Author Archives: Bob Lawrence
I Bring Good Luck
I don’t really know which side is supposed to be the front of this medallion, which appears to have been holed at manufacture.
In the left side picture, I set it so the inscription could be read easily; however, when this piece is set with the hole on top, at the bottom, in small letters, is “SOUVENIRS INC N.Y.C.” ( I needed a 10x loupe to read it)
Greater Pittsburgh Airport went into service in 1952 and the Connie (the plane pictured, a Constellation) was retired by United in 1964 or so.
For its age, it’s in pretty good condition. I guess flying was a little bit scary in the late 50s, hence the appeal of a good luck token.
Flags piece
I picked this up at a flea market in Wise County. I know the right hand flag is the one used by South Vietnam from 1955 – 1975.
The piece is flat with nothing on the back except two splotches, one behind each flag, where this was glued to something.
You just never know what’s going to pop up at a flea…
Mary Jayne’s Railroad Specialties
Mary Jayne’s Railroad Specialties…and an airline? This is the lowest inventory number I have of the airline series that MJRS issued between the mid 80s or so through to the late 90s. The company was owned by Mary Jayne and John Z. Rowe of Covington VA. The MJRS company was incorporated, though, in North Miami Beach FL in 1973 and went inactive in 1999. Mary Jayne died in 2015 but her obituary doesn’t mention MJRS. It only states that she and her husband operated a land survey company. There’s an article in a railfan mag on the web on MJRS, but it’s stuck behind a $43 paywall. Passed on that. There is no inventory list of these cards on the web, as far as I know. This is MJ354 and my highest number is MJ1297, but this isn’t a continuous sequence. There are many holes in the numbering. Either I just don’t have all the cards (likely) or these cards, which changed publisher at least once, were part of a larger print run that included other subjects. This one was printed by Alleghany Publishers, Covington, VA. I hope the pinkish hue was intentional.
The cards I have cover an amazing number of airlines and many, many aircraft. This group was a real find.
Alf Berry
So, here’s Alf.
In the writing on the reverse, there’s one word that I can’t figure out. It’s the word written over the “P” in “Post”.
Alf Berry picture gave to B (?oo?) B feb 27, 1913 at Roda Va” Roda is a coal town in Wise County, at the end of what was once an Interstate Rail Road line. It’s northwest of Appalachia, past Osaka.
Interesting that the person writing this added the “Va”. It was never mailed. The writing just serves to identify the person and give a context to the picture itself.
Alf’s not wearing any rings. The buttons on his jacket have been much used; they’re hanging loosely. Sturdy shoes. Looks like some sort of basket hoop by his right foot. Can’t say much about his tie.
The other writing is when some dumb dealer wrote his buy code and the price of the card. I wish dealers wouldn’t be so unconcerned about these real photo cards. They’re one-offs, after all.
Caryville Dragon
If you live around Clinton or Lafollette TN, you know about this dragon.
The story is here.
I-75, which this dragon overlooks, came through this area in the early 80s, which would agree with citations on the ‘web about this figure having been constructed in the early 80s. I’m hopeless when it comes to estimating the height of something, but this dragon is quite a bit taller than the Dollar General store that now occupies the old Monster Fireworks location. A lady who has lived in the Caryville area for a long time told me that there used to be red lights in the eyes of the dragon.
This dragon has probably stalked through many a child’s nightmares.
Sunflowers!
Nothing like a bunch of fake sunflowers to brighten up the day!
This was at Smoky Mountain Flea Market, across the mighty I-40 from Bass Pro Shop.
It must have been 90 degrees on that asphalt outside.
Before KFC, there was
This was the first nationally franchised restaurant chain in the United States.
Chicken in the Rough (you ate it without silverware). Read about it here.
This card is from their Memphis location. I wonder how many people won the $100 cash prize?
Canon Snappy
This is a counter card for camera shops to advertise the then (1982-83) new Canon Snappy 20 and 50.
It shows damage from sunlight, otherwise this sturdy plastic card is in pretty good shape. The item measures 10.5 x 7″.
This first outing for the Canon Snappy series in the United States came in September, 1982. It cost $72 ($186 or so in today’s dollars). The Snappy 50 had autofocus. Which means that, just before you hit the shutter button, a measuring tape would spit out of the front of the camera, so you could measure the distance to the subject. It was unusual for its day in that the measuring tape would extend to 5,280′, at sea level. Just kidding, of course. It was an infra-red system, common in compact cameras then. Thank you, Google.
Trailways Token
I found this locally. In 1963, according to an ad in the Kingsport Times-News, Tays Farmer was the parts department manager at Daugherty Bros. Chevrolet in Gate City. The worn notch at the top indicates it was hanging off something for quite a while. There’s a blackening around the notch. In the center front is what remains of a Trailways logo. On the back it states “Travel Bus Trailways”. (Only so much you can do within a circle, word-wise)
If that is, indeed, a worn Trailways logo on the front, it’s the National Trailways Bus System logo and dates this to the ’50s.
Later: on the ‘net, I managed to find another Trailways token very similar to this one, but from Bybee VA. On that token, the side with the name on it is the reverse of this one; i.e., the “Travel Bus Trailways” side has the name on it.
This token is considered rare.
Deltaliner
I sloped down to a local antique store this afternoon and, by digging a little bit, came across this tidy gem:
No publisher is noted, but it has to be a puff piece for Delta, comfortably dated to between 1949 and 1951. Delta took delivery of their first DC-6 in 1948. They were retired in the early sixties as jets took over. Why 1951? Because, as pointed out on other posts on the web, postage rates for postcards went up to 2 cents in ’51. This was printed prior to that.
La Republique
A pre-WWI Tuck & Sons postcard, printed in Saxony.
The image is a hand lithograph.
On the back, along the left side:
Raphael Tuck & Sons Educational Series of Post Cards No. 406. “AVIATION”
ART PUBLISHERS TO THEIR MAJESTIES THE KING AND QUEEN
Description:
LA REPUBLIQUE
La Republique, an airship of the semi-rigid type, was built for the French Government by Lebaudy Bros., and made its first flight in September, 1908, covering a distance of 200 kilometres in 6 1/2 hours, returning to its starting point without descent. In length it was about 210 ft., while it was fitted with twin screws driven by a motor of 80 h.p. A sister ship to La Republique was La Patrie, which broke away from its moorings and was never found. La Republique in 1909 also met with disaster.
Blue Q Robot
This little (1-3/4″) chrome-finished robot was made by the Blue Q company a year after the company was founded in Boston. they’ve now moved away from Boston and, although they’re still in business, I don’t think they still sell robot pins.
Doe River Gorge
This is Pardee Point on the old ET&WNC narrow gauge line in Doe River Gorge.
Looking east…there’s almost a face in the rocks up ahead.
Chernobyl Donor Pin
It’s a little fuzzy, sure. That’s because I photographed it in its plastic pouch. So, sue me.
The event at Chernobyl happened 30 years ago now. This Russian-made pin was probably given to people who donated money to help those who had been displaced by the explosion and resulting radioactive contamination. It’s 3″ top to bottom and 1″ wide. Enamel on some sort of pot metal. Quite light.
It’s listed as being rare.
Piedmont Racing
From 1982 to 1988 Piedmont Airlines, apparently feeling flush in good times and with an infusion of cash from Norfolk & Western Railroad, ventured into NASCAR. They were the first airline to do so. They sponsored Richard Childress’ team from Ricky Rudd to Sterling Marlin. This iron-on patch is 3.75″ wide and 2.5″ deep. Incidentally, Piedmont was the 10th largest airline in the U.S. at the time. I think United owns the name now.
Strange sight
Warning! Below is a picture of a dead animal.
I had just finished taking some pictures of a tunnel on a railroad line between Eastern and Hueysville KY, when my buddy motioned me over to look at this. I’ve never seen anything like it. I hope it was an act of sentiment on the owner of the dog, but that’s unlikely, I suppose.
There’s also the carcass of an elk close by. It was kind of creepy.
Here’s the picture:
Running for Magistrate
My stepdad would have taken one look at this and said, “Yep, that’s one of those DAMN-ocrats.”
Uncle Bob's Pix 