COLLECTION #81: Vintage School Pre-Primers

For me, reading has always been a complete joy; from the moment I opened my first pre-primer when I was five years old, to the novel I just finished. I have nothing but happy memories of my early reading experiences. Seeing and collecting vintage pre-primer books (reading readiness books) brings back so many memories of my time with Dick and Jane, Tip and Mitten, Alice and Jerry. But it wasn't really just the words that held all the magic: it was the enchanting illustrations. Chubby, pink-cheeked little boys and girls on roller skates, frolicking  with spotted dogs or yellow tabby cats, carrying books to school in picket-fenced neighborhoods. Moms in aprons. Dads with briefcases and fedoras. Curly headed blonde babies in cribs. Pretty teachers with pencil-thin skirts, who were kind and inspiring to their young charges.

For a school book collector like me, it's fun to see the differences between the different series of books for the same age groups. The vocabulary was similar, the stories generally followed the same script. But the illustrations are what set them apart.

The Houghton-Mifflin readers (shown here as The Big Show, and Tip and Mitten) had lovely illustrations. My favorites are by Corinne Malvern, who also illustrated some of my favorite Little Golden Books.

Beautiful illustrations by Corinne Malvern in the Big Show

I love this little A Picture Book for Jerry and Jane, with illustrations by Grace Bollert. It's from the late '30s, and the limited color palette and simple, graphic illustrations, are so charming and sweet.

A collection of pre-primers wouldn't be complete without at least one or two Dick and Jane pre-primers. I have two: We Come and Go, and We Work and Play.   The book Before We Read is also part of the Dick and Jane world, published by Scott, Foresman & Co.

From We Work and Play

 I must say, with all of these lovely books to look at, my favorites of all are the Alice and Jerry books, published by Row, Peterson & Co.  In my mind, these illustrations are absolutely stunning, adorable, and memorable. I'll share the rest of my Alice and Jerry books at a later time.

From Skip Along, an Alice and Jerry book

COLLECTION #80: Lunchboxes

OFFICIAL DISCLAIMER: These are all reproductions! As much as I love old lunchboxes from the 50s & 60s, I do not collect them! But, as a substitute, I often pick up the mini lunchboxes & other fun tin cases when I see them! The small ones on the bottom row were once sold with candy in them. (I would say I collect candy too, but I eat it too fast!)  The Gene Autry lunchbox was the housing for a Fossil Gene Autry watch, purchased in 1995. 

I love the Mike Mulligan box- for those not in the know, Mike Mulligan & His Steam Shovel was a classic children's book, written by Virginia Lee Burton in 1939. I happen to have a vintage copy of that adorable book!

COLLECTION #79: Wizard of Oz Junior Edition Books

There are some things I collect, there are other collections I just have.  These five Wizard of Oz books belonged to my late Mother-in-Law, and they fell in my lap when we inherited her possessions. They're well-loved and much-read editions, and I love to think about my Mother-in-Law Betty, reading them when she was a little girl in South Pasadena.

They are very sweet, I doubt if they are rare or particularly valuable, but precious to my husband and me, and our family.

COLLECTION #78: Vintage Educational Toys

Today it's Leap Frog. Yesterday is was.... this!  These are my fun educational toys from the 40s and 50s. And maybe 30s. The Wolverine math toys (above) might have made me like doing my times tables, if I'd had one of these as a child!  I have two: the "Arithmetic Quiz", and the "Modern Math Addition" models. (They also made a "Modern Math Subtraction" and a simpler "See and Add" models)  I believe these toys were made in the early '50s.

I still have fun playing with my "Spelling and Counting Board" by Bar-Zim... these are highly collectible, and I have the original box for this. So cute!

"My Adding Box" doesn't really add up any more.. the knobs no longer advance the images, but it looks cute on my shelf anyway!  The "Chart of Knowledge" is a great way to find out information about each state in the US in the 1940s, or possibly late '30s. It's not exactly a toy, but I thought it fit into the category nicely!

COLLECTION #77: Vintage Souvenir Plates

Ah, another category I'm not sure exactly what to call.... these are those lovely souvenir plates from various states, points of interest, etc. Actually I have several more, but they must be packed away somewhere. (sigh) So, I'll have to go with what I have!  All of my plates are old except for one. The white and blue Nauvoo plate on the left side is a reproduction. The original is from the mid-1800s, and if I had the real thing, I could retire!  I love my Utah plate... it is actually quite old, I think it's from the 30s. It was made in England by Staffordshire. The other 3- Mohawk Trail, Texas and Oregon, are probably from the 40s or 50s. I haven't exactly made the effort to study these plates and their history! They are from Vernon Kilns, who manufactured many of these souvenir plates. If I find out any additional information, I'll be sure to update this post! So, I hope you enjoy looking at my fun plates!

THE WEEKEND COLLECTOR: Old Time Religion

Jim Linderman is a writer, collector, historian and iconoclast.  He uses objects from his personal collection of photographs, ephemera and items from popular culture as starting points for telling true stories and bringing back forgotten folks.  He was nominated for a Grammy for the Book / CD Take Me to the Water: Immersion Baptism in Vintage Music and Photography (published by Dust to Digital)  and his numerous blogs have combined received well over one million hits.  Old Time Religion exhibits a small part of curious Christian iconography every week, all from his personal collection. He claims to collect the eccentric religion ephemera, photographs and pamphlets "because no one else does" and that combined they reveal what he believes is the origins of the religious right.  As most of the material was given away originally, or sold for very little, most were discarded and despite huge print runs, few exist today.
He remembers plucking them from his father's car windshield as a child, and the tracts are still being printed today.  Colorful but odd, the artifacts are but one of the arcane collections Linderman has put together.  Jim Linderman's primary blog is Dull Tool Dim Bulb.

COLLECTION #76: Vintage School Arithmetic Books Part 2

As I have shared in a previous post, I have a few old school arithmetic books. Today's collection is arithmetic workbooks... those large, manilla paged, scary books where no matter how many circus elephants and monkeys they put in, was still arithmetic and numbers and calculations. (shudder) I'm sure not all of you felt the same way as I did about arithmetic, but just looking at that blank page full of long division problems, makes me shake just a little bit.  I admit, though, I was very good at drawing or printing my numbers... they looked lovely. It's just that the answers were often incorrect!

I love the Jolly Numbers book.... what a cute cover! Just makes me smile. Until I open the cover! (Just kidding... I actually loved arithmetic in the first grade!)