More Stuff From the Box
I think today's selection of STUFF FROM THE BOX is pretty nice! Hopefully you will agree.
First up is this fun "encased cent" from the Stork Club in New York City - as you can see, this one also commemorates the 1939 New York World's Fair. Back in the old days, encased cents were common souvenirs and were used as "good luck" giveaways by hundreds of businesses and tourist destinations. There's a nice 1939 Lincoln "wheat back" penny in this one! The Stork Club was one of the most prestigious clubs in the world. A symbol of café society, the wealthy elite, including movie stars, celebrities, showgirls, and aristocrats all mixed in the VIP 'Cub' Room. It debuted in 1929 (a year where nothing else happened).
Next is this very nice pin in the shape of the Atomium, which was originally built for the 1958 Brussels World's Fair. This unique structure, which you can still visit today, stands 102 metres (335 ft) tall, making it one of the tallest structures in Belgium. Its nine 18-metre-diameter (59 ft) stainless steel clad spheres are connected in the shape of a unit cell that could represent an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times. Cool!
As usual, you'll see more examples of my fondness for various kinds of employee pins, including this tiny (about .75" tall) pin that was once worn by an employee of Greyhound bus lines. Leave the driving to them!
This next item is extra-cool, a rare employee pin from Hal Roach Studios! Hal Roach was a film producer, director, and screen-writer, notable for such things as the "Our Gang" comedies, Laurel and Hardy films, early Harold Lloyd films, and so on. After owning a number of studio spaces, he eventually built one at 8822 Washington Boulevard in Culver City, which became known as "The Laugh Factory". Many years ago, somebody on eBay auctioned off a series of beautiful employee badges, mostly from Universal Studios. Those all went for big money, but I was the only person who bid on this Hal Roach employee badge. I'm happy to have it!
Here's a 1959 photo of Hal Roach Studios.
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Another one of my "mini-collections" involves die-cut tin-litho badges, you'll find them for everything from political campaigns and TV shows to cereal and automobiles - you name it. This one is from an organization dedicated to helping "crippled children" ("Easter Seals", is one example), though I'm not sure which specific charity gave this one out.
This last one is another teensy employee pin, presumably given out for 30 years of service at General Motors. Even teensier logos for Buick, Oldsmobile, and Cadillac are above those pink "rubies".
I hope you have enjoyed today's STUFF FROM THE BOX!
4 comments:
At least a couple of animated cartoons had characters in a Stock Club full of storks sipping drinks. One was "Symphony in Slang", Tex Avery's short about Noah Webster visualizing a hep cat's language literally; the other was a Bugs Bunny where the rabbit and a pursuer simply run through. There was a Betty Hutton movie of that title, but I never got around to it.
Major-
Love the encased penny. It looks similar in style to one I owned years ago - but not of the Stork Club. Biff's would probably be more up my alley.
What happened to that poor Greyhound bus - it looks as though it's melting-! (Probably not a fun journey).
Based on the styles of the logos, I'm gonna guess that General Motors pin can't be any older than 1960, and perhaps no older than 1964.
Thanks, Major.
I wonder why an encased penny was considered good luck? Probably just because the makers of such things, said so.
Is the Atomium made of neutronium? Or maybe condominium? How about pandemonium? I've always liked the shape, and concept, behind this structure. I didn't realize it was 335 ft. tall! That would dwarf Disneyland's Matterhorn!
Hmm, the bus in the Greyhound pin looks like it's melting! Maybe this pin was created by Salvador Dali.
I knew that Hal Roach made the Our Gang comedies, but I didn't know about the others. Makes sense though.
I tried to find the Little Rascals "He-Man Woman-Haters Clubhouse" in that aerial photo. But it's so jam-packed with stuff! It probably wasn't there anymore in 1959 anyway.
I guess my favorite today is the GM pin with the pink 'rubies'. Mainly because the craftsmanship of the pin looks especially nice. As small as those logos are, they're still sharply detailed... and the rubies look nice.
Nanook, haha! We both focused on that melting bus.
Thanks for the Stuff, Major. (I suppose we have to give it back though, right?)
I like all of these, but I especially like the two World's Fair items!
JB, maybe the "luck" associated with the encased pennies comes from Dinah Manoff's famous line, "Find a penny, pick it up, all day long you'll have good luck!" Or was it Dinah Shore who said that? No, wait...she said something about having luck in your Chevrolet. ;-)
Thanks, Major!
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