February 2010

Sakowitz Bros. of Houston, Texas was a GORGEOUS department store

Submitted by Mary on Mon, 02/01/2010 - 12:43pm (1528 reads)

 

Retropolis has been celebrating the fifteen happiest states in the United States. Texas is number fifteen. That doesn't mean that it's at the bottom of a list. It's still happier than 35 other states in the country. read more...

Black History Month: First Interracial Kiss on Network Television

Submitted by Mary on Wed, 02/03/2010 - 11:43am (1849 reads)

I was looking at a long list of African-American firsts on Wikipedia and I saw this under the year 1967: "First African-American interracial kiss on network television: entertainers Nancy Sinatra (white) and Sammy Davis, Jr. (African American) on Sinatra's variety special  read more...

Black History Month: First Interracial Kiss Between Two Men on Network Television

Submitted by Mary on Thu, 02/04/2010 - 10:19pm (797 reads)

Yesterday I discussed the first interracial kiss between a man and a woman on TV. read more...

And now.... a Vintage Valentine Commercial

Submitted by Mary on Fri, 02/05/2010 - 11:47am (285 reads)

If you love vintage Valentines, you'll love this vintage Valentine commercial, which is from around the late 40's - 1950's. Before television, Coco Wheats used to have a children's radio show, starring Happy Hank.

In this vintage Valentine TV commercial, Happy Hank shows children the 20 colorful Valentines they will receive if they send in just 10 cents and the Little Crow seal. Can you imagine - just ten cents! Plus, half of the Valentines are MOVING Valentines. read more...

Gio Ponti: Furniture Designer, Artist, Industrial Designer, Architect and so much more

Submitted by Mary on Sat, 02/06/2010 - 3:56pm (854 reads)

Gio Ponti was an Italian architect (and so much more, as you will see in the video created by  read more...

How do I determine how old my vintage brooch or pin is?

Submitted by Mary on Sun, 02/07/2010 - 11:15am (1212 reads)

I found this video on YouTube that will help you begin to determine the age of your vintage brooches and pins based on the clasp / catch in the back of your brooch. You cannot determine how old a brooch is by the clasp alone. There are exceptions, of course. For example, you will certainly find older brooches with newer, replacement pins on the back. So, the clasp alone does not determine the age, but in general, it's a great place to start. read more...

Kindergarten Valentine's Day 1969

Submitted by Mary on Mon, 02/08/2010 - 12:57pm (500 reads)

Do you remember swapping Valentines in school? Our teachers would make a list of everyone in the class and we would take that list home and begin our project. The first part of the project was selecting the box of Valentines. During my childhood, Valentines were always sold in boxes covered with red cellophane that had just enough clear cellophane so that you could peak inside at the Valentines.  read more...

Congratulations, New Orleans!!!!

Submitted by Mary on Tue, 02/09/2010 - 8:31pm (269 reads)

The New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl! 

After all that New Orleans has been through, New Orleans needed this. It's time for New Orleans to celebrate! Mardi Gras season is going on there right now, and the official Mardi Gras day this year is only a week away, on Tuesday, February 16th. So, the people of New Orleans must be partying more than ever over this next week! read more...

60 Years Ago: Valentine Bettie Page

Submitted by Mary on Wed, 02/10/2010 - 10:35pm (441 reads)

This wasn't really a Valentine's Day dance, but her red costume sure looks like a Valentine. This was model Bettie Page in 1950. She was born as Betty Page in 1923, and she was probably around 27 years old here.  read more...

What's the secret to a long marriage?

Submitted by Mary on Sun, 02/14/2010 - 8:53am (287 reads)

For those of us who love antique and vintage objects, we pay a lot of attention to how to preserve a beautiful old patina, how to store old books, how to properly polish silver, how to gently pack away antique dolls, etc. But, all of those old objects combined pale in comparison to the love of our life. It's one thing to make an object last a lifetime. But, what about a marriage or a long term relationship? How do we keep it beautiful?  read more...