1975 Christmas issue of Byte

This is the fourth-ever issue of Byte magazine, a home computer magazine that was published from September 1975 until July 1998. 

In the late 1980s, I would occasionally buy Byte on the newstand, but more often I read the new issues in the Strath Haven High School library during study hall. The magazine was an unfathomable moneymaker during its heyday. A September 8, 1984, article in The New York Times headlined "The Computer Magazine Glut" notes that the October 1984 issue of Byte was slated to have 300 pages of advertisements, at an average price of $6,000 per page. (More than $17,000 per page in today's dollars.)

It was smaller at the start, of course. This December 1975 issue was 112 pages, with a healthy number of advertising pages. It was the first Christmas issue, and it features a cover illustration by Robert Tinney that, as the magazine notes, "illustrates the impact of these new toys upon traditional relationships." 

How right they were.

It was a different computer era back then. It was an expensive hobby and most enthusiasts needed to have significant knowledge and skills to build their own machines. This $1.50 magazine was catering to that demographic. Here are some of the article titles, which may sound like Greek to a modern generation that knows nothing about the innards of its laptops and iPhones.

• Powerless IC Test Clip
• LIFE Line 3
• 
  Build a 6800 System with This Kit
• Can Your Computer Tell Time?
• Photographic notes on Prototype Construction
• What This Country Needs Is a Good 8-Bit High Level Language
• The Software Vaccum
• Logic Probes — Hardware Bug Chasers
• What Is a Character?
• Flip Flops Exposed
• Read Only Memory Technology
• The HP-65: World's Smallest Computer
• Assembling an Altair 8800

The advertisements are similarly byzantine. They contain bold pitches such as:

• "Use Our Hardware Assemblers!"
• "Hi-Speed Static RAM 2602-1 475ns"
• "Inexpensive, Sophisticated Mass Storage"
• "Build Your Own Advanced Terminal"
• "Christmas Time Payment Plan, 1K Altair for Just $68 a Month!"
• "Ten Reasons to Choose CMR Memory Card"
• "16K Memory Kit Less Than 5.5¢/Word"
• "Uses Low Power Schottky TTL"
• "Epoxy Boards with Plated Thru Holes"
• "Jump Program 16K Address Slot"
• "TO-92 Voltage Regulators"

And this might be my favorite: 

Seasons Greetings

WHAT SINGLE ELECTRONIC MACHINE CAN BE USED TO PERFORM/CONTROL ALL THE FOLLOWING TYPES OF SERVICES?

• Send morse code
• Control repeater stations
• Operate as a calculator
• Receive/send/buffer data between a wide variety of communication devices
• Monitor instruments
• Control machines
• Sort/compile data
• Test other devices
• Play games

the SCELBI-8B MINI-COMPUTER CAN!

Scelbi 

Finally, if all that text has you scratching your head, that's nothing. This is what most of the article pages in this issue of Byte looked like:

Of course, many of the "computer nerds" who understood all of this stuff back in the 1970s were in a fantastic position for lucrative careers, or even to found billion-dollar companies that now sell us all those nifty devices that we love but don't understand one thing about.

Related posts

• From 1982: Dr. Robert Wesson's program will help you speel better
• Advertisements from a 1982 issue of Creative Computing
• From 1982: William Shatner peddles Commodore's VIC-20
• The "Grand" Stand™ was there to support your joystick
• 1980s computer game: Sonar Search
• Sphere Corporation's "Pleaser" PC from the mid-1970s
• Tackling genealogy on your home PC in the late 1980s

From the readers: Sock monkeys, film posters, Phillies hex sign & more

As we barrel headlong into the final six weeks of 2024, here's the latest roundup of contributions from Papergreat's readers. Thank you, as always, for sharing your thoughts!

Obscure and fabulous movie poster: Betty Bruce writes: "I have this Lake of Tears movie poster. I received it from a Canadian Consulat serving in Cuba from 1966-7 to 1970. I have many original posters from that time period. They are beautiful."

How to make the Red Heel Sock Monkey and Sock Elephant: Anonymous writes: "Edna Clapper published instructions for the Sock Monkey (with permission from Nelson Knitting) in Pack-O-Fun magazine. She subsequently created the Sock Elephant. Nelson Knitting bought instruction sheets for both and included them in every package of red heel socks. She also created the book, 'How to Make Sock Toys,' which Nelson Knitting packaged with a dozen Red Heel socks and sold in the Sears catalog."

I received a related email from author Dee Lindner, who writes: "Hi Chris, I saw on your website that you like history, folklore, etc. I have been interested in sock monkey minutia for decades and have great news! Red Heel Sock Monkeys: Pop Culture Icons is now available in the marketplace. Individuals can purchase this book on Amazon. If you can help spread the word that this book is now available, I would appreciate it."

Scholastic book: "Chilling Ghost Stories": Tom from the Garage Sale Finds blog, which just finished an amazing run of Halloween-themed October posts, writes: "I loved Scholastic, and their ghost story collections in particular. I never had this one, but definitely would pick it up if I came across it. I had 13 Ghostly Tales and Arrow Book of Ghost Stories."

A neat piece of Phillies history: Anonymous writes: "Great to finally see something online about this bizarre little chapter in Phillies history! I attended that doubleheader as a 12-year-old with my father & two of my brothers. This being Philadelphia, many of those hex signs were frisbeed onto the field between games. But not by us — in fact, mine has accompanied me to every place I’ve lived over the past 54 years."

1978 Halloween movie marathon at MacArthur Drive-In in Orange, Texas: Wendyvee writes: "I'm not much of a horror fan. I think that is due to the fact that my first exposure to them was when I was probably too young and I had friends with cable TV. The films that stick out to me from that era would be the weird Chuck Connors Tourist Trap (go figure), Harvest Home, Carrie (original), and The Sentinel (Burgess Meredith)."

Advertisements in the final 1960s issue of "Horror Monsters" magazine: Tom quips, "Why do I think you would just receive a pair of those plastic fangs for both the Vampire and Werewolf kits?"

Many great memories of Wintrode's Garage in Littlestown: Mary Wildasin Staub writes: "My dad was the Leroy Wildasin you mentioned in your post! I tagged along with Dad on occasion and he would buy me an ice cream as a treat. Do you have any idea where I could find employee records, as I am researching the time he worked for A.W. Feeder in Silver Run, Maryland, and then the Buick dealership. staubmk@gmail.com would love to hear from you."

It would be great if someone out there could help Mary with some leads!

Triad and Stevie and witches, oh my: Wendyvee writes: "Much like 'Edge of Seventeen,' the origin story [for 'Rhiannon'] does change a little bit over the years; but remains essentially the same."

1967 advertisement for a flying saucer lamp in Saucer News: Tom, who has found some amazing rare pieces at garage sales and estate sales over the decades, writes: "That is one cool lamp. I have never seen anything like it in all my travels."

I'd be stunned if an original one even exists in the wild, given how few were produced and how flimsy they probably were. But there's always hope in someone's attic or basement.

Cheerful Card Company can help you earn extra money for the holidays: Anonymous writes: "I, too, sold cards for the Cheerful Card Company when I was 10 and it was a wonderful and huge growing experience. I am 83 now and vividly remember my excitement when I received my sales kit in the mail! The whole experience gave me independence and confidence to achieve more — and I did! Thank you Cheerful Card Company!"

And, finally, Sallie Ann O'Neill writes: "My mother's uncle, Thomas Doran, was the owner of the Cheerful Card Company. When she was a little girl he use to take her door to door with him selling his cards when he first started out. He was a big man, and he thought people would be more likely to answer the door if they saw the cute little girl beside him, and it worked. He was a hard worker and very driven. We miss him dearly."

Thank you, Sallie Ann, and to everyone who comments and shares stories on Papergreat.

1967 advertisement for a flying saucer lamp in Saucer News

One of these days, I'll post about the Summer 1967 "Special Convention Issue" of Saucer News that I found years ago. For today, however, here's a groovy advertisement from one of the inside pages. 

It's for a flying saucer table lamp ("a scientific marvel") that was hawked by Amalgamated Flying Saucers Clubs of America, Inc. That group was founded in 1957 and was led by Gabriel Green (1924-2001), who was also a write-in candidate for president of the United States in 1960 and 1972. Apparently, they also made and sold lamps.

The lamp, which was about seven-and-a-half inches across, is described thusly: "The rotating inner chamber projects a miriad [sic] of light beams against walls and ceiling in gentle, soft-radiant, colorful, pulsating, ever-changing patterns. Uses no mechanical parts. Costs only 6¢ per month to use."

For adults, the benefits included meditation, an "ideal romantic atmosphere," relief from daily tensions and help falling asleep. It could also help kids fall asleep, per the advertising copy, and could soothe their "mid-night fears." 

If you're still not sold, how about this: "Moving light beams protect against burglars."

The lamp, plus a record album added to your order for free, cost $4.98. Apparently that included shipping, too. That's about $46 in today's dollars, so maybe the lamp was pretty decent. Who knows?

I can't find any definitive photos or first-person reviews of this lamp. I wonder how many were made. I wonder how many are still around. I wonder if they were anywhere near as cool as advertised. The truth is out there! Please leave coded communications in the comments regarding how we can get in touch regarding the details of this vintage UFO lamp.

Previous UFO posts

• Some spacey tidbits from the Fall 1966 issue of Saucer News
• 1988 UFO Magazine: John Lennon, Gulf Breeze sightings and more
• Galactitags: The must-have accessory in the event of alien abduction
• Book cover: "The Case of the Ancient Astronauts"
• "Fate" magazine classifieds, August 1975
• Book cover plus some bonuses: "The Oak Island Quest"
• 1976 booklet on UFOs, occult from Southwest Radio Church
• Book cover: "Investigating UFO's"
• Questions, answers & mysteries with Hookland's David Southwell
• RIP Art Bell, of the Kingdom of Nye
• Three sci-fi paperback covers with UFOs (and one with a chimp)
• "Secret of the Old Museum," with tangents, footnotes & Nimoy
• Hoping to see UFOs for 1976 bicentennial Independence Day
• Book cover: "Strangers from the Skies"

Advertisements in the final 1960s issue of "Horror Monsters" magazine

Horror Monsters was published by Charlton Publications for 10 quarterly issues in the mid 1960s. This is a very ragged copy of the 10th and final issue, which is listed as Winter 1964-65.

The magazine was a competitor to Famous Monsters of Filmland and, ultimately, didn't seem to succeed in that endeavor. The monster market wasn't big enough for both of them.

Horror Monsters gave it the good college try, though. This final issue includes an extensive feature story about Vincent Price, photo-filled looks at Mario Bava's Black Sabbath (of my favorites) and Hammer's The Curse of Frankenstein, and a feature article about alleged true-life cases of vampirism throughout history. 

It also has cool advertisements aimed at an audience that was composed primarily of teenage boys. There are a decent number of ads, but they are from just a handful of companies — Cult of Horror, Victor Specialties and World Wide Specialties — which was likely another sign of the magazine's flagging viability. 

As you'll see, there is both a Do-It-Yourself Vampire Kit and a Do-It-Yourself Werewolf Kit. They cost $1 apiece and, while that's $10 in today's dollars, I can't imagine the package kids got back in the mail were too exciting. But maybe someone has happy memories of getting their kit.

Finally, this small advertisement, nestled among chattering teeth, a shark-tooth necklace and a plastic snake, made me smile. The Worry Bird was a minor phenomenon in the 1960s, though no one seems to know much about the official origins of the big-beaked, sad-eyed creature.

RIP, Charlie Hustle & Mount Mutombo

(This is the first Pete Rose-related item I could lay my hands on: Street and Smith's Official Yearbook 1982 for baseball. From about 1981 to 1986, this was the most anticipated annual magazine for me each spring. It was the bible for the statistics from the previous MLB season and the rosters/previews for the upcoming season. For me, USA Today's daily sports section and then USA Today Baseball Weekly gradually took its place. These days, the magazine I most look forward to is Fortean Times. Don't judge.)

SEPTEMBER 30, 2024 — On this day, as the southeastern U.S. continues search-and-rescues and picking up the shattered pieces after the depredations of Helene; as Israel widens its military operations against terrorist states throughout the tinderbox of the Middle East; as we continue a stifling streak of unseasonable 100-plus-degree days in bone-dry central Arizona; as we consider what a presidential candidate truly meant when he talked about the need for "one really violent day" to combat crime; and as we prepare to celebrate former President Jimmy Carter's 100th birthday tomorrow, two baseball teams teams played a regular-season-ending doubleheader in Atlanta's suburbs, not far from a massive plume of dark smoke smelling of chemicals emanating from an industrial plant fire that forced thousands across multiple counties to either evacuate or shelter in place. 

As the second game of the doubleheader that sent both the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves into the MLB playoffs ended, the world learned of the death at age 83 of Peter Edward Rose Sr., who is MLB's all-time hits leader but was banned from the sport in 1989 for gambling on baseball games. Rose's great hustle and talent on the baseball diamond will forever be intertwined with the shame he brought upon himself by betting on games, including his own team's games, and then denying and lying about his misdeeds for many years thereafter. 

I first became aware of Pete Rose around 1979, when I was 8 and living in southern New Jersey and he was playing in his first season with the Philadelphia Phillies, at age 38. The next year, Rose helped the Phillies win their first World Series championship and became a legend in the city, at least until the summer of 1989, when the permanent ban issued by Bart Giamatti, who himself would be dead in eight days, broke the hearts of many of his fans. Not long after, Rose served five months in federal prison for tax evasion.

* * *

Another professional athlete who played in Philadelphia died today. His full name was Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo. 

Dikembe Mutombo brought his 7-foot-2 frame to Philadelphia and played basketball for the 76ers in the 2000-2001 and 2001-2002 NBA seasons. He specialty was blocking shots. Off the court, his specialty was doing humanitarian work. As The Associated Press noted: "He became a global ambassador for the NBA and served on the boards of many organizations, including Special Olympics International, the CDC Foundation and the National Board for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. While he was playing for Atlanta in 1997, he founded the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation to improve living conditions in his home country, the Democratic Republic of Congo."

“He loved others with every ounce of his being. That’s what made him so accessible. That’s what made him real. Dikembe Mutombo was salt and light, and today, on the 30th of September, 2024, he has been called to rest," his son, Ryan Mutombo, said.

Mutombo was 58. He died — and doesn't everything just seem interconnected these days? — in Atlanta.

From the readers: Louie Youngkeit, Sunny Wicka, Paul Crockett & more

Today is, according to the internet, World Migratory Bird Day, Archery Day, Hostess CupCake Day, National Windmill Day and Twilight Zone Day (though no one seems to know why May 11 was picked for that last one).

Here on Papergreat, it's a day to share comments from readers. 

Saturday's postcard: Whale at Moon Valley Park in Milford, Pa.: Anonymous writes: "My family vacationed several times at Moon Valley Park in the 1970s and early 1980s. It was a wonderful place for children. I loved the 2 bears and the beagle pups that they sold. The Canouses were a wonderful family. Loved walking up to see the 2 waterfalls. We were

very sad when we heard the property had been sold. Our last visit was in the 'Bambi' cabin was in the early 1980s."

Morris didn't fare much worse than Louie Youngkeit: Anonymous writes: "I knew Louie Youngkeit. He was the kindest, most gentle person you'll ever meet. Eccentric yes, but a loving, sincere person. Rest in peace Louie."

1973's "Garage Sale Shopper":  Anonymous writes about author Sunny Wicka: "Beautiful Lady, watched her on To Tell the Truth." [Wicka appeared on the show during the 1973-74 season.]

1909 Christmas postcard mailed from Auburn, New York: Anonymous writes: "Just dropping by to say your blog is delightful and I really enjoy digging through the obscure knowledge you post. Thank you for your hard work!"

Your future partner, as "determined" by a 1940s vending machine: Anonymous writes: "This post has inspired me to look for these cards on eBay. I plan to shuffle them and let people pick a random card to tell their romantic fortunes."

Vintage Christmas card from Hawthorne-Sommerfield: Anonymous writes: "Thank you for this history and sample. I have a beautiful card from 1976 which I cherish."

Story time: The Bizarre Mysteries of Deep Creek Lake: Two spine-chilling comments on this:

In late February, Anonymous wrote: "We had a few weird experiences at our rental in Deep Creek Lake this weekend. It was kinda spooky."

In late March, Anonymous replied: "Where were you staying? We had a very scary repeating heavy footsteps at a certain condo on the lake."

Plenty of projects in Pack-o-Fun: Anonymous writes: "I had a subscription in the 1960s for my children. A shame it is no longer published. We had great fun with it."

[Of course, it's pretty easy to buy back issues, and the craft projects are timeless!]

Delving into Henry K. Wampole & Company: Anonymous writes: "I have a clear blown medicine bottle 7 to 8 inches tall embossed Henry K. Wampole Philadelphia PA. Curious of its worth."

[I'd check with an expert on antique bottlers, which I am not. Much may depend on some other specifics about the item's date and condition. Just glancing at eBay, it seems like some are being listed for up to $25, but, again, an expert would know best.]

The Lost Corners of Paul Crockett: Chris Harris writes: "Much has been said in a negative way about Paul Crockett. I witnessed over a period of two years having introduced him to many notable people that Paul Crockett had a tremendous ability to inspire a positive attitude in all the people he met, including myself." 

Illustrated map of "Desert of Maine": Anonymous writes: "My late husband and I were there in May of 2001. We took a ride on a trailer with a top on it, and had seats to sit down and a tractor pulled it. It was so much fun, we walked all over the place, and found gems in the sand. They said they were naturally there. It was hot that day, and there was a thermometer there in the desert. Can't remember the temp, but it was up there. Saw the old barn, with the old tools, and we both loved it. I remember it like it was yesterday. It's been almost 23 years now. I lost my wonderful husband to cancer, but at least we got to go there once. I'm still here from southern Ohio, we loved it there."

Thank you so much for sharing this memory. I'm glad it's a good one and that it's so vivid. I'm very sorry to hear about your husband's passing.

Cheerful Card Company can help you earn extra money for the holidays: Anonymous writes: "My mom worked there for a very short time in White Plains, NY. It was down the street from our apartment. I remember advertisements in the back of magazines to sell the cards door to door."

Even these Robin Jacques creations are hooked on books and reading: Finally, Katherine Swart writes: "Oh wow, this blog post is from 10 years ago. I loved Ruth Manning-Sanders books as a child, and especially the incredible illustrations. I remember this one very well! Wish I'd kept my A Book of Devils and Demons, and all the others. But my own child never loved the books as I did, mysteriously."

Everything will be funner in July

Vogue magazine, June 1, 1917. This is not the scene here in the Sonoran desert.

I'm still here! I knew headed into June that it was going to be a tough month for finding time to write posts, and then I used that as an excuse to turn it into a self-fulfilling prophecy. 

My goal for this year is to finish with between 120 and 130 posts, and now I've fallen behind a bit. I'm on pace for only 117 posts. Still plenty of time to get back on track.

July will be funner! I have plenty of stuff to write about; I just need to get back in the groove. There won't be much motivation to go outside in July, as the forecast temperatures for the first nine days of the month here in the Arizona desert are 110, 111, 110, 110, 109, 108, 108, 108 and 110. Holy broiler, Batman. I feel awful for the feral cats and kittens. It will probably be mid-month before we get our first monsoon.

I have still been reading this month, at least. My current reads are "Islands of Abandonment: Nature Rebounding in the Post-Human Landscape" by Cal Flyn, "Television Horror Movie Hosts" by Elena Watson, and "Lurkers at the Threshold: 100 Ghost Tales from German Folklore" by Jürgen Hubert. An interesting mix! 

Check back for more here soon. Blog Assistant Pete is watching over my shoulder to keep me on track.

York Safe and Lock Company's April 1944 in-house magazine

For decades, York Safe and Lock Company, located in York, Pennsylvania, made perhaps the sturdiest safes in America. And they are still sought-after in the 21st century. As my former boss, Jim McClure, noted on the York Town Square blog in 2012, "York Safe & Lock safes and vaults are everywhere around the world. They simply don't wear out."

During World War II, York Safe and Lock was among the many companies that modified their production facilities to help the war effort. It even expanded to multiple plants around York County in order to provide ordnance and other necessities for the Army and Navy.

But also during the war, in April 1942, company president S. Forry Laucks died. That was perhaps the beginning of the end for the company, as Stephen H. Smith explained on the blog YorksPast in 2012: "In 1944, the Levine Brothers, of Leominster, Massachusetts, sensed an opportunity, systematically began buying out York Safe & Lock Company stockholders at large prices; by year’s end they owned the company.  While this was going on, the Navy Department in essence took over the York Safe & Lock Company because of the essential war materials being produced."¹

After World War II, Harry Levine was named president and subsequently changed the name of the company to York Industries, Inc. Smith added: "In conjunction with the name change on January 3rd 1946, Levine sold the entire pre-war product line of safes, vaults and vault equipment; including trade names, patents, sales offices and franchised dealer organizations. This sale was to Diebold, Incorporated, they had been the second biggest manufacturer of safes and bank vaults in the country prior to the war."

And thus marked the end of York Safe and Lock.

During the war, it had this in-house company magazine, The Safe Combination. The first issue was in July 1943 and features Laucks, in memoriam, on the cover. I came across a handful of the magazines more than a decade ago and today I want to share just a few items from inside issue No. 10, from April 1944.

D.W. Wardrop was the editor of the magazine at that point, with Thomas Robison and S.T. Edwards serving as associate editors. Nineteen individuals from across the various York Safe and Lock plants are listed as "reporters." This issue's cover photo was taken by J.R. Miller of Dept. 458, Special Ordnance Plant.

Most of the news, of course, is related to the company's World War II efforts. There are updates on employees and their relatives who were serving in the military. There are also wartime items on gardening, gasoline conservation and the like. Finally, there's the social news you might expect to find in any company newsletter: banquets, sports leagues, etc.

The issue leads with this telegram about the USS Philadelphia on Page 3:

The center pages of the issue are dedicated to those service members and Merchant Mariners who had been killed in action on various fronts of the war, including this notice for Martin D. Irvin.

There are also letters from service members telling their tales from the front and/or expressing their gratitude for issues of The Safe Combination received in the mail. This one is from Pvt. Vernon F. Shepp. (Shepp survived the war. He died in York at age 69 in 1988.)

Here are some additional snippets of the magazine's interior, including a profile of Fritz Ahlfeld, a member of the company's management.

Footnote

1. Smith's in-depth and fascinating post also explains the role that Capone-buster Eliot Ness played in York Safe and Lock's demise.

1963 cover from "Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery" comic book

Happy Halloween! Mild Fear 2021 began on October 1 with Boris Karloff, so we'll bookend it nicely with this post about the horror icon. According to Karloff.com, "The Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery comics were originally published in the 1960s in a series of 97 issues by Gold Key. Each issue contained approximately 6 original stories featuring Boris Karloff. There were additional stories, puzzles and games in each issue, all in vibrant color by wonderful artists of the day."

This is the 12-cent July 1963 issue, which was No. 4 in the series. I wrote about one of its advertisements in April of this year. 

Regrettably, my online searching could not discover the name of the artist who deserves credit for this wonderful cover illustration. Perhaps someone else out there knows; there are a lot of experts on comic book history. I did find a great post on Tony Isabella's blog about issue that follows this, #5. For that one, he identifies the cover artist as George Wilson. But I don't know if Wilson also did this one.

So, that's a wrap. I'll leave you with these thoughts from Mr. Karloff...

1982 advertisement for East Coast Sports Service Inc.

I plan to write a post one of these years about the Street & Smith's baseball yearbooks of the early 1980s, as they were an integral part of the growth of my baseball fandom. Tonight, however, I just want to share this advertisement from the inside back cover of the 1982 Street & Smith's (which features Rollie Fingers and Pete Rose on cover).

"East Coast Sports Service" only gets me three hits on Google (prior to this post going live), so it's truly been lost to the sands of time. It was a sports "forecasting" service that claimed — for a price, of course — to have all the insider information that bettors needed to have the most chance of success with their sports gambling.

This was decades before there was easy online access to crucial information like injury reports, daily roster moves, weather reports and statistical breakdowns (like righty-lefty or home-road splits). So East Coast aimed to make its money by gathering that information from baseball "insiders" in each Major League Baseball city (probably just a guy who subscribed to the local newspaper, or perhaps a sportswriter in some cases) and aggregating it for folks who sought to make educated bets on the games.

The advertising copy includes these pitches (no pun intended):

• "East Coast has the expertise that comes only from years of winning experience to correctly analyze the information and produce flocks of winners."
• "The ability to pick underdog winners is synonomus [sic] with East Coast Sports!"
• "Therefore, by teaming with us you maximize your profits and minimize your losses."

Then there are the testimonials, which, of course, are impossible to validate. (We've been down that road often on Papergreat. See, for example, Glover's Imperial Mange Medicine.) One bettor claims to have financed a three-week trip to Acapulco with his gambling profits. Others say they netted $10,000 or $12,500 (even with the 1981 baseball strike). There are no testimonials, though, from the many folks who surely lost their hat, shirt, dog and/or house. 

Gambling doesn't pay, kids. Don't gamble. 

Spinnerin selling the privileged yarn-based lifestyle in 1963

Here are some scans of the model photography within a pattern magazine published by the Spinnerin Yard Company of South Hackensack, New Jersey, in 1963. The staplebound booklet measures 8¾ inches by 11¾ inches and has 56 pages, including the front and back covers. There's a clear tie-in with Coca-Cola; it must have paid Spinnerin for the product placement. 

The magazine is the work of Alice Carroll (editor) and Claudia Manley (assistant editor) and contains patterns and instructions for all sorts of aspirational yarn-based attire. Plus numerous reminders that "gauge is the most important element in knitting and crocheting." Also, yarn clothing should never be dried in the sun.

Related posts

• Mary Maxim presents ... A New World of Knitting Fashions
• How to make the Red Heel Sock Monkey and Sock Elephant
• We might need these sweaters for the bomb cyclone and polar vortex
• Fairly odd thing found inside a Little Free Library
• A handy Christmas cape that doubles as a tree skirt
• Halloween Countdown #9: Who on earth would wear this?
• 1973 women's fashions as featured in The Workbasket
• "Hey guys, check out my +2 Sweater Vest of Protection!"

Outtakes with Angelino

Sphere Corporation's "Pleaser" PC from the mid-1970s

This advertisement appears on the back cover of the June 1976 issue of Interface, a home computerist magazine of the Southern California Computer Society. (I've seen the magazine elsewhere referred to as SCCS Interface Age.)

Here are some of the personal computer's specs, as described in the advertising copy:

• "We have a Central Processing Unit (CPU) that contains the most advanced technology available today. That means to you that the CPU will do what a CPU ought to do. It's reliable."
• "We have a Serial Interace Module (SIM) that is a very powerful idea in the computer world today. Let me explain. You can have an inexpensive audio cassette player/recorder as a mass-memory storage device. ... For just pennies you can store vast amounts of Data on an ordinary audio cassette."
• "We have a Program Development System (PDS) that is an aid to programming. What an idea! It remembers its job even when the computer is off."
• "As if that weren't enough ... we have a newly added feature THE 4K ROM BD. A board containing up to 4000 bytes of Read Only Memory."

This "powerful" machine seems to be a version of the Sphere 1, which, according to Wikipedia, "featured a Motorola 6800 CPU, onboard ROM, a full-sized CRT monitor, 4 KB of RAM, and a keyboard with a numeric keypad." Also according to Wikipedia, it sold about 1,300 units between 1975 and 1977 before the computer and the Utah-based company faded away. 

The Sphere 1 cost $860 as a kit or $1,400 assembled; in today's dollars, that's $3,971 and $6,465. 

There were also expensive upgrades available. You could add a modem, 20K of memory, a floppy disk drive and a line printer. The top-of-the-line Sphere 4, with all of those enhancements, cost $7,995 assembled, which is the equivalent of $36,922 today. 

I agree with Joan, who says, "That's a lot of dollars." Home computing was crazy expensive in the 1970s.

Sphere 1 was the creation of Michael Donald Wise (1949-2002), who, as history-computer.com notes, did leave a legacy within the industry:

"Michael Wise was an inventor and creative genius, not a businessman. His company began advertising before the product was fully debugged in order to finance its growth. Enormous, unexpected demand overwhelmed the company, which was literally killed by success. ... Competitors quickly filled the void. Nonetheless, the Sphere had made its mark on the history of the personal computer, and contributed to both the specs and design of future generations of hardware. Sphere 1 inspired many copycats."

Another part of Wise's legacy is that he essentially came up with the idea of Control-Alt-Delete. As bugbookmuseum.blogspot.com noted in 2013:

"One feature that Michael designed into the [Sphere 1] computer was the ability to reboot the computer by holding down 2 keys at the same time. This was the first for this kind of hard reboot. Now were have the (Ctrl-Alt- Delete) function  & it is same idea of gaining control of your computer."

The version of Control-Alt-Delete that we're more specifically familiar with today is credited to engineer David Bradley. 

Imaginative, but not what I mean by "walkable city"

This magazine illustration by Ohio-born artist and political cartoonist Grant E. Hamilton (1862-1926) is titled "What we are coming to." It was published in the February 16, 1895, issue of Judge magazine.

If you are more enamored than I am with the idea of vertical cities, check out VerticalCity.org, this article on WRNS Studio, this 2017 blog post on misfits' architecture, and a 2018 UnHerd article by Peter Franklin titled "The false promise of the vertical city." 

(And, to be clear, I'm all for future cities that are sustainable and eco-friendly, in addition to be walkable. And I understand that some aspects of such cities might necessarily involve some level of verticality. I'm just a big fan of having my feet on the ground.)

147 famous automobiles ... and Peter Lorre

This advertisement is featured on the back cover Dell's comic book adaptation of the 1963 Roger Corman movie The Raven, starring Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, Hazel Court, Olive Sturgess and Jack Nicholson. (Yes, that Jack Nicholson.) It's a good comic based on the wonderfully funny movie, which Ashar and I would list as one of our favorites.

But today we're focusing on this advertisement. For JUST $2.49 (about $21 today), kids could send away for what appears to be a nifty garage filled with all sorts of classic vehicles, from the 1918 Baker Electric to the 1934 LaFayette to a 1963 Oldsmobile. The advertisement states:

"KIDS! Here's the greatest assortment of famous cars from Grandpa's days to today! Yes, a model car for each year from 1915 through 1963! And there's 3 each of each model so that you can trade them and save them! ... Made of pure plastic styrene. Fun for you and the whole family."

As you have surely already guessed, not all was as it appeared. Volume 63 of the Federal Trade Commission Decisions tells the story:

In the Matter of

Lucky Products, Inc., Et Al.

CONSENT ORDER, ETC., IN REGARD TO THE ALLEGED VIOLATION OF THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ACT.

Docket C-608. Complaint, Oct. 16, 1963 — Decision, Oct. 16, 1963

Consent order requiring distributors of toys and related products in Westbury, Long Island, N.Y., to cease misrepresenting their products in advertising in newspapers and magazines by such practices as representing falsely that toy soldiers were 4 inches in length, that they and toy "Knights" were of more than one color and three-dimensional; that cannons and rifles emitted smoke and blasts of fire, etc.; that an 8 inch "Aircraft Carrier" was a foot long; and that "Famous Automobiles" were three-dimensional models of their full-size counterparts.

The complaint describes the images and text of the "147 Famous Automobiles" advertisement by Lucky Products and notes, "The ... statements appear in an advertisement which also includes pictures of nineteen automobiles shown in various positions so that they appear to be three-dimensional and equipped with tires, wheels, chrome, headlights, radiator trim, license plate frames and other sundry features.)"

But the "truth" and "fact" of what kids received in the mail was this: "The '147 Famous Automobiles' are not three-dimensional nor are they models of their full-size counterparts."

The Federal Trade Commission's decision ordered Lucky Products to cease and desist from misrepresenting, via illustration or written description, the toys it was advertising. And, specifically, to cease and desist from using the word "model" in its advertising. 

This was an era, it seems, in which comic book advertisements gave the FTCs investigators plenty of regular work.

Lucky Products, by the way, also produced and sold one of the most famous comic book advertisements of this era: The "footlocker" with "100 toy soldiers." Glenn Waters of the website Hobby Lark wrote an interesting piece about that set in 2019.

And, as promised...

Here's a panel featuring Peter Lorre (as Dr. Adolphus Bedlo) and Boris Karloff (as Dr. Scarabus) from this Dell comic adaptation of The Raven.   

Wonderful covers of the 1970s German magazine Vampir

The German horror magazine Vampir, which had a heavy focus on movies, launched with issue #1 in October 1972 with a price of 2.5 Deutsche Mark. Here are 10 of its wonderful covers that I found while websurfing recently. They feature Christopher Lee, Boris Karloff, The Exorcist, Vincent Price and, perhaps improbably, the Star Trek gang.