Collecting Crate Labels

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The hobby of collecting crate labels started in the sixties. People directly involved with the packing plants started the craze. Maybe because they just don’t want to see unused labels thrown away or just rut inside the label storage room.

The crate labels were mostly found on warehouses, packing plants, patent offices and the printing houses itself because they usually kept a copy of their work as a sample. Today, you can get it from mostly and conveniently on the internet like ebay, or other collectors.

The beauty of this small vintage art just look so beautiful with all the bright colors and vividly depicting any kind of themes such as sports, birds, romantic and nostalgic sceneries, the pets and children of the farm owners who custom made their labels when family farms were prevalent at that time.

Since the advent of the corrugated cardboard boxes and packing plants mushroomed just about everywhere, the use of wooden crates for fruits and family farm labels declined.

The crate labels of yore all had different kinds of colors, shades and hues. No two brands of crate labels looked alike.

They made their own ink, which supposed to be a trade secret. The sizes of their crate labels also varies depending of course the sizes of the crates. Like cherries only need a small crate so, they used smaller crate labels as supposed to oranges that needed bigger crates. It did not even have so much text on it.

If you want to start collecting these beauties start with what you like. I think that would be self- explanatory. I mean you wouldn’t want to be surrounded by things you don’t like do you? You can shell out a small amount of money for what is considered a vintage art.

The hobby doesn’t need that much investment. That’s one nice about this pursuit. You can also branch out to collecting can labels, cigar box labels or even vintage advertisement.

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Collecting Yo-yos

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My first encounter with a foreign yo-yo demonstrator was way back in high school. This was in the late seventies. Coca Cola sponsored the event. The demonstrator was Mexican and I remember quite vividly after he performed the usual tricks like around the world, walking the dog and rocking the baby, he showed his very own tricks.

He called it the "spaghetti" he tangled up the strings like a spaghetti, and kind of made a slurping motion with his mouth and there went the string untangled and the yoyo still spinning went right back to his hand.

For his finale, he did a couple of throws, up in the air and then swiftly and skillfully slipped the string knot off his finger and let the yo-yo on perfect cue, amazingly dropped into his left breast pocket. I was totally blown away. His expertise with the yo-yo, such a mundane toy but considered a cultural icon, enabled him to travel around the globe.

Of course the yo-yos of today are not the kind we knew back then. Transaxle ball bearing yo-yos are the crème de la crème, the top of the heap when it comes to yo-yo performance. The "sleep" time (spinning freely) is longer thus you will be able to perform tricks easily as opposed to the traditional fixed axle yo-yos.

Examples of these are Turbo Bumblebee, the Viper and Cold Fusion. They fetch in higher prices naturally but you will be surely the envy of the gang if you own one of these babies.

Yo-yo contests attract enthusiasts and collectors alike. There is a growing demand for collectible yo-yos and other yo-yo related memorabilia such as string packages, award patches, old contest fliers, manufacturer sales catalogs, old trick books and limited edition yo-yos. Yo-yos are also highly cross-collectable.

There are yo-yos with cereal, cartoon character, advertising such as coke and souvenir designs on it.

The highest price ever paid for a single yo-yo was the Pres. Richard Nixon signed yoyo for $16,029.00. And the first flown yo-yo into outer space is the yellow plastic Duncan Imperial this happened in April 12, 1983.

Companies that produced excellent yo-yos are Duncan, Russell, Spintastics, Superyo, Tom Kuhn, Yomega. Bird In Hand, Chico, Hi-ker. Most desirable and collectible yo-yos are usually from the 50’s and 60’s with such names like Litening, Rainbow, Chief, Suede, Day-Glo and Satellite.

Yo-yo is definitely a toy that has survived time and it will be absolutely continue to be played in years to come.

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Collecting Cameos

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Cameos are like miniature sculptures but only carve on the front side called relief. The first known cameos were used as ceremonial clothing by emperors, used as seals, as adornment in helmets, breastplates, swords and some were used by members of the clergy.

The carvings usually depicted profiles of beautiful women, (this is the most popular motif) mythological and biblical themes, and heroes and rulers of a particular period. Cameos usually have contrast in colors, like darker background and lighter foreground.

Cameos are carve in hardstones which a term for gemstone or semi precious stones like amethyst, emerald, ruby, opal, opaque stones such as agate, carnelian , onyx etc. and some are carve in conch shells and corals. Out of 100,000 species of sea shells only about six species are perfectly suited for cameos.

The popularity of cameos surged in early nineteenth century when cameos are mounted on gold, silver or other metals and became fashionable pieces of jewelry such as brooches, necklaces, tiaras, bracelets and earrings.

The more colors a certain shell or hardstone may project the more valuable the cameo is. If the cameos depicted two carvings from one single stone, the more valuable it is. As opposed to two carvings but made from two different stones and you see evident of glue in between then the carvings are definitely a poor attempt at faking it.

Using a magnifying glass, look for chips and cracks on the cameos for it will lessen the value of it. Make sure the cameos are mounted on the original settings or frame. If the demand outstrip the supply, expect fakes and forgeries all over. Asia is now a hub for manufacturing cheaper cameos made of plastic and resin, because it has a shell-like feel to it. Do a hot needle test, if it melts then it plastic.

Cameos carved in hardstones requires more skill and adeptness, they are more durable compared to shells and corals. They are most likely the type of cameos that can be pass on to the next generations therefore hardstone carved cameos are more expensive.
Famous collectors of cameos are Pope Paul ll and Napoleon Bonaparte.

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