About Cool Colorado Collectibles...

When I ran across this book put together by the Associated Press about the assassination of John F. Kennedy, I was fascinated by the photographs that were included in the book called "The Torch is Passed", published in 1963. It is so comprehensive and includes a narrative about all the details of Kennedy's presidency, the trip to Dallas, Texas, the shot that struck him, how everyone around the president reacted when he was shot, the photgraphs that captured the shot, the immediate actions taken. It goes on to detail the funeral, how the nation mourned and how the Kennedy family dealt with such a horrible event. The photo's tell it all and they all show up in this book. For those who are collectors of the Kennedy family history or the history of the United States, lovers of Jacquiline Kennedy Onassis, the Presidency of the United States or studies on presidential assassinations, this is a must! Go to http://www.Vintage-ForSale.com

This is a story of how Walter T. Foster Art Books from the 1950's made us famous...

My Grampa used to draw cartoons and caricatures for all the kids eating dinner in his buffet restaurant from the 1950's for another 20 years. He was famous for it and that sort of made me and my brother celebrities since we were related you know.

I always wondered how he developed his artistic abilities, since he was good at chock, pastels, and pencil. He LOVED drawing clowns and goddesses...they were his favorites. He hung the all along the wall behind the buffet and people just raved about them!

Want to know how he got so good at it?

He bought LOTS of Walter T. Foster "How to Draw & Paint Art" books. Then he practiced what they taught him until the techniques and step by step instructions were embeded in his mind to the point where he could whip out a napkin at the spur of the moment and delight his customers with a SOUVENIR of one of his fun little drawings to take home.

Talk about giving that special touch! His customers came back year after year and as their children grew, they would come back and bring their kids. It was an AMAZING thing to watch!

I still run into people that say to me, "Boy, I remember your grampa. He used to joke with us and drew us cartoon characters right in the restaurant. I'll never forget him."

So, the moral of the story is...If you want to become a famous artist, buy the whole collection of Vintage 1950's Walter T. Foster How to Draw and Paint Art Books. Share what you learn from them and make your grandkids famous as well!

Be sure to check out all the books, but the Learn to Draw Caricature book is my FAVORITE!

We've just listed one of the coolest dictionaries we've ever seen and it's a Webster!

Have you ever run across a book your family has had for many years and because it looked old and a little tattered you didn't give it much thought OR look inside to actually see what is was about?

That's what happened with this 1935 Webster's "Daily Use"  Dictionary we've just listed for sale in our eBay store. I mean, a Webster's is a Webster's right?

WRONG!

This Unique dictionary has so much COOL information in it, and especially in today's information age, we think this is a REAL FIND!

Among our favorites are the 1930 US census, the "7 modern wonders of the world", and the listings and meanings of the Christian name. Facts that we would have never guessed we would find in a Webster's Dictionary.

That's what is so attractive to collectors of our past: the snapshot in time we can experience so vividly when we run across these collectible, vintage treasures!

Have you ever seen a WWII booklet telling the story of a particular Army Infantry Corporal from his own perspective, his own photographs and his own illustrations? The title is a word I could not find in the dictionary, encyclopedia or anywhere: "Peragimus" Which was their slogan and represented "the Symbol of Accomplishment".

This is not a shoddy, home made publication and it's in INCREDIBLE condition, inside and out, but when we looked for an author,  publisher, a copyright or publish date, they simply weren't there. When we looked for the author, all we found were signatures here and there "Cpl. Fraser".

Just one look at the illustrations and the hand drawn map at the end, you'll marvel like we did at  what an unusual piece of history we found within this ORIGINAL "War Department" stamped envelope addressed to our great uncle's brother, obviously a medic in that particular infantry.

The story follows this Infantry Division from the original training camp in Texas through their battle route of 5 foreign countries. Along the road are captivating black and white vintage photographs.

This Corporal Frazer was quite an artist as well! Makes you wonder if he wouldn't have been a cartoonist in civilian life. The map he drew at the end of the book is quite interesting, following the movement of the 358th Infantry is very professional looking, triple folded.

Not being particular collectors of Military memorabilia, we can now see the attraction of understanding and appreciating the lives and times of a corporal and his team in WWII.

I LOVE photography!

It is such a joy to me to capture snapshots of people's expressions, kids playing, animals in nature, sunsets, WHATEVER! Since I don't paint or draw, taking pictures with cameras is a creative outlet for me as well as millions of others!

It must be in my blood, because my grampa and great uncle had their own darkrooms, thousands of slides, slide projectors, instructional books..everything amateur photographers needed to fulfill the desire to capture life and nature on film.

The way take pictures now days has certainly changed with the invention of computers, digital cameras and the internet. But the basics on how to take phenomenal pictures is pretty much the same as it was in 1939.

Just take a look at Emanuele Stieri's book I have listed in this ebay store entitled "Cameracrafts: The Amateur Photographer's Handbook"

One of the things I LOVE about this collectible  book is some of the GREAT vintage photographs from the 1930's! There are some adorable pic's of kids.

The other thing I love are the tips, strategies and instruction for different types of pictures, like indoor, nature, portrait, trick...all kinds of neat and valuable information. Stuff that's just as pertinent today as it was in the 1930's.

The 2 pages of cameras of the day are fun to look at and could be valuable to anyone who collects or sells vintage cameras.

Wait 'till you see some of the cameras my great-uncle had, which we will be listing soon in this ebay store at www.Vintage-ForSale.com

We just listed the COOLEST World War II MAP today on our eBay store:
Cool Colorado Collectables!

At first glance this original WWII Map doesn't look like anything special because it's black and white and is fairly small. Plus a little ragged at the edges and a few yellowed spots.

But on second glance, this vintage and very collectible map is QUITE UNIQUE!

Look at the label and it instructs you to "use your colored pencils to lay out their advancing battle lines" ...which is why they made this WWII map in black and white.

THINK ABOUT THIS!

This guy, William Hitt , of Hitt Map Co. out of Los Angeles, California, probably made a MINT off of these simple, inexpensive Maps because it enticed its buyers to PARTICIPATE in the advancement of battle fronts from the comfort of their own homes! BRILLIANT!

Just imagine how much attention these maps got from different types of buyers of the original maps sold for 11 cents a piece! How many hours, months, years people spent "coloring their maps".

Since this one is a bit worn, especially compared to other WWII maps we found in this estate which were PRISTNE, this must have been a favorite...hanging on the wall.

You would have families drawing in where their sons, brothers, husbands were in battles across the world. You would have wanna-be military strategists predicting where the front lines would be. You would have teachers of geography and history using these maps to educate.

What other ideas might YOU have about how this simple but effective "colored pencil" WWII map was used to entertain or educate?

As an internet marketer, I couldn't help but look at this WWII militaria collectible "Defense Map of America" as a BRILLIANT advertising / marketing piece with an upbeat feel, fantastic, friendly and informative copy, educational visuals and deep bright colors.

The American Flag is the ultimate Icon representing the sacrifice our American soldiers have made in the name of freedom.

The ultimate sacrifice is represented by the burial flag, kept close to the heart by the Mother's and sisters who lost their sons and brothers. Such was the case here as this perfectly preserved American flag was discovered tucked away in a safe place until those who knew and loved the Bomber pilot joined him in happy re-union.

So what is the family still in this world left to do? Shall it be kept another 63 years or shall we pass it on for others to honor and display. It's a hard choice the new generations have to make when life goes on, memories fade and families move on to new places, new countries.

So we list it today, this perfectly preserved flag that not only represents the country we love, but also represents a United States that was only 48 states instead of the 50 our generation knows.

It's hard to believe that Hawaii and Alaska were not always an integral part of the US. And so life (and war) goes on and the only thing we can count on is change.

How do you feel about flying a burial flag? We're sure the person who buys this flag and flies it for the first time in over 60 years will honor our beloved and brave pilot soldier. At least that is our prayer!

Where were you and what were you doing when you heard about our President, John F. Kennedy being assassinated?

I do! I was out on the playground of my elementary school and the teachers were calling us in to tell us about this shocking event. It didn't register at first because when you're just a kid, you just can't imagine how the President of the United States could be shot and killed in his own country.

I remember them sending us home and the flags being lowered to half mast, then watching my great grandma's balck and white TV, watching chaos instead of the 3 Stooges.

It all came back to me recently when I found a collection of newspapers in a book shelf in my great aunts house so well preserved that I could easily read them, looking at the incredible photo's of Jacquiline, her children, LBJ, Oswald, the building, the car, the rifle...everything  was covered in these papers...a very thorough collection.

It was a sad and chaotic point in American history, but there was some fun and amazing things about American life in the 1960's. The advertisements, the entertainment, the local Pueblo, Colorado scene.

TRULY ENTERTAINING & INTERESTING!

But now I'm anxious to see just who these pieces of American history will pass on to next. Will it be you? Or do you have a history buff in your life you know would LOVE this opportunity?

If so, you can send them to Vintage For Sale