The Chimera 175

March 11, 2014, 7:30 pm

When Aermacchi first manufactured it in 1956, the Chimera 175 was an incredibly futuristic motorcycle. Indeed, it probably was too futuristic for its own commercial good, as some of the technical and aesthetic solutions it featured likely curbed sales. For example, the company later decided to change its closed fairing and single rear shock absorber hidden under the seat – extraordinary peculiarities at the time. Going back to a double shock absorber and “undressed” engine immediately made the Chimera easier to market.

Designed by specialist Alfredo Bianchi and designer/pilot Mario Revelli di Beaumont, the Chimera was presented at Milan’s Bike Show in November 1955. In the words of Revelli himself used on that occasion, it offered “swift elegance of shapes, all oriented to dynamic lightness and penetration: this is – and will continue to be – a machine for today and for tomorrow, within an industrial plan that aims to uphold progress in functional styling, through the product’s high technical standards. The Chimera proves how insubstantial any doubts were about the possibility of finding a perfect balance between the needs of industrial design and those of mechanics specialists”.

In fact, a few doubts remained. That machine was for tomorrow, not for today. The only missing ingredient to strike that perfect balance was time, and could not be rushed.

Text and images found ItalianWays

Filed under: Motorcycles, Retro technology, The fifties Tagged: 1956, Chimera 175, Italian motorcycles

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I Got Only One Question….

March 11, 2014, 8:30 pm

≫ Next: The Retro DIY Project – Early American Storage Chest

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. . .when are Levis jeans like these coming back.

Image found at beatnikdaddio

Filed under: Advertising, Models & starlets, Nudes, Photography Tagged: jeans, Levis

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The Retro DIY Project – Early American Storage Chest

March 12, 2014, 5:30 pm

≫ Next: This Week’s Retro Recipe – Cherry Pie

≪ Previous: I Got Only One Question….

A do-it-yourself project published in Popular Mechanics, Des 1941

From the text: Copied from an original piece in an Eastern museum, this attractive chest is especially suitable for use with other Early American and Colonial furniture – Plans and description HERE

Filed under: DIY project, Retro DIY projects Tagged: Cabinet making, Colonial furniture, Early American furniture, Storage chests, Woodworking

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This Week’s Retro Recipe – Cherry Pie

March 12, 2014, 6:30 pm

≫ Next: Paul Murry – American Cartoonist And Comics Artist

≪ Previous: The Retro DIY Project – Early American Storage Chest

A recipe from an ad for Bird’s Custard published in 1951

When I’m in England I never leave for home without at least five tins of Bird’s Custard in my suitcase. I simply love the stuff and it’s not for sale here in Norway – Ted

Recipe HERE

Filed under: Fifties chow & drinks, Food & drinks, Recipes, The fifties Tagged: 1951, Bird's Custard, Cherry pie

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Paul Murry – American Cartoonist And Comics Artist

March 12, 2014, 6:30 pm

≫ Next: The Peugeot s55

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Paul Murry (November 25, 1911 – August 4, 1989) was an American cartoonist and comics artist. He is best known for his Disney comics, which appeared in Dell Comics and Gold Key Comics from 1946 to 1984.

Like many Disney comic book artists Murry started his career working at the Walt Disney Studios. During his time there he was an assistant to legendary animator Fred Moore. In the 1940s, Murry worked on Disney newspaper strips, including the Sunday Uncle Remus and His Tales of Brer Rabbit strip from the first installment on October 14, 1945 through July 14, 1946. After leaving the studio in 1946 he began to work for Western Publishing doing stories featuring the Disney characters. Dell Four Color No. 129 (1946) featuring three Uncle Remus stories penciled by Murry was the first comic book containing his artwork.

He is best known for his rendition of Mickey Mouse and associated characters. This includes serials starring Mickey and Goofy in Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories and Mickey Mouse Magazine. Many of these serials were written by Carl Fallberg. Murry’s first published Mickey Mouse story was "Mickey Mouse and the Monster Whale," in Vacation Parade #1 (July 1950). Murry also drew such characters as Donald Duck, Uncle Scrooge, Brer Rabbit, The Sleuth, and others. The Phantom Blot and Super Goof comic books contained many Murry stories.

Besides Disney, Murry also drew Woody Woodpecker comics, the Buck O’Rue comic strip (written by Dick Huemer), and gag cartoons.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia – Images found at Pinupmania

Filed under: Art, Article, Comix, Illustration, Nudes Tagged: American cartoonists, American comic artists, Paul Murry

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The Peugeot s55

March 12, 2014, 8:30 pm

≫ Next: Pre-War Classics Of The Road – Part 25

≪ Previous: Paul Murry – American Cartoonist And Comics Artist

In 1953, the talk of the Parisian livingrooms was the presentation of the Peugeot S55 scooter. Gray or blue in colour with the dashboard like the ones in the cars placed in the front apron.

The engine was borrowed from the motorbike Peugeot P55, 250 cc, one-cylinder, 3 speeds 4 hp at 4600 rpm. Very few were produced since the S57 was put into production after only a short while.

Filed under: Motorcycles, Retro technology, The fifties Tagged: French scooters, Peugeot S55

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Pre-War Classics Of The Road – Part 25

March 13, 2014, 5:30 pm

≫ Next: This Week’s Favourite Female Singer – Sugar Pie DeSanto

≪ Previous: The Peugeot s55

1924 Senechal Sport

Robert Senechal, born in France in 1892, started building-and racingvoiturettes in 1921. The first Senechal had a 904cc, four-cylinder Ruby engine and two-speed gearbox, but in 1922 a three-speed transmission was standardised; in that year, too, the sports Ruby engine of 985cc became available. The 1924 season saw the introduction of this 1095cc Senechal Sport, with an ohv Ruby engine, and victory for Robert Senechal in the 24-hour Bol d’Or race, a feat repeated in 1926.

1924 Sima-Violet

Marcel Violet had been associated with a number of different cyclecars before he launched the Sima-Violet in 1924. Built at Courbevoie Seine, the Sima-Violet was powered by an air-cooled, 496cc, flattwin, two-stroke engine mounted on the nose of the car. The marque had some sporting pretensions, although its claimed top speed of 50mph was open to some doubt. Nevertheless, the car’s success was assured by its selling price of £57.50 in its native France.

1924 Sizaire Freres

One of the most technically advanced cars of its day, the Sizaire Freres, introduced in 1924, had all-round independent suspension and a remarkably rigid chassis frame, with a stressed steel undershield adding strength. Front wheel brakes were standard, and pushing the handbrake lever forward applied the front brakes, while pulling it back applied the rear brakes. Power was provided by a 1993cc, ohc, fourcylinder engine.

1924 Turcat-Mery Type UG

MM Turcat and Mery, of Marseilles, built their first car in 1896, and in 1901 signed an agreement to design the next season’s De Dietrich models, an arrangement which provided the pair (who were brothers-in-law) with some much-needed working capital for the continued survival of the Turcat-Mery marque. A Turcat-Mery won the first Monte Carlo Rally in 1911, in which year the link with De Dietrich was broken. In 1924, Turcat-Mery announced the 2.4-litre, ohc Type UG.

Filed under: Automobiles, Retro technology, Transportation, Vintage Science Tagged: 1924 Senechal Sport, 1924 Sima-Violet, 1924 Sizaire Freres, 1924 Turcat-Mery Type UG

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This Week’s Favourite Female Singer – Sugar Pie DeSanto

March 13, 2014, 6:30 pm

≫ Next: Louis Vuitton Tea Case – Paris 1926

≪ Previous: Pre-War Classics Of The Road – Part 25

Sugar Pie DeSanto (born Umpeylia Marsema Balinton, October 16, 1935, Brooklyn, New York, United States) is a Filipino-American rhythm and blues singer of the 1950s and 1960s.

Career
In 1955, DeSanto did some touring with The Johnny Otis Revue. Otis gave her her stage name. From 1959 to 1960, she toured with The James Brown Revue.

In 1960, DeSanto rose to national prominence when her single "I Want to Know" reached number four on Billboard’s Hot R&B chart. She recorded the song with her husband Pee Wee Kingsley. Soon thereafter her marriage to Kingsley fell apart, and DeSanto moved to Chicago and signed with Chess Records in 1962 as a recording artist and writer. Among her recordings at Chess were "Slip-In Mules", "Use What You Got", "Soulful Dress" (her biggest hit at Chess), and "I Don’t Wanna Fuss". DeSanto participated in the American Folk Blues Festival tour of Europe in 1964, and her lively performances, including wild dancing and standing back flips, were widely appreciated.

In 1965 DeSanto, under the name Peylia Parham, began a writing collaboration with Shena DeMell. They produced the song "Do I Make Myself Clear", which DeSanto sang as a duet with Etta James, which reached the top 10. It was followed up by a 1966 DeSanto-James duet, "In the Basement". DeSanto’s next song, "Go Go Power", did not chart, and DeSanto and Chess parted ways.

Sugar Pie DeSanto kept on writing songs and recorded for a few more labels without much success; she eventually moved back to the Bay Area, settling in Oakland.

Though it had often been said that her stage performances far surpassed her studio recordings, a full length live recording, Classic Sugar Pie, was not released until 1997.

DeSanto was given a Bay Area Music Award in 1999 for best female blues singer. In September 2008, she was given a Pioneer Award by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. DeSanto received a lifetime achievement award from the Goldie Awards in November 2009.

Title:
Artist:
Recording:
Recorded:
Released:
Genre:

Soulful Dress
Sugar Pie DeSanto
Down In The Basement (The Chess Years)
1964
1997
Rhythm ‘n blues

Title:
Artist:
Recording:
Recorded:
Released:
Genre:

Use What You Got
Sugar Pie DeSanto
Down In The Basement (The Chess Years)
1964
1997
Rhythm ‘n blues

Title:
Artist:
Recording:
Recorded:
Released:
Genre:

Go Go Power
Sugar Pie DeSanto
Go Go Power (Kent)
1966
2008
Rhythm ‘n blues

Filed under: Music, Rythm and blues, Soul music, The sixties Tagged: 1964, 1966, Chess, Kent, Sugar Pie DeSanto

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Louis Vuitton Tea Case – Paris 1926

March 13, 2014, 7:30 pm

≫ Next: Heat to the Rescue – Sturdy Oil Drum Survival Kit Also Converts Into Stove

≪ Previous: This Week’s Favourite Female Singer – Sugar Pie DeSanto

Louis Vuitton Tea Case, Paris 1926
Made for the Maharaja of Barod in a time when Louis Vuitton meant more
than shitty silkscreened vinyl crap for vulgarians.

Image found at Juvenile Delinquent

Filed under: Design Tagged: 1926, Louis Vuitton, Paris, Tea cases

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Heat to the Rescue – Sturdy Oil Drum Survival Kit Also Converts Into Stove

March 13, 2014, 8:30 pm

≫ Next: Grand-daddy’s Sauce – Part 25

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Like the Haitian earthquake of 2010, last year’s Japanese tsunami disaster spurred designers to re-think what an effective, life-saving response might look like.

Focusing on providing a source of heat, water and food housed in rollable oil drum that can be converted into a stove, Eindhoven-based Japanese designer Hikaru Imamura’s “Heat Rescue Disaster Recovery” kit reflects his belief that something as simple as heat and hot water may mean the difference between falling deathly ill or surviving.

Text and images found at Ramblings of a Jawja Bluesman

Filed under: Design, Retro technology Tagged: Survival Kits

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Grand-daddy’s Sauce – Part 25

March 14, 2014, 5:30 pm

≫ Next: The Lure Of The Mad Men – Part 5

≪ Previous: Heat to the Rescue – Sturdy Oil Drum Survival Kit Also Converts Into Stove

All posts material: “Sauce” and “Gentleman’s Relish” by Ronnie Barker
Hodder & Stoughton in 1977

Model Thoughts

Am I the prettiest girl In the world?

And am I the one With most brains?

George says I’m the prettiest girl in the world,
(But he works for a butcher In Staines).

Filed under: Glamour, Nudes, Photography, Vintage Tagged: Poetry, Risque

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The Lure Of The Mad Men – Part 5

March 14, 2014, 6:30 pm

≫ Next: An Interesting Photo

≪ Previous: Grand-daddy’s Sauce – Part 25

First tell a woman that it’s not only all right to drink red wine all day, but it restores you back to your old self again. Then show a picture of a woman that looks both happy and pretty plastered and then send her a free sample. Well done Mad Men, it just can’t go wrong – Ted

In context:
Sanotogen tonic wine is simply a brand of alcoholic beverage produced by the traditional combination of full bodied Ruby British Wine and the special ‘Sanatogen’ formula to form an exceptional mellow flavour.
From ask.com

Filed under: Advertising, Advertisments, Campaigns, Design, Food & drinks, Photography Tagged: Mad Men, Sanatogen Tonic Wine

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An Interesting Photo

March 14, 2014, 7:30 pm

≫ Next: Trinity River, Texas, 1906

≪ Previous: The Lure Of The Mad Men – Part 5

The picture above is quiet interesting. The man in the middle, as well as the man on the left are wearing a hat which I believe is called the “Pith Helmet”. The pith helmet appears to have its origins as a military hat, it is actually a quiet practical hat for everyday wear. There is a band inside that holds the hat to the head, so the hat itself does not touch the head. That leaves a gap between head and hat that allows good airflow. Most pith helmets either have holes to allow air circulation, or they are actually made of a mesh like material. The provide good shade, some nominal level of protection for the head, and good airflow to keep you cool.

In context:
The really interesting thing about this picture is that the timid, unassuming man standing between the men in Pith Helmets is actually T. E. Lawrence, a.k.a. Lawrence of Arabia. Talk about a man with an exciting life, this guy was it. It is interesting how he is almost unnoticeable in a crowd.

Images from Old Picture of the Day

As far as I know, that type of headwear is called a “Toupee” in India (I have a couple) – Ted

Filed under: People, Photography Tagged: Lawrence of Arabia, Pith Helmets, Tupees

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Trinity River, Texas, 1906

March 14, 2014, 8:30 pm

≫ Next: Meet Rambo The Goldfish

≪ Previous: An Interesting Photo

A river barge being loaded with building supplies on the Trinity River in Dallas, Texas, 1906. – Love the tiny tug boat – Ted

Images from Old Picture of the Day

Filed under: Photography, Vintage Tagged: 1906, Barges, Tug boats

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Meet Rambo The Goldfish

March 15, 2014, 9:41 am

≫ Next: The Sunday Comic–A Spiritual Moment

≪ Previous: Trinity River, Texas, 1906

For me one of the most fascinating and entertaining things about working with cartoons and comic strips is creating new figures. I love working with facial expressions and the way I do them it doesn’t matter if it is a human being or a gold fish.

This here is Rambo, who were supposed to stay at Moxie’s for a fortnight while the owner was on a holiday in Spain. As chance would have it the owner fell in love with a well build beach bum down there and failed to return so Rambo got stuck there on Moxie’s counter – Ted

In context:
We are usually told that goldfish have absolutely no memory what so ever, but recent research shows that they can remember up to three months.

Filed under: Comix, Humour, Illustration Tagged: Facial expressions, Goldfish, Moxie's patrons, Moxie's regulars

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The Sunday Comic–A Spiritual Moment

March 15, 2014, 5:30 pm

≫ Next: This Week’s Girliemag Article – The Doll Of The Months

≪ Previous: Meet Rambo The Goldfish

Filed under: Comix, Humour, Illustration Tagged: Luke 6: 37-42, Melancholies, Moxie's, Spiritual moments

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This Week’s Girliemag Article – The Doll Of The Months

March 15, 2014, 6:30 pm

≫ Next: The Siata 208 CS Spider

≪ Previous: The Sunday Comic–A Spiritual Moment

HOLLYWOOD HAS displayed sheer technical genius in the science of moviemaking, but in its attitudes toward sex appeal, the film industry still clings backwardly to the age-old maxim that brains don’t belong in blondes-or, for that matter, in sexpots of any other shade. Hence, you find Jayne Mansfield, who professes to an I. Q. of 156, acting in public like a nitwit. Jill St. John, who measures 162 on the intelligence quotient chart, is far better known for her 36-21-35 figure. And so it goes, until we run into a girl named Lilli Shan.

Read the whole article and see the naughty pictures HERE

Warning: Nudity do occur in this article. If you are under age or live in a country where watching images of nude women for some reason is against the law I take no responsibility if you click the link above. In other words you’re flying solo from here on – Ted

Filed under: Article, Glamour, Models & starlets, Nudes, The sixties Tagged: Glamour photography, Lilly Shan, Modern Man Magazine

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The Siata 208 CS Spider

March 15, 2014, 7:30 pm

≫ Next: Merry – A Swedish Soda

≪ Previous: This Week’s Girliemag Article – The Doll Of The Months

The Siata 208 CS Spider was presented at the Brussels Salon in 1953. It was designed by Siata (the acronym identifying the “Società Italiana Auto Trasformazioni Accessori” since 1949), a small car manufacturer founded in 1926, which specialized in special features and sports cars based on Fiat models until it shut down in 1970.

Made in the Farina factories, the 208 CS Spider flaunted a creative design by Turin-born Giovanni Michelotti, who at the time was particularly famous in the Commonwealth countries: suffice it to say that British Leyland publicized some of their models with the slogan, “From the magic pen of Michelotti”

Text and images found ItalianWays

Filed under: Automobiles, The fifties Tagged: Italian cars, Italian sportscars, Siata 208 CS Spider

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Merry – A Swedish Soda

March 15, 2014, 8:30 pm

≫ Next: XXth Century Health & Pleasure Resorts Of Europe – Part 12

≪ Previous: The Siata 208 CS Spider

Merry was a Swedish attempt to launch a soft drinks for grown ups. It had less sugar than usual lime-lemon sodas but disappeared from the marked after a few years. The competition from the well established Pommac which was in part meant for the same marked segment was too hard. They left us with a series of very nice ads and posters though – Ted

Image found at FarbrorSid

Filed under: Advertising, Posters, Soft drinks and sodas Tagged: Merry, Pommac

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XXth Century Health & Pleasure Resorts Of Europe – Part 12

March 16, 2014, 5:30 pm

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≪ Previous: Merry – A Swedish Soda

From the 33rd edition of “XX^th Century Health And Pleasure Resorts Of Europe” published in 1933

FULL PAGE ADS

It looks like a full page ads in this publication was pretty pricy as there was rather few of them. Few of them were for holiday and health resorts as well, but rather for large traveling bureaus and shipping lines. Here are the lot of them – Ted