eBay Featured Item:

The Feynman Lectures on Physics, Volume III

This classic book is a collection some of the Caltech freshman and sophomore physics lectures given by Richard P. Feynman, the Richard Chace Tolman Professor of Theoretical Physics at the California Institute of Technology.  It is co-authored by Robert B. Leighton, CIT, and Matthew Sands (Stanford).  Originally published in 1965, this edition is the third printing from July, 1966.  It is a large format paperback in very good condition.  "Feynman (May 11, 1918 – February 15, 1988) was an American physicist known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics the theory of quantum electrodynamics and the physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, as well as in particle physics (he proposed the parton model). For his contributions to the development of quantum electrodynamics, Feynman, jointly with Julian Schwinger and Sin-Itiro Tomonaga, received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965."  In addition, he "assisted in the development of the atomic bomb and was a member of the panel that investigated the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster."  (Source: Wikipedia)

eBay Featured Item:

Britains #146A RASC Wagon with Headless Rider

I had to do a bit research to identify this item and I believe it is Britains Set #146A RASC Royal Army Service Corps Wagon (Khaki Service Dress).   By comparing this item to the photographs from other auctions, I believe this is the 1920 version, not the 1940 version.  The position of the horses appears to be switched, perhaps in a repair done years ago by a previous owner.  Mine is missing the two "orderlies" who were riding on the also missing cart seat.  There was also a Set #145A RAMC Ambulance which appears to have been made from similar cast parts.  

The original set with box can be seen at:
http://www.realtoysoldiers.com

THIS ITEM HAS SOLD!  See the closed eBay ad at:
http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/pdxbuys

eBay Featured Item:

Britains WWI Clyno Motorcycle

A hard-to-find WWI Clyno motorcycle cast in the 1930s. It was once attached to a sidecar which, unfortunately, I never had. I believe it was called a Vickers-Clyno because the side card held a Vickers machine gun. Made from hollow-cast lead. This figure might be Britains Catalog Number 200: Motorcycle Dispatch Rider, but I have not been able to verify it. I found a Danish website with some information but was not able to translate much of it. The website shows this figure with the sidecar and describes it as Catalog Number 199: Motor Machine Gun Corps.

More history here:
Adventures of a Motorcycle Despatch Rider during the First World War

                       

Illustration from Britains Catalog, circa 1932.
(Click on illustration to go to the source website.)

eBay Featured Item:

Four Vintage Britains Indians

This set is not in the best condition, but the figures still have a wonderful vintage appeal.  I've not been able to determine the exact age but I suspect that they were made between 1930 and 1950.  If I had to guess, I'd say they are pre-war.  They are made from hollow-cast lead.

SOLD! Four Britains Indian Figures
Item #260520700945

eBay Featured Item:

Vintage Tektronix 321A Battery Operated Oscilloscope!  (SOLD)

This oscilloscope was an early battery operated scope (the first was the Model 321). It could operate on either a 115V AC source, and external 11.5-35V DC source, or a "battery pack" of ten size "D" flashlight cells. It was first manufactured in 1964. Unfortunately, I don't have a power cord to go with it. But even if you never power it up, it would be a great find for the avid collector. It is currently available on the PDXBuys eBay page for only $49.99 (BIN price)!  The Model 321A User Manual can be found at:

http://pcbunn.cithep.caltech.edu/jjb/tektronix/321A/321a_scope.pdf

A Brief Tektronix History:

Tektronix, Inc. is a North American company best known for its test and measurement equipment such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and video and mobile test equipment. The company traces its roots back to the electronics revolution that immediately followed World War II. The company’s founders C. Howard Vollum and Melvin J. "Jack" Murdock invented the world’s first triggered oscilloscope in 1946, a significant technological breakthrough. Tektronix was incorporated in 1946. Today, Tektronix is a subsidiary of Danaher Corp. Tektronix headquarters are in Beaverton, OR. (Source: Wikipedia)

eBay Featured Item:

Vintage DYMO-MITE Label Maker

Here is a classic -- a chrome DYMO-MITE TAPEWRITER. Remember these? A vintage quality product once made by DYMO, Berkeley 1, California. DYMO Corporation is an American company that manufactures handheld label makers, label printers, and other printers such as CD and DVD labelers. DYMO Corporation was founded in 1958 and is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Newell Rubbermaid (Source: Wikipedia).

eBay Featured Item:

Bachmann HO Scale Red Caboose

Here's another fine estate sale item. This is a great looking Bachmann HO scale caboose. Made in Taiwan (not China). Age is unknown.
This is one of three in a set I am selling. Update: This one didn't sell, but see my other eBay ads at PDXBuys.

eBay Featured Item:

Vintage 1964 Superman Model Kit Aurora No. 462 - Rare!

Now available on eBay (click on image to go to ebay auction).

Plastic Model Figure from 1963/1964. Aurora Kit No. 462-100. The original assembly instruction sheet is included! Unfortunately, there are a few pieces missing, but still a rare find for Aurora Kit collectors!

Aurora Plastics Corporation - Brief History

The Aurora Plastics Corporation is a U.S. toy and hobby manufacturing and marketing company. It is known primarily for its production of plastic model kits in the 1960s. Aurora Plastics Corporation was founded in March, 1950 by engineer Joseph E. Giammarino (1916-1992) and businessman Abe Shikes (1908-1997) in Brooklyn, New York (in West Hempstead, Long Island from 1954), as a contract manufacturer of injection molded plastics.

With the hiring in 1952 of salesman John Cuomo (1901-1971), the company began the manufacture of its own line of plastic model kits. These kits were marketed to young hobbyists, as were the kits of rivals Monogram and Revell. Aurora profitably targeted to a younger demographic than their competitors, creating smaller-sized models at a lower price point.

Although their first offerings were aircraft kits in a "Famous Fighters" line, it is with their figure kits that Aurora is most associated and had their biggest success. Following a series of "knights in armor" and historical figures, Aurora acquired a license from Universal Studios to create a line of kits based on Universal monsters, which became the company’s most popular offerings. Together with their other licensed models based on characters from movies, TV shows and comic books, Aurora’s figure kits continue to be highly valued by collectors. Aurora used artist James Bama for some of their box art.

(Source: Wikipedia)

eBay Tips: Photography

Antique Victorian Wax Desk Seal with
Sterling Silver Crest and Agate Handle

(Sold for $177.00 in 2005, BidBrothers)

This was another antique objet d'art I enjoyed photographing. Ornate and rich with details. Beautiful colors...

The History of Sealing Wax

Sealing wax actually originated when envelopes did not come with glue on the flap that made it difficult to seal and thus ensure privacy. To solve this problem, a lit candle was tipped over the envelope, allowing a few drops of wax to fall on the flap’s side and that was stamped with an inscribed stem, which was called a seal.

In days of yore this was a method used to ensure that the communication sent was secure and authentic. Unfortunately it was the coming of the gummed envelopes that led to a decline in the use of sealing wax, though the ones who are fascinated with it still find an excuse to melt the wax!

The recipes of sealing wax can be generally divided into those before and after the beginning of trade with the Indies. Beeswax that had been melted together with Venice turpentine was typically used in the Middle Ages to make sealing wax. The wax that was manufactured at this time was uncolored. It was after some time that vermilion was used to add some color. It was in the 16th century that sealing wax was compounded from a mixture of various proportions of shellac, resin, turpentine, chalk, plaster, turpentine and coloring matter and no actual wax.

(Source: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/wax-seals-what-is-sealing-wax.html)

eBay Tips: Photography

Antique Japanese Charcoal Iron

eBay Tips: Photography

The SAMOVAR: Form and function in the art of tea

A samovar (Russian: самовар, literally "self-boiler") is a metal container used to heat and boil water. It has traditionally been used in and around Russia, as well as in other Central, South-Eastern and Eastern European countries, in Iran, Kashmir, Turkey and Hadhramawt, eastern Yemen. Since the heated water is usually used for making tea, some samovars have an attachment on the top of the lid to hold and heat a teapot filled with tea concentrate. Samovars are said to have been invented in Central Asia, though their origin is a matter of dispute. For example, some argue that it is purely a Russian invention given that the samovar appeared in Iran not later than the 18th century, and it bears the same Russian name samovar which translates to self-brewer. Though traditionally heated with coal or charcoal, today many newer samovars use electricity to boil the water. (Source: Wikipedia)

Antique Russian Samovar Teapot
(BidBrothers consignment item, 2005)