Images that stick in
my mind from growing up in the 1950s and 1960s are that of occasionally seeing
an Airstream trailer being pulled behind a car (usually a station wagon) as I
watched families depart or arrive from vacations.
The Airstream looked like a long silver aerodynamic bullet
with its smooth clean lines and rounded corners. I imagined that if I watched it long enough
that like some odd aircraft they would lift off and fly away.
Airstream Memories, written and compile by John Brunkowski
and Michael Closen and published by Schiffer Publishing, offers a wonderful visual
trip back in time.
The book is filled with photos of Airstream memorabilia
dating back to the formation of the company.
Postcards, booklets, brochures and all sorts of other promotional
material fill its pages along with historical text, current prices collectors
can expect to pay for said pieces and a nostalgic look back on the travel
trailer that will forever be a part of American culture.
I was a big fan of Matchbox vehicles when I was a kid. I had dozens of them and I put them through
their paces. I would create small
streets and city blocks in the dirt and populate them with various Matchbox
vehicles of all types-military or civilian.
Later I would use Matchbox vehicles with various electric
train sets and fill the streets with them.
Was it my fault that trains would ‘accidentally’ run into them?
In Schiffer
Publishing’s Lesney’s Matchbox Toys Regular Wheel Years, 1947-1969, by Charlie
Mack, color photos of each of the Matchbox Toys from that period are shown in
all their variations. Some are in
packages, some loose, but all include prices.
Also included in the book are photos from the Matchbox
factory, listings of all the vehicle variations and pictures of promotional material
through the years. This is a must have
book for any Matchbox collector and I highly recommend it.