Spy Memorabilia Collecting

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You may be wondering what is the purpose of intelligence or counter-intelligence services. Do their spies just kill other spies? Well, for those un-initiated the primary tasks of an intelligence agent are recruiting moles and mainly acquiring information and passing it on to the handler.

The job of the handler is to pass it to the analysts who will convert billions of bits of data into useful intelligence product. The finished intelligence products are classified information needed by military and political leaders to make better decisions and consequently shape international foreign policies.

The purpose of their work is to prevent war or any military surprises. Through their brave and patriotic work we have avoided going over the threshold of a hot war.

The staple of the spy trade is tradecraft. Tradecraft is the term use for the methods, devices and techniques applied by the spy in clandestine intelligence operations. These devices are mainly concealment devices, objects used to hide top secret documents. These are the most sought after collectibles in the spy memorabilia collecting.

Specifically the espionage artifacts before and during the Cold War are the best ones. Like the Steineck wristwatch camera used by the U.S. Air Force intelligence officers in the 1950’s, The World War ll tool kit which includes a sabateur’s fountain pen which conceals igniters for detonating explosives, Stasi pens which hides a microdot viewer, eyeglass case, cigarette lighter and pack that conceal cameras and ashtray, globe and phone that serve as listening devices.

These are really interesting and intriguing collectibles because it made used of human ingenuity but at the same time limited by human frailties.

These are real world spy artifacts. On the other hand the fictional spy characters James Bond, Maxwell Smart and Austin Powers collectibles have also a wide following but these are just, you know fictional.

There are a garden variety of espionage board games between 1930’s and 1970’s you can collect. Or you might want to start collecting memorabilia of your favorite real world spy like Kim Philby, John Walker and the notorious Alrich Ames.

There are lots of books on the subject and plenty of spy museums to visit. You can do extensive research because you have to get an understanding of how spies operate in order to understand and know what spy equipments look like for they were used secretly at that time.

The great seal above is actually a bugging device.
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Collecting Hawaiin And Surfer Surfing Posters

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Surf movie poster were a way to advertise a certain movie about surfing in the 1950’s and 60’s. The promoters pasted or tacked them on telephone poles, school auditoriums, and car windows. The kids took these posters off and bring it home and display on their bedroom walls. Thus the hobby of collecting surf movie poster was born.

Bud Browne started it all and filmed a movie documentary about surfing. They would filmed it on 16mm and filled it with footages of people surfing and scouting places with perfect waves to ride on. Soon after other filmmakers followed suit with variations as filming not only documentary but beach party movies as well. The movie ‘Gidget’ clearly depicted the surfing lifestyles with campy entertainment scenes.

The surf movie posters are relics of that era. They came in various sizes 8"x 11", 9"x 12" and 11"x 14" unlike the monolithic generic movie posters in those days which measured 27" x 41".
The value of surf movie posters are determined by factors of rarity, condition and demand.

They are graded mint, near mint, very good, good , fair and poor just like the way they grade comic books and baseball cards. If you are serious in collecting posters for fun and investment purpose(like thinking of selling you collection in ten years) you should carefully take care of your items like not folding ,marking or exposing it to light or even UV lighting. It’s common sense how you take care of your goods.

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Aloha Shirt

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Still on the series of collecting Hawaiin kitsch. Aloha shirts or Hawaiin shirts as the rest of the world term this piece of clothing made of exotic, colorful fabrics. The shirts first appeared in the 1930’s.

When Hawaii became a state in 1959 aloha shirts became even more popular along with long flowing muumuus.

Local artists created styles and designs that depicted the lifestyles, experiences and of course the environment of the South Pacific Islands such as the warm balmy breeze, white sandy beaches, crystal blue waters, palm trees and golden sunsets.

Aloha shirts which are manufactured for local use are considered formal, actually wearing them is a cross between formal and informal for you can wear them on the streets on ordinary day and you can as well wear aloha shirts on official business meetings, during weddings or any other important occasions. It is socially accepted norm of dressing whatever the occasion.

Ellery Chun trademarked the name aloha shirts after it become a bestseller. He made the shirts out of unsold fabrics in his store. Soon after, local residents, surfers and tourists came bustling into his store to buy his creations. It was such a big hit especially when celebrities like Elvis Presley and Harry Truman wore the shirts.

Vintage prints and textile from the 1930’s and 40’s are extremely collectable today. They fetch in prices as much as thousands of dollars a piece.

Aloha shirt is as symbolic as any Hawaiin treasure.

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Collecting Hawaiina Gifts Collectible Keepsakes

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With the modern commercial air travel in the 1950’s somebody who was ‘somebody’, Hawaii was the place to be. Since more and more tourists came to the tropical islands the need for more souvenirs was clear.

Tourists like to take a piece of tropical paradise with them when they went back home.

Savvy business minded folks capitalize on the great market and soon after, the souvenir industry was booming.

The craze caught on and they termed it Hawaiina. To collect Hawaiina gifts collectible keepsakes is a sort of labor of love. There are many to choose from, like the popular hula girls lamps that was first made as carnival prize give away but the demand was high.

The hula girl lamps were now sold exclusively from stores . Before the prices of hula girl lamps would fetch at five dollars a piece. Today an authentic piece would fetch at three thousand dollars.

Then there’s the hula girl nodder or what is popularly known as the dashboard hula dolls. They were imported from Japan and they too became so popular .

Really there is one item for everyone in the family. For dad, there’s a tiki mug, for mom there’s a wooden calabash platter, for sister there’s a whole array of colorful sarongs, ukuleles for your musical friends and for big brother a wooden vintage hawaiin surfboard and hula grass skirt costume for little baby sister.

Just go to your favorite hawaiin site or store and indulge and get the feel of fun and excitement of the tropical island paradise.

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Collecting Tiki

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Tiki is a representation of ancient hawaiin gods that is skillfully carved in stone or wood. Sometimes too tiny to be worn as an amulet or too large that it could tower over a human being.

There is that familiar grimace and big elliptical snarling mouth that is believed to drive away evil. They were mostly seen scattered around the temples at that time.

During the cruise ship era in the 1930’s when people began visiting Hawaii, they brought souvenirs from their trip in the tropical islands and tikis were one of them. Tikis became popular in mainland U.S. thus creating a popular culture or suburban art movement called Polynesian Pop.

Soon after, tiki themed bars, motels and bowling alleys spread like wildfire across the America. For the people, it represented a frame of mind that is laid back, relaxed, fun and all the taste of the tropics. It was sort of escapism from the harsh realities of life.

But until in the 1970’s the trend fizzled out. Tiki bars and restaurants closed down. There were a multitude of things related to tiki that is sold like tiki matchbooks, mugs napkins, unkillable palm fronds etc.

Lately the second wave of popularity of the tiki is once again here. There’s a certain nostalgia of that time which is dubbed as the lounge and swizzle sticks era. So if there’s a need for certain things there are consequently a market for it.

There are abundant supplies for tikis and all its related memorabilia that are sold whether original or reproduction. Tikinews.com and tikifarm.com provide a place for ‘tikiphiles’ to hangout and browse about their collection.

There are certain conventions as well for tikiphiles where they can don their garish hawaiin shirts, exchange recipes of their favorite tropical drinks and dance the hula all night long and just feel the ‘ambience’ of the tropics and just soak it up.

If you want to start tiki collecting make sure the mugs do have sharp details and collect from the bars and restaurants that are no longer in business and look at the manufacturer legend at the bottom of the mugs.

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Collecting Vintage Kou Milo Ukeleles Uke

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Hawaii contributed slack key guitar, steel string guitar and the dimunitive ukulele to the family of musical string instruments. The ukulele catches the world’s attention because of its tone and size.

Although the first ukulele was first made in Braga, Portugal that’s why it was called barginha before it got in the hands of the natives in Hawaii by way of Portuguese migration to the Hawaiin islands in !777.

Joao Fernandes was the first ever public performance playing the ukulele. The Hawaiin Royal family at that time like it so much that, local manufacturers made its foray in mass production of the instrument.

The world was first introduced to the hawaiin music and the ukulele was in 1915 during the celebration of the completed Panama Canal. Seventeen million people experienced the whole hawaiin musical genre that it became very popular considering the world population at that time. The music and the ukulele went well with the fashion at that time too.

Carrying the ukulele while wearing straw hat, raccoon coat and striped blazer was very vogue at that time. The ukulele is light and portable, playing it, sure made everyone you around smile.

The ukulele went through a musical roller coaster. Popular one time and in the closet the next. There were many factors , the great depression in the 1920’s, rock and roll, Vietnam.

Authentic vintage kou milo ukeleles are pretty much hawaiin made, had a legend ‘tabu’ on every ukulele made at that time. Hawaii had triumphantly gained a patent on the instrument. Although the rest of the world make ukuleles but the hawaiins can proudly call it their very own.

Depending on the preference of the collectors, one thing they would consider is the manufacturer. Companies like Martin, Gibson , Lyon etc. are considered of the best quality. The most popular ones are made by C.F. Martin Company of Pa.

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Collecting Hawaiin Surf Surfing Collectible Boards

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Let’s face it, the hawaiin experience is where it all started. Early hawaiins rode the waves using half logs just to test their manhood.

Hawaii being the ‘Mecca’ of the surf world , means owning anything hawaiin as far as surfing is concern would be the most coveted.

Did you know that in early times the folks in Hawaii before cutting a tree to make surfboards, would first bury a fish underneath the tree? Yes it’s a form of ritual, an offering to the gods. They applied various forms of incantations and consecration as part of their ritual.

Surboards were made from different kinds of trees using bone and stone tools to shape it. Balsa was the most widely used wood because it’s lighter. But modern surfboards are now made in polyurethane encased in fiberglass and polyester to make it even lighter but sturdier. There are also surfboards that are made in aluminum or carbon fiber.

When it comes to hydrodynamics, some makers apply fins on their creations.

There are now variety of surfboards to choose from starting with hawaiin made balsa wood, longboards, shortboards, hybrids, retros, eggs, bigboys, midrange and guns.

The craze of collecting surfboards and its memorabilia like surf books, magazines and posters are today bigger than ever. Collectors say the thrill is in the hunt and validation of the find.

You don’t have to connect yourself to a body of water to really savor and enjoy your surfboards, although you can. But surfboards nowadays are also the focal points of any residential or commercial establishments as their main theme or décor.

The monetary values of surfboards are subjective. There are no surefire measure. One key is just to collect the kinds you really like. You could place ads in a physical newspaper or advertise online if you want to buy, trade or sell your surfboards.

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Collecting Hawaiin Kitsch

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Collectibles and Memorabilia.

Hawaiina or collecting all things hawaiin are sought after collectors for years or even decades.

For hawainna collectors owning a piece of tangible artifacts brings back a time when you are in a tropical paradise, away from all the cares of the reality of the world.

It brought a taste of the tropics that promise fun and excitement.

Hawaii being one of the top tourist destinations of the world provided visitors a lot of gifts and keepsakes from their exotic island travels, thus the souvenir industry in Hawaii today, is big business.

Little odd and ends, like hula girl lamps, hula doll nodders or popularly known as dashboard hula dolls, surfboards, aloha shirts, ukuleles, hawainn vintage posters, and tikis are among the things collectors would like to own.

Hawaiina’s heyday were in the fifties until seventies. They even dubbed it as Polynesian Pop and America just naturally embraced it. James Michener’s best selling novel The Tales of the South Pacific and the broadway musical hit South Pacific were all proofs that hawaiin influence were marked in the American cultural landscape.

Although Polynesian Pop waned in the seventies, it made a huge comeback brought on by scenesters in their twenties and a generation younger than baby boomers .

And from the rate I’ts going Hawaiina or Polynesian Pop or whatever you would call it, is here to stay.

So let this introduction be the first of its series on hawaiin kitsch collecting.
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