Vintage Print Ads Make Awesome--and, yes!--Inexpensive Gifts

1942 Coca-Cola Vintage Print Ad

(Hawaiian Odysseus Photo)

Smack dab in the midst of high school and college graduation season, with Father's Day and the 4th of July just around the corner, and with a myriad of birtdays, anniversaries, reunions with loved ones or fellow classmates of an honored alma mater, and other special occasions on the horizon, you're left wondering, What kind of gift can I get?

There's really no need to look any further. Take your pick of hundreds of gorgeous nostalgic options at http://stores.ebay.com/Lords-of-the-Fly/_i.html?_fsub=2623719010 .

What are vintage print ads? They're commercial advertisements carefully removed from old magazines--say, from the 1970's and earlier (although the term vintage is often loosely interpreted to include even more recent items). These ads are then placed in acid-free plastic sleeves along with acid-free backing boards and then mailed in large flat or padded envelopes to their respective customers.

The top photo is a great example of a potential gift for dear old Dad. It not only piques the nostalgic strings of an older generation's collective heart; it also has intrinsic value in a sub-niche of its own--Coke memorabilia.

Here are three more examples of ads from three different sub-categories--automobiles; World War II; and sporting goods.

1946 Ford Mercury Vintage Print Ad

(Hawaiian Odysseus Photo)

1942 Lockheed Aircraft Corporation World War II Vintage Print Ad

(Hawaiian Odysseus Photo)

1945 Wilson Sports Equipment Vintage Print Ad

(Hawaiian Odysseus Photo)

Why settle for the old humdrum annual necktie, bottle of cologne, golf club, fishing pole, or stationery? Sure, these gifts are great, and we're certainly not knocking them. But if you're looking for that unique and very special item that's sure to elicit a grin from your favorite family patriarch immediately upon its removal from the envelope, we invite you to check out what might turn out to be the gift that special man remembers for years to come.

http://stores.ebay.com/Lords-of-the-Fly/_i.html?_fsub=2623719010

Who knows? In browsing through these lovely yesteryear memorabilia, you might very well develop an interest in becoming a collector of vintage ephemera. There's something very appealing about the way the ad agencies of the past combined gorgeous art and/or picturesque photographs with clever  text construction that you just don't find in today's high-tech advertisements.

Why Collect Vintage Print Ads?

• To preserve Americana
• To understand our heritage
• To appreciate our social, cultural, political, and economic roots
• To enhance our grasp of history
• To compare and contrast the past with the present
• To leave as a legacy for future generations
• To own as antique collectibles
• To acknowledge the art and artists of yesteryear
• To frame and craft into attractive gifts
• To utilize as decorative household pieces
• To buy, sell, and trade
• To enjoy a good return on investment

1946 National Confectioners Association Vintage Print Ad

(Hawaiian Odysseus Photo)

The folks at eBay's Lords of the Fly store would be delighted to have you drop in for a visit. Browse through their vintage print ads selection and feel free to share your comments and questions with them. Their responses, like their delivery time, are prompt and courteous.

http://stores.ebay.com/Lords-of-the-Fly/_i.html?_fsub=2623719010

You'll find more information about this collectible gift specialty in the following articles. Thanks for dropping by, and--yes, by all means--your comments are always welcomed and appreciated.


http://hawaiianodysseus.hubpages.com/hub/VintageKeala

http://hawaiianodysseus.hubpages.com/hub/Raising-the-Baron-eBay

http://hawaiianodysseus.hubpages.com/hub/Giving-People-the-Time-of-Day-on-eBay

Meet CARY GRANITE--on eBay

A Piece of Rock I Dubbed Cary Granite

(Hawaiian Odysseus Photo)

An annual phenomenon on eBay is a noticeable slowdown of traffic, perhaps even to the point of a standstill for some sellers, a few days before and after the income tax return filing deadline. 

Rather than pull whatever remaining hair I have left on my coconut, I act the fool and do something off the wall--pupule, as Hawaiians would say--that will simultaneously provoke my competitors and, hopefully, amuse my viewers.

I posted the one week listing early this morning--an unconventional time for a Pacific Northwest eBay seller to submit a listing but, for the other side of the world, a most convenient and thoughtful act on my part. 

The rock is quite heavy, perhaps 5 pounds, and so I'm obliged to use USPS Priority Mail Medium Flat Rate Box shipping ($11.35 to US addresses; $47.95 to international destinations). 

In keeping with the crazy theme, I'm starting the auction out at a penny. Honestly, I'm gambling that this will also serve to invigorate the lackluster traffic. And if that doesn't work, placing the rock in a large jacket pocket and jumping into the Columbia River just might do the trick.

Then again...a five pound rock won't do diddly squat for my husky islander frame. (Husky sounds better than mildly obese. Yeah, I could've used bathroom scale-challenged, but I'm years away from evolving into a politically correct individual.)

Okay, where in the world was I? Oh, yeah...

If it's true that fads have a way of coming back every few decades or so, than it's high time the pet rock craze made a return, And how appropriate that the loosey-goosey Captain Jack Sparrow of the eBay waters--Hawaiian Odysseus--should be the one to mastermind its comeback. 

If you were able to get to this post prior to the end of the above-mentioned eBay listing (go to eBay and type the following item number into the search window: 160793425135), you'll be able to follow its progress. Or, if you find this blog entry within three months after that date, you'll still be able to search for that number to have a few grins over what ultimately happened with this harebrained scheme.

In any event, it's fun coming up with wild and crazy ways to make a living.

Only on eBay...

Only with yours truly...

Hawaiian Odysseus.

By the way, for more on this particular topic, check out my equally zany article on HubPages. Just click on the link below.

Mahalo!  

http://hawaiianodysseus.hubpages.com/_kauaiboy/hub/The-Crazy-Things-I-Do-on-eBay

Why I Sell on eBay--Of Haunting Green Eyes and a Young Man Down Under

 Afghan Girl with the Haunted--and Haunting--Green Eyes

June, 1985 National Geographic

(Hawaiian Odysseus Photo of Cover)

PROLOGUE

I'm one for seeing the glass half full. 

So while a good deal of the world may be focused on the Mayan calendar ending in December of this year, it's life as usual for me.

Add to that the fact that I'm looking at 60 imaginary candles on the invisible cake this July, well...let's just say that I am a full-fledged member of a universal club that is very appreciative of the life God's given them.

In 2000, I formally opened up a part-time business selling fishing flies I'd tied as well as fly tying materials on eBay.

In the latter part of last year, bone-weary from a bagel baking job in Redmond, Washington, and simply exasperated with the schizophrenic economy, I made the significant decision to abort the rat race I was quickly losing. 

Returning home to Walla Walla County, 250 miles southeast of my sojourn in the Emerald City of Seattle, I kicked my online business into full gear. 

Admittedly, it was a scary decision, but after much soul-searching, hours of heart-wrenching discussions with my wife, and a total overhaul of my theretofore makeshift business plan, I took the plunge.

And God's favor has incessantly rained upon me ever since.

Not that I'm rolling in the dough, mind  you, because I'm not...not yet, anyway. 

My blessings have come by way of the people I've encountered in my global entrepreneurship.

And in the end, the golden contact we make with our fellow men is more important than any earthly treasure.

That said, I've been struggling in the last couple of months, desperately trying to understand this minority segment on eBay that purchases items knowing full well that they are not going to pay for them.

When I ask eBay for help, I am told that the global venue is a buyer's market and that sellers are expected to uphold the highest standards of professional conduct regardless of how some buyers abuse the process.

The eBay reps continue: "You know, sir, this is a reflection of our economy."

What? That people can get away with doing wrong to other people?

What? Aren't sellers part of that economy, too? Don't we lose big time when you reinforce the bad behavior of non-paying buyers by lacking consequences with bite?

In short, I come away from those phone calls with eBay customer support feeling, well, entrepreneurially impotent. 

Okay...

So then there's the subsequent fallout. I start feeling angry...I have to stuff that anger...with no adequate venting, I get to a point where I'm feeling sorry for myself.

And that's not a good place for anyone, let alone a businessman, to be.

THE BEHIND THE SCENES STORY

God is like this wonderful and timely GPS. When He sees us going down a wrong path, He doesn't treat us as mere marionettes and--with ethereal puppeteer strings--control our movements or force our decisions or rob us of our freedom of choice.

He simply provides more opportunities.

In the early part of April, 2012 (exactly 16 days prior to this writing), I discovered in my eBay inbox that I'd just made a sale of the magazine below to a woman in Australia.

Afghan Girl, Found, 17 Years Later

April, 2002 National Geographic

(Hawaiian Odysseus Photo of  Cover)

I was elated! Promptly, I processed, packaged, and mailed the item off to the buyer. 

Less than two weeks later, I received the following positive feedback--

thanks arrived today my son has included her in many art essays for school

Now, I'd known briefly about the 1985 Afghan Girl cover story (see top photo) while researching for my description of the 2002 National Geographic issue, but as events would have it, I actually obtained the latter issue first. I don't remember where...could have been at an estate sale, church bazaar, or thrift store.

So that's why I made the sale of the 2002 issue first. 

Soon after, however, I got my hands on not just one, but two of the 1985 issues. My interest, like a single lit match in a dry forest, burned brightly and ran rampantly with new possibilities.

I remember gazing obsessively--as have millions of people all over the world--at the image of the Afghan girl with haunted--and, yes, haunting!--green eyes.

On impulse rather than analytical forethought, not worrying in the least about crossing unspoken professional marketing boundaries, I emailed the Australian woman a courtesy thank you for her nice feedback and then...yes, I dared it!...asked her if she could provide me with some background information about her feedback comment. I explained that I occasionally blogged about some of my eBay experiences.

When I awoke this morning to the light Walla Walla rain and checked my eBay status, I found an email from, I thought, the Australian customer. It was a well thought out response to my request. I was about to send an appreciative email when I noticed that there was a second message in my inbox.

Upon reading the second email, I learned that the response had actually been written by her son, a high school student.

Here is what the intelligent and eloquent young man wrote--

Afghan Girl Article

The following is in regards to your request to hearing about my, well, obsession is the best phrase. Firstly, I'd very much like to say thanks for my purchase. I received both issues & they're exactly what I wanted!

Now, you say you wish to hear a human interest story to put on your blog. Well, my obsession with the Afghan girl is nothing compared to her story, a single individual whose beautiful eyes captivated the hearts of everyone who saw them, eyes that reflected the plight of all refugees of war. That's remarkable, a true testament to the nature of humanity and the power of a well-told story, and an amazing piece of art, things of which I've always loved.

I don't quite remember the first time I saw the photograph by renowned photojournalist Steve McCurry, but since then I have been a passionate fan. He is now one of my photographic idols. What I remember, however, is being caught up in the beauty of the image like everybody else. I'd been taking photos for a while at this point, and when I saw this, I was blown away. Not only was the subject amazing, but I was swept away with the lighting, the composition, the focus, the simple beauty. I rushed off and read up on the story. Since then, it's been one of my favorite images.

I've since used it as an example in as many projects for school as I possibly could, from English (in a theme of journey and belonging) to Visual Arts. As recently as three weeks ago, I've used her story as an example in one of my first assessments for university (subject on the future of Afghan women). The Afghan girl isn't just simply an amazing piece of photojournalism and a beautiful photograph. It also captures the human spirit.

Today, I'm in possession of both issues of  National Geographic--the Afghan girl's complete story. I am in possession of not only collector's items, but a piece of history as well, and I thank you for that with all my heart.

This has been something I have desired for many years now, and I'm sure it will continue to inspire me.

Sincerely,

Alexander Johnson

EPILOGUE

Just as I was moved by the awesome and memorable Afghan Girl cover, I was absolutely blown away by the thoughtful and equally inspirational response from the young Australian man.

Alexander, you're a credit to not just your parents, siblings, relatives, friends, and acquaintances. You're an embodiment of all that is hopeful and cause for thanksgiving in our world. May the good Lord bless your every endeavor--in your budding university life and in your future occupation, relationships, and global ambassadorship.

Thank you for blessing me with one more beautiful remembrance of why I do the work I do on eBay.

Aloha and mahalo,

Hawaiian Odysseus

Finding the Afghan Girl

National Geographic Video on YouTube

I also invite all who are interested to read a related post that can be found with the following link:

http://hawaiianodysseus.hubpages.com/_kauaiboy/hub/The-Girl-With-the-Haunting-Green-Eyes

Of Cataracts and Cameras--A Perspective on Seeing Clearly

Konica Minolta AF Maxxum 70 SLR Camera With Quantaray Lens

28-90 mm f/3.5-5.6

(Hawaiian Odysseus Photo)

It's of no small irony that the week after I listed this beautiful pre-owned camera on eBay, I received the official confirmation from an ophthalmologist in Walla Walla that I needed to have cataract removal surgery.

Now, that's disconcerting news enough. But to learn that both eyes needed the surgery, well, that took me for a loop.

Both my parents developed cataracts and had to have surgery in their late seventies. So the odds of my getting cataracts at an even younger age were even greater. Sure enough, I won the cataract lottery--not just once, but twice.

 (Hawaiian Odysseus Photo)

On paper, cataract surgery seems simple enough. After local anesthesia is applied, a needle pierces the lens and breaks it up into small pieces. Through a suction process that, for personal reasons, I really don't want to and am not qualified to write about, the pieces are removed. An artificial lens is then installed. If all goes well, after a relatively short recuperation period, the patient is able to see quite clearly.

I was surprised to learn that cataract surgery is the #1 most common medical procedure in our country. 

So what does all of this have to do with the camera I listed?

 (Hawaiian Odysseus Photo)

Well, if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then God's head must be swelling. Let's look at a timeline to understand a little bit more about man's attempts to make an artificial eye--the camera!

• 1021 Ibn al-Haytham, an Iraqi Arab scientist, wrote Book of Optics, introducing the basic concept of a camera and the usage of a pinhole or lens to focus an external image onto an internal surface.
• 1685 Johann Zahn developed the first handheld camera, but it would be many more years for the design to be implemented successfully.
• 1814 The first photograph was taken by Joseph Nicephore Niepce. By exposing a bitumen coated pewter plate to light, Niepce was able to capture a temporary image.
• 1814 Expanding on Niepce's idea, Frenchmen Charles and Vincent Chevalier built the first camera that could produce photos. However, there was no way to preserve the photos.
• `836 Niepce's partner, Louis Jacques Daguerre, developed the first practical photographic process. Daguerrotype involved an image being made on a light-sensitive silver-coated copper plate.
• 1840 For the first time, William Talbot generated positive images from negatives to produce permanent images.
• 1888 George Eastman made his first camera and called it the Kodak. It was the very first camera to go on sale. 
• 1889 Eastman, who had been making paper film for  years, replaced it with celluloid. He created a camera that was shaped like a box and had a single speed shutter mechanism.

By the turn of the century, the commercialization of cameras and the advancement in photography technology resulted in quantum leap advances.

(Hawaiian Odysseus Photo)

In the process of doing research and creatively interpolating facts with figments of my imagination-doing my own quantum leaping, so to speak--it struck me recently that it wasn't just coincidence that listing a camera on eBay and being diagnosed with cataracts were such closely aligned events in my life.

These things were meant to happen in close juxtaposition in order that I might understand...and in the understanding, find peace and acceptance.

If man had not been curious and just a wee bit narcissistic in his attempts to be just like heavenly Dad, he might not have attempted to devise a mechanical eye, or camera.

And if he'd given up after his first initial attempts or failed to improve on his predecessors' progress, technology would have gone the way of dinosaurs.

If cameras didn't exist, perhaps it would have been all the more challenging for medical school professors to illustratively and mechanically expound upon the wonders of the human eye.

Figuratively...literally...man would still be stuck wondering what the other side of the moon looked like.

And what would it matter if all of mankind couldn't see very well after threescore years because of increasingly cloudy vision?

As it stands, if all goes well next month--and I'm praying for God's abundant favor, not just for me, but for my camera mechanic, the good ophthalmologist himself--I'll be seeing things a lot more clearly than I do now.

Although...

...in a way...

my focus couldn't be sharper.

Setting My Odyssean Sails for eBay Waters

1893 World's Fair--Chicago's Great Telescope

Hawaiian Odysseus Photo

My odyssey takes me on the most interesting twists, turns, and detours. 

I had sworn to never attend yard sales, garage sales, estate sales, thrift stores, church bazaars, and the like. 

Perhaps the core of my disdain for these haunts was my perception that this was part and parcel of a feminine mystique, not a hangout for men. I'm not machismo by any stretch of the imagination. It's just that I had no interest whatsoever in going to these places because--in my early adult years, at least--I only saw women frequenting these places. 

Plus, I learned a long time ago that shopping with a woman is like getting my teeth pulled without the balm of local anesthesia. You know...the torture of dealing with a pain that tears at the tiniest yet most vulnerable of nerves...coping in vain to deal with it by arching my back and slowly realizing that my butt is two feet off of the chair.

In any event, 9 parts because of the major economic stall of the last two years and 1 part out of sheer desperation to jump start my anemic eBay business, I went looking for new adventures.  

And so it was, one fateful Sunday morning, that I set my Odyssean sails against the wind, the figurative ocean spray (more like spit) of old tapes in my head filling me with skepticism and every excuse in the book to stay home: Don't do it! You'll regret it! You'll be the only man in the place!

Long story short (because this post is truly about something other than my advent as a thrift store pirate), I was hooked! Like a bonito attacking the tantalizing leg of an octopus attached to a huge curved object, I was HOOKED!

Funny thing is, so were a lot of other men. My preconceived notions melted like the arctic glaciers succumbing to global warming.

At this thrift store sponsored by the College Place Seventh-Day Adventist church, I happened to find this old antiquarian book that had been published in 1894. The book was a collection of black and white photographs from the 1893 Columbian Exposition, more familiarly known as the Chicago World's Fair.

In the hopes of taking my eBay store to a new level, I had been selling vintage ads for a couple of months with some success. I had at least a novice's perception, then, that vintage items appealed to a great number of people globally. I also had been besieged with spam mail advertising the collectible prints niche, some of which I had actually been reading.

The combination of these two activities, plus my predisposition towards impulsivity, prompted me to act quickly. 

Against my better judgment, I forked over a hard-earned fifty cents to the portly woman sitting at the sales desk.

 1893 World's Fair--Thomas Coke Ordaining Francis Asbury

(Hawaiian Odysseus Photo)

The next day, I did what every kindergarten boy wishes he could do...I literally tore that book apart, carefully removing the black and white prints in the process. I also had the wherewithal--don't ask me where that came from--to take photographs of the cover page and a small paragraph. These would help me authenticate the age and source of these prints.

It took me a few hours to process the pages and list at least a dozen prints. Once I felt comfortable with the basic template, things moved a little more quickly.

My cursory review of collectible art prints revealed that people were charging relatively high prices for these prints. Being a newbie, I mustered enough courage to push the ante just a bit while remaining on the borderline of my comfort zone.  I set my price at $25 a print.

As of this writing--and it's roughly been about two months--I have been blessed with three sales, and several more prints have watchers (which doesn't necessarily mean I have a sale but at least unveils the possibility). 

1893 World's Fair--Dom Pedro's Carriage

(Hawaiian Odysseus Photo)

Granted, I'm only on the ground floor of this exciting niche. But the nice thing about that is: Unless you're looking for the parking garage, the only way left is up!

And if there's anyone out there in blog reader land who learned something new or was at any level inspired to get out of his or her comfort zone and risk something new, maybe even strange, I welcome you to comment on, tweet, and share this post with others.

Now go and set your own Odyssean sails! And God bless you all! 

THE UNION PACIFIC MEMORIAL IN WALLA WALLA

Union Pacific Memorial

(All images in this post are Hawaiian Odysseus photos.)

Just west of Jefferson Park in Walla Walla, Washington, adjacent to the 9th Avenue portion of Highway 11 which connects the aforementioned city with its Oregon sister approximately ten miles or so to the south--Milton-Freewater--you'll find this iconic iron giant from yesteryear resting in a cyclone fence-enclosed area.  

I happened to be walking past this railroad memorabilia this morning.  The temperature was menthol brisk, and I was comfortable in jeans and a light jacket over an aloha shirt. The sky--oh, that glorious panorama of azure!--had its celestial gates closed to members of the cloud family, and the sun was out in its brilliant promise to warm things up a bit.

Only a third of the way through visiting February, and yet we're blessed with a mid-spring day.

Good thing I brought my camera! I thought as I found a clean spot on the grass to lay my backpack down.  Unzipping my faithful blue and black accessory, I grabbed my simple yet invaluable Fuji digital and jockeyed around the cyclone fence to capture a few images.

In 1917, this Union Pacific #2357 locomotive was built for the Union Pacific subsidiary known as the Oregon Short Line.  It was donated to the City of Walla Walla in 1959. 

Established on April 14, 1881, the Oregon Short Line was the appropriate choice of name for the shortest route possible from Wyoming to Oregon. The construction of a standard gauge line from Granger, Wyoming through Idaho to a junction in Huntington, Oregon, was successfully administered by the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company.

This memorial has existed for over five decades adjacent to what could arguably described as Walla Walla's busiest thoroughfare.  Yet, as is the case with so many beautiful images, ojects, and--sadly--fellow sojourners of terra firma, we engage in this perpetual habit of neglecting to see what is right in front of us.

In my work on eBay and its close online cousins; in my views and life philosophy; in my spirituality; and especially in my interpersonal relationships,   I want to do my part and start seeing--really seeing--what I've been taking for granted.

A FEATURED ITEM IN OUR eBAY STORE

Metz 3-in-1 Grizzly/Olive Neck

(Hawaiian Odysseus Photo)

You're looking at a fly tyer's or hair extension stylist's dream source of feathers--a Metz #3 (or grade 3) 3-in-1 Grizzly/Olive Rooster Neck.

Metz has delivered fine quality products for fly tyers and fly fishermen all over the world.  Recent socio-cultural trends--most notably, the peaking popularity of utilizing feathers for hair extensions--has created a demand far exceeding adequate hackle supplies.

Our eBay business, LORDS OF THE FLY, is proud to bring to you this excellent 3-in-1 Grizzly/Olive Rooster Neck. No matter what your specific need might be, you will definitely make efficient usage of the feathers found on this wonderful neck.

What exactly does 3-in-1 mean? Well, the feathers near the top half of the neck are great for tying dry flies.  The feathers on the middle margins and tapering towards the center are wonderful for tying woolly buggers.  Finally, the feathers in the southern region are useful for tying streamers.

The photos above speaks volumes about the neck's quality.  We encourage our eBay buyers to secure additional information by asking questions.  We make it a point to answer your inquiries in a timely manner.

PayPal is the preferred method of payment.

USPS First Class Mail is utilized for either USA or international transactions.

We invite you to view and participate in our eBay store and auction listings. Aside from fly tying hackle such as the item above, we have an array of Dai-Riki and Daiichi fishing hooks, postcards, books, magazines, collectible knickknacks, and hundreds of vintage and contemporary ads, prints, and articles for your earnest consideration.

Here's the link to

LORDS OF THE FLY--

the humble online shop with great expectations! 

http://stores.ebay.com/Lords-of-the-Fly