Souvenir Spirit Photograph from the Johnstown Flood

I discovered this photograph in an old album we rescued from an abandoned house a few years ago. (That's a long story in itself, for another day...) I was thrilled to realize I had found my first "spirit photo." These images of "ghosts" created through various tricky means were all the rage during the heyday of Spiritualism in the Victorian period, and again in the 1920s.

In the photo, the young woman with the upraised arm and the old man on the left are real, while the two large, transparent figures are the "ghosts." One of the most remarkable things about this photo is that it accidentally reveals the process of making the "spirit" effect. The old man on the left simply stepped to the side before the lengthy exposure process was complete, which left his ghostly imprint in the center. The "real" old man shouldn't be in the finished photograph at all, but the photographer didn't crop the picture properly. This was a pretty sloppy spirit photo, clearly churned out at a fast clip for the tourist trade.

Original, antique spirit photos are highly collectible, and several books have been written about them.  This one is extra-special, in that it is also a souvenir photo. The back of the picture bears a stamp which reads:

"Steven Studio 318 Broad St. Johnstown PA." Pencilled on the back is the caption, "Anna and Spirit pechirt (picture?) April 1924".

This photo proves there is no event too terrible for a shameless huckster to profit from. Johnstown, Pennsylvania is famous as the site of a horrific flood that killed 2, 209 of its citizens on May 31, 1889. A dam broke during a tremendous storm, and the resulting torrent all but swept Johnstown away. The disaster was so heart-wrenching, it was commemorated country-wide in lithographs, poetry, sheet music, books, and stereograph cards all the way into the 1920s, when Hollywood released a major motion picture based on the event.

You can learn more about the Johnstown flood at the Johnstown Flood Museum, and see more spirit photographs at the American Museum of Photography.

Dexterity Puzzles from Outer Space

I love vintage hand-held dexterity puzzles. These three space themed versions are some of my favorites. Made in 1957 by Comon Tatar of New York, they feature some fantastic mid-century space-age illustrations.

"Stop the Martians!" has a classic 1950s flying saucer 

menacing a cityscape.

"Trip to the Moon" sports a sleek rocket 

and a smiling man-in-the-moon.

And "Space Gallery" offers you the chance to unapologetically 

blast away at alien invaders.

Dig the Flash Gordon style space helmet and ray gun!

Men Into Space Game

I love vintage board games and space toys, so this 1960 Milton Bradley "Men Into Space" game was an exciting find.

Based on a contemporary CBS television program, it features fantastic illlustrations and a captivating storyline:

"Colonel McCauley, an expert in moon rocketry in outer space, must send supplies in a hurry to a station on the moon. The countdown has progressed to 'X minus 10' seconds. The player astronauts man their ships and, with rockets ready to be fired, await Zero hour at the launching pads. Which fleet of Space Vehicles will be the first to conquer the perils of outer space and accomplish the mission? The excitement of this adventure, the dangers faced in clashes with meteors and comets, makes Men Into Space a thrilling game."

Check out the dashing Colonel McCauley on the cover:









Inside, the board is dazzling, featuring Sputnik-era satellites and rockets, along with atom-age design elements:

And there's Colonel McCauley again,
gazing up into space
in a confident posture,
helmet at the ready:

The spinner determines your fate at liftoff. Will your ship blast into orbit or suffer a malfunction? The tension is unbearable as you await your destiny...

Many more bad things can happen to you once you're in space, courtesy of these cards you must choose:

The playing pieces are
itty bitty plastic rockets:










 I've played this several times since I found it, and it is actually quite fun: the perfect pastime for the armchair astronaut. Just watch out for those Space Particles, and be sure to check your Oxidizer fuel line before liftoff...

Vintage Space Man Robot

One of my favorite vintage robots is this, the "Space Man" made in Japan by Horikawa in the 1960s.

The 11 1/2 inch metal robot is unusual for its lithographed face, apparently representing an astronaut inside a mechanized robot suit.

I think he looks kind of like Robert Mitchum....

The Amazing Magic Robot Game

One of the coolest robot-related items in my toy collection is this, "The Amazing Magic Robot" game, made in England by Merit in 1953.

Look how excited those kids are! That's because it's AMAZING!

The game contains several sheets colorfully printed with trivia questions and their answers. The Amazing Magic Robot, 2 1/2 inches tall, is placed in a circle on the question side of the board, and turned to the position of the query you would like to have answered. When picked up and placed on the answer side, he Amazingly! and Magically! spins and points to the correct answer. (It's done with magnets, somehow.)

The Magic Robot himself appears to be made from a smaller version of the Archer Space Men's robot mold. He's a cutie.

The Amazing Magic Robot is not only amazing, he's also 

Ingenious, Mystical, and Infallible!

And judging from this illustration, he's intent on world domination...