Zines for every occasion .... & Ephemera

[andydecker]

These look quite interesting. Aside from the usual birthday card I never send or write postcards. It has become a lost practise, which is kind of sad. I like how wide the topics here are. Postcards from WWI alone is a huge field. Not to mention the erotic postcard.

[dem]

Sept 6, 2022 16:48:41 GMT andydecker said:

These look quite interesting. Aside from the usual birthday card I never send or write postcards. It has become a lost practise, which is kind of sad. I like how wide the topics here are. Postcards from WWI alone is a huge field. Not to mention the erotic postcard.

My book dealer friend was flogging mod-looking erotic cards at Sunday's market - some from Taschem publications by the look of them, think I recognised some engravings from deSade's works, too.

From Picture Postcard Annual, 2017. "Topographicals are in demand by some 90% of German collectors. Top fairs are at Cologne, Berlin, Stuttgart, Frankfurt and Dresden. the internet has certainly cut the number of collectors seeking purely local cards at fairs by as much as a third.

Current subject hotspots of the German postcard scene are Sport, particularly Olympics and Football. German colonies remain popular, especially if the cards have stamps/ postmarks to back them up. Turkey sells well, as you would expect in a country with a huge resident Turkish community. Poland, East Germany and Russia are now strong, reflecting the improved economic outlook for these countries.

Finally, its worth mentioning that all the surrounding countries mix effortlessly together, in that there are always lots of Dutch, Belgian, French and East European dealers at the fairs."

Though war comics are not really my thing, I love the idea of the swap meets Justin Marriott reports on in Batting Britons, a small band of devotees arranging get-togethers at such unassuming venues as a Watford Scout Hut and the Methodist Church Hall, Wolstanton.

[samdawson]

Sept 7, 2022 8:44:54 GMT dem said:

Sept 6, 2022 16:48:41 GMT andydecker said:

These look quite interesting. Aside from the usual birthday card I never send or write postcards. It has become a lost practise, which is kind of sad. I like how wide the topics here are. Postcards from WWI alone is a huge field. Not to mention the erotic postcard.

My book dealer friend was flogging mod-looking erotic cards at Sunday's market - some from Taschem publications by the look of them, think I recognised some engravings from deSade's works, too.

From Picture Postcard Annual, 2017. "Topographicals are in demand by some 90% of German collectors. Top fairs are at Cologne, Berlin, Stuttgart, Frankfurt and Dresden. the internet has certainly cut the number of collectors seeking purely local cards at fairs by as much as a third.

Current subject hotspots of the German postcard scene are Sport, particularly Olympics and Football. German colonies remain popular, especially if the cards have stamps/ postmarks to back them up. Turkey sells well, as you would expect in a country with a huge resident Turkish community. Poland, East Germany and Russia are now strong, reflecting the improved economic outlook for these countries.

Finally, its worth mentioning that all the surrounding countries mix effortlessly together, in that there are always lots of Dutch, Belgian, French and East European dealers at the fairs."


Among my mother's effects which I had to clear last year were several thousand postcards sent by her father in Hamburg mostly (but a bit of Berlin, Flanders, Rhineland etc too) to his wife in England, several times a week between 1950 and 1958. I divvied them up among my cousins so we all have several hundred each. Many are fascinating. I won't try and post them here as I never have luck with that, but would be happy to send pics to anyone interested. What I'd like to ask any of our German correspondents here, is about the many comic ones. What is the story behind the shabby hedgehogs in patched clothes who appear in many family settings, greeting each other, travelling etc. Is there a story to the people made out of vegetables? And has the appeal now disappeared of what you might call the animal schadenfreude scenes of cats or mice or dogs dressed as humans and having accidents or fights?

[andydecker]

Sept 7, 2022 10:10:43 GMT samdawson said:

Among my mother's effects which I had to clear last year were several thousand postcards sent by her father in Hamburg mostly (but a bit of Berlin, Flanders, Rhineland etc too) to his wife in England, several times a week between 1950 and 1958. I divvied them up among my cousins so we all have several hundred each. Many are fascinating. I won't try and post them here as I never have luck with that, but would be happy to send pics to anyone interested. What I'd like to ask any of our German correspondents here, is about the many comic ones. What is the story behind the shabby hedgehogs in patched clothes who appear in many family settings, greeting each other, travelling etc. Is there a story to the people made out of vegetables? And has the appeal now disappeared of what you might call the animal schadenfreude scenes of cats or mice or dogs dressed as humans and having accidents or fights?

Do you mean this one?



The hedgehog is called Mecki. Based on the hedgehog in the fairy tale of the Grimm‘s The Hare and the Hedgehog, the character was first developed for an animation movie in 1940. After the war it was used as a mascot for a then new radio & later tv guide called Hör zu (Listen!) . Starting in 1949 it became a weekly comic strip for kids in the guide. It became a huge success, a whole fictional universe was developed. The character branched into kids books and merchandising in the 50s and 60s.

It used to be a household name. I remember reading the comic as a kid, the tv guide was bought by everyone. The Mecki stories were very conservative, very family orientated. I guess wholesome is the word. Funny animals in harmless adventures.


Hör zu is still published, and I was surprised to discover that the comic is also still produced. I haven‘t bought an issue for decades. I guess the strip has been modernized.

[samdawson]

Sept 7, 2022 15:00:04 GMT andydecker said:

Sept 7, 2022 10:10:43 GMT samdawson said:

Among my mother's effects which I had to clear last year were several thousand postcards sent by her father in Hamburg mostly (but a bit of Berlin, Flanders, Rhineland etc too) to his wife in England, several times a week between 1950 and 1958. I divvied them up among my cousins so we all have several hundred each. Many are fascinating. I won't try and post them here as I never have luck with that, but would be happy to send pics to anyone interested. What I'd like to ask any of our German correspondents here, is about the many comic ones. What is the story behind the shabby hedgehogs in patched clothes who appear in many family settings, greeting each other, travelling etc. Is there a story to the people made out of vegetables? And has the appeal now disappeared of what you might call the animal schadenfreude scenes of cats or mice or dogs dressed as humans and having accidents or fights?

Do you mean this one?



The hedgehog is called Mecki. Based on the hedgehog in the fairy tale of the Grimm‘s The Hare and the Hedgehog, the character was first developed for an animation movie in 1940. After the war it was used as a mascot for a then new radio & later tv guide called Hör zu (Listen!) . Starting in 1949 it became a weekly comic strip for kids in the guide. It became a huge success, a whole fictional universe was developed. The character branched into kids books and merchandising in the 50s and 60s.

It used to be a household name. I remember reading the comic as a kid, the tv guide was bought by everyone. The Mecki stories were very conservative, very family orientated. I guess wholesome is the word. Funny animals in harmless adventures.


Hör zu is still published, and I was surprised to discover that the comic is also still produced. I haven‘t bought an issue for decades. I guess the strip has been modernized.

Thank you Andy Decker, that is indeed him, though by a different artist. There are also a number of B&W photos featuring him, which presumably are stills from the film. 

[helrunar]

I saw something about this expensive new release, and it made me think of some of the entries on this thread:

www.pressparty.com/pg/newsdesk/JMSPR/view/303666/

A recent book and compilation on the years 1982-85 in the club the Batcave. One of the cover photos made me think of a drawing of our esteemed Demonik as he was some 30 years ago (but let's remember, Time is just another form of consciousness--or so I seem to recall hearing in the film Horror rises from the tomb).

cheers, H.

[dem]

Ken Cowley - Special Collector's Catalogue of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Anthologies & Magazines (Clevedon, Avon, Spring 1991).

READ THIS FIRST. This Catalogue may well be unique in that it concentrates on ANTHOLOGIES, some of them dating back more than 40 years to the time I started collecting. Therefore you will see many items never before offered, and the condition of most items is: one careful owner since new. However prices are very reasonable because I need the space. I have tried wherever possible to give some idea of the theme (if theme there be) of each title, but if you want contents lists for up to, say, half a dozen titles — and I have a feeling I'm going to regret this — you'll have to send me an S. A. E. And if you've a friend who would like to receive my catalogues just send me his/her name and address.

Mark Valentine - Cup-Bearers of Wine & Hellebore: Booklist Three (Bitterne Park, Southampton, Autumn 1989[/b]

Arthur Machen & his Circle, Crowleyana, Ghost Stories, Aesthetes & Decadents, etc; illustration "Hellebore, by Helen Lock (1884-1967)

This list covers our usual strange mixture of fantasists and decad- ents but it will be the last of this kind. From 1990 we will be specialising in two subjects only. The first is well represented in this list supernatural stories, especially those by the classic masters of the field such as Machen and Blackwood. The second is new departure Poetry from 1890 onwards. Both are topics which interest us personally. We are interested in buying titles in either of these areas.

We describe the condition of books by the following abbreviations;
DK - Distinctly Knackered
PR - Pretty Ropey
Ave - Average
BR - Bloody Reasonable
SN - Splendid Nick

L-R Olga Lehmann: The Trod, reprinted from London Mystery Magazine #2, 1950: Simon Gosden

Richard Dalby - Fantasy Literature. (Scarborough, N. Yorks, 1992)

Simon Gosden - Fantastic Literature C- 91. (Rayleigh, Essex, Spring 1991)

Recent Reading — Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton. I may have said so in the past but I am a bit of a dinosaur freak and so I did pick this one up expecting to enjoy it, I wasn't disappointed. Packed with stereotypes and characters you would find in an average 'Airplane' movie this story is held together by two threads, the original concept of creating dinosaurs from DNA and the sub-theme of chaos theory. Told in a punchy manner, the action packed adventure unfolds before our eyes. Smashing stuff. Understand a movie is to follow.
The Gap into Conflict by Stephen Donaldson. I liked the Donaldson fantasy books, but at first this didn't do much for me. A SF tale told in space opera style, but far more than it at first appears. It turns into a witty and clever novel with some interesting characterisations. I think Donaldson has done it again. One complaint, too short at only 150p and begging for the story to be continued, I would have preferred the first two books together in this projected 5 novel epic.
The Stake by Richard Laymon. The Independent recently ran a savage review of One Rainy Night' headlined "Blood and guts churned out for numbskulls" and I must admit I did expect the worst of this one, but I am delighted to say I enjoyed it enormously. The plot is original and clever, within the confines of the vampire genre, with an author finding a corpse in a coffin with a stake through it, and it fairly races along to a satisfying conclusion. Loved it.
Biblio-notes. I have in front of me two copies of the UK ed of Red Dragon, the Thomas Harris psycho-thriller. One (a) has a red dw with silver pendant, the other (b) a black dw with face motif. (a) has a price on dw of £5.95, (b) has no price at all. (b) has a frontis of a Blake painting, (a) has none. They are both the same size and both state first published in Great Britain in 1982 on copyright page. Any light anyone can throw on this I would be grateful.

Out of the Woodwork #3, is gradually pulling itself together, articles on the genre — no fiction please — welcomed.

Jeff Dempsey promo, Croxteth, Liverpool, 1990

[dem]

More 'nineties ephemera

[andydecker]

I would have visited Torture Garden. (And be really disappointed, I guess.)

[dem]

Exhumed another envelope of ephemera;

Richard Lloyd Parry, A Pleasing Terror: Canon Alberic's Scrapbook & The Mezzotint, New End Theatre, Hampstead, 16 Dec 2006 - 6 Jan 2007.

Thanks to Bride of Dem for providing the Whitechapel Library flyer. Aldgate's hugely appreciated "University of the Ghetto" shut for good in 2005 to be replaced by a brand new ideastore complex at 321 Whitechapel Road, a few doors from The Blind Beggar (i.e., where everyone in the world was enjoying a quiet pint the night Ronnie Kray walked in and shot dead George Cornell). The old site was absorbed into the Whitechapel Art Gallery next door, an infinitely preferable fate to usual demolished for "luxury accommodation."

Festival of Fantastic Films, Manchester, Oct. 9-11, 1992

"What a terrific line up we had for our 1991 Guests of Honour, they really did us proud didn't they. We have had many letters asking us to thank them on your behalf and we'd like to take the opportunity to do so. TO TONY TENSER, BRIAN CLEMENS, NORMAN J. WARREN, SCREAMING LORD SUTCH, ALLAN BRYCE, STEPHEN GALLAGHER, STEPHEN LAWS, MARIANO BAINO, ANDREW BARK and our amazing auctioneer RAMSEY CAMPBELL — thank you all very much indeed. We hope many of you will return for this coming Festival.

Invitations have gone out for the 1992 Guest list, but until we get confirmation, we will have to stay almost silent. We do hope to have our first American guest, thanks to the efforts of Norman J. Warren. If we can bring him over he'll have some great stories to tell of the many, many 50's movies he was involved in as Producer. We should have a good idea of our Guest of Honour line up by the next mail-out so stay tuned to our next Progress Report... which you'll only receive if you REGISTER!!!"

Mary Shelley Frankenstein festival, Bournemouth, 22 Oct. - 19 Nov, 2016

[helrunar]

Wonderful finds, particularly the 1992 Fantastic Films Festival booklet. I'm still trying to wrap what's left of my head around the fact that 1992 was 31 years ago now. Time and tide, etc.

Never saw the film of The Krays but perhaps I should bump it to the front of the queue. 

Hel.

[dem]

Ghost Story Society Convention, Chester, 30 Oct. 1993.

Not sure I ever saw the Black Tape for a Blue Girl catalogue, but should still have the Hunt Scum cassette somewhere. I remember liking Doom's cover of Hanging on the Telephone.

London Fetish Fair, North Rd, Islington, Sundays throughout 2002

Picked up the Fetish Fair card at the old Truman's Brewery building in Whitechapel around time Gunther von Hagens Body World's exhibition was packing them in at the Atlantis Gallery opposite. The Submission invite arrived not long after we'd moved in, and was likely meant for the previous tenants, who "had a bit of a reputation" for throwing stuff off the balcony. A sofa, on one occasion.

[Jojo Lapin X]

What is "A.B," as mentioned in the London Fetish Fair flyer? A friend wants to know.

[helrunar]

Glitzy slapper wear. Ah, words to conjure with!

Hel.

[peedeel]

The term A B in the fetish scene refers to Adult Baby or so I'm reliably informed.