog recordings, as there is no accepted agreement on naming episodes that have no 'official' titles. The OTR Researchers Group’s Wiki has a section devoted to listing shows by one distinct characteristic: First lines of dialogue. If you happen to find an old 16 inch transcription disk, playback isn't the same as modern vinyl, requiring a custom stylus, and the material is much more fragile than modern media, requiring special handling and care. Old-time Radio Actors Orson Wells' radio career was previously discussed. Fred Gwynne and E.G. Marshall were remembered in reference to their roles in CBS Radio Mystery Theater (episodes are available from Old Time Radio Fans, and Internet Archive). Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding were covered before for their 4+ decades of absurdist, satirical, dry, improvisational sketch comedy. Vic and Sade's radio program was also covered. Jack Benny's Christmas Show, previously. Collections of Golden Era Radio Internet Archive has a whole section devoted to Old Time Radio, and it's still growing. Currently, you can listen to over 125 episodes of The New Adventure of Sherlock Holmes (not to be confused with the other radio dramatizations), The Adventures of Superman, including his real-life fight against the KKK, as heard in "Clan of the Fiery Cross." On the lighter side, there's a growing list of recordings from The Les Paul Show and a couple clips from the Grand Ole Opry. With the ever-growing collection, Internet Archive dwarfs other collections, but some other sites focus on areas overlooked (or maybe just buried) at Archive.org. Old Time Radio (OTR) - Radio Days: A Radio History (previously) is an ever-growing collection, including Radio News, Mystery, Private Eyes, Comedy, SciFi, and more. Old Time Radio Fans (Fans plural) has the usual assortment of programs, plus a selection of old radio commercials. Jezner.com - Old Time Radio is a blog focused on OTR, with background and commentary on the episodes posted every few days. Old Time Radio Fan is limited to the weekly line-up, where they're online for 7 days, then try your luck with The Random Hopper. Modern radio dramas Decoder Ring Theatre (previously) is home to two original series (The Red Panda Adventures and Black Jack Justice), as well as the grab-bag of anthology stories that is Showcase. Darker Projects (warning: auto-starting audio) (previously) has three original projects, along with Star Trek and Doctor Who interpretations. ZBS Foundation produces shows for purchase, but their podcasts are free of charge (previously). ZBS Foundation was discussed previously-er as a set of links to current radio drama. Though all the links died, Archive.org remembers Seeing Ear Theater and Virtually American. Sci-Fi's Seeing Ear Theater is also on CD in 3 volumes. Not included in those volumes: Neil Gaiman's Snow Glass Apples.

West Hollywood Side Story

Christ, what an asshole — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 09:31:45 -0800

The quintessential gangfight of the 80s. Vintage afterschool specials, like wine, only get better with age.
On the day he enters Kennedy High in Manhattan wearing a patch over one eye, sixteen-year-old Horace Hobart is urged to join what he believes is the toughest gang at school.
Now you can enjoy the entire run of the 1985 CBS Schoolbreak Special, Ace Hits the Big Time. (1 2 3 4 5)
It's very likely the same minds were responsible for this scene.

Mad Men on Acid

Christ, what an asshole — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 09:53:51 -0800

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA..!!.. As "charming" as the commercial makes the doll appear, exactly how does Baby Laugh-A-Lot play out in person? Maybe you'd prefer to just chill out with the remix? Still, the reigning champion of videos to show at the expense of your baked buddies remains Pickle Surprise!

Times of our lives indeed

dersins — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 12:38:26 -0800

Hiking, biking, boating, fishing, shooting and more: "The Times of Our Lives." Wonderful scans of vintage photos of the 1950's and 1960's (uh, and 80's) from flickr user aroid. [via]

Perambulating Penthouse

dersins — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 09:21:31 -0800

The Ford Treasury of Station Wagon Living blogged. (Vol 2). Downloadable at the Internet Archive. Scans of drawings here. [Via (well, shamelessly stolen from) 10Engines.]

accidental mysteries

nickyskye — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 20:18:43 -0800

Accidental Mysteries: Toilet Paper Roll Sculptures by Junior Jacquet l 19th Century Japanese Pregnancy Dolls l Hand soaps l An Obsessed Collector (From the Estate of Charles Martignette) [PDF but worth it and mildly nsfw] and other diversions to explore. Previously about Junior Jacquet. Bonus link: Yuken Teruya's toilet roll art.

A bowling alley? What the Frick?

ericbop — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:41:35 -0800

Old bowling alleys are often things of beauty. Some are (in)famous. The NYTimes just had a wonderful feature on a little-known bowling alley in the basement of the Frick collection, complete with pristine antique bowling balls and a gravity-driven return mechanism. [Previously] (mandatory Big Lebowski reference)

Proletarians of All Lands, Unite!

madamjujujive — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 07:01:23 -0800

Peasant! Free your pregnant wife from work, don't allow her to pick up heavy items since this will harm her and the child. An excellent collection of vintage soviet propaganda, public health, and infographics posters from 20s to 30s, many with full translations.

All Day Long Singin' His Song

The Whelk — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 12:54:20 -0800

60s Pop Friday! Ladies and Gentlemen, from Queens, NY, it's the Shangri-Las! Mostly known for their grandly melodramatic songs about teen love gone awry, they aren't all downers. They've been covered by bands from France to Japan.

poets of everyday life

nickyskye — Sun, 31 May 2009 12:14:55 -0800

A creative New York couple and their wonderful, vintage photographs: pioneering filmmaker, Morris Engel, and award-winning photojournalist, Ruth Orkin, who is renowned for her iconic American Girl in Italy. Morris Engel wrote and directed three films: "The Little Fugitive" (1953), "Lovers and Lollipops" (1956), and "Weddings and Babies" (1958). Little Fugitive is a paean to the sights, smells, and sounds of New York, from the cramped but somehow comforting streets of Brooklyn to the dazzling chaos of Coney Island as seen through a child’s eyes. An interview with their daughter, Mary Engel. ( This site includes entertaining interviews with a variety of other New Yorkers.) Related.

He never asks for a second cup of MY coffee...

misha — Wed, 27 May 2009 15:55:12 -0800

A man marries a woman because he loves her. So instead of blaming him if married love begins to cool, she should question herself. Vintage sexist ads. (Disclaimer: posted by Neil Gaiman on Twitter and shamelessly stolen.)

Learn to draw Les Animaux!

fings — Fri, 22 May 2009 14:40:46 -0800

Les Animaux tel qu'ils sont is a delightful 1920s French art instruction book, showing one how to draw various animals, from the previously discussed Agence Eureka.

vintage cutaway illustrations

madamjujujive — Sun, 03 May 2009 17:55:29 -0800

Frank Soltesz was a master of fascinating cutaway illustrations depicting "modern businesses" in the '40s and '50s - from hotels and hospitals to breweries, grocery stores, and more. (via Telstar Logistics Blog) See also: Frank Soltesz - Storyteller and a biographical site by his son, which includes examples of his other styles of illustration, too.

Vintage Postcards and Ephemera

Rumple — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 14:23:35 -0800

Moody's Collectibles sells vintage postcards, but they also make available a huge catalogue of their stock. You can browse geographically by US State, by country, and by topic. Or, you can search for anything from alligators to the California Zephyr. They also have a blog. Some I like: Valentine's Day - Dance with Pigs; Buy Something Useful for Christmas; Don't Be Afraid: It's Willamatic Thread; Plane over the Eiffel Tower (1910); Swen Johnson's Horseless Carriage (pulled by cows); Log Raft on the Columbia; Aeroplane View of the New York Reformatory; Monkey Wedding; Lady-driven Hay Rake. It goes on!

CycleKarting: Extreme Vintage Go-Karting

Tom-B — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 06:43:59 -0800

You can't buy a CycleKart and, even if you could, the racers wouldn't let you participate. You have to build your CycleKart. It's one of the many reasons this is a very cool hobby.

Dork Yearbook

carsonb — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 08:42:21 -0800

Dork Yearbook - vintage tech pr0n, now with thicker glasses and footsier pajamas!

pulpapalooza

madamjujujive — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 03:52:32 -0800

From cops vs. hoods and other toughies to mad science and dramatic ledges and bridgewalkers, a vast and entertaining collection of vintage pulp art categorized into themes.

Sound as clear as light

squalor — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 18:28:33 -0800

Well, I'll tell you, Yanni would sound great on this system at The Great Theater in Ephesus, Turkey. A log cabin in the Bluegrass mountains would be another perfect setting for this system. Wow - the possibilities are endless.