Like so many children of the 60’s, my first introduction to mail order novelties and magic was through comic books, Boys Life and Popular Mechanics magazines. I remember the excruciating four to six week wait for the postman to deliver my loot. The company that got my business was the Abracadabra Magic Shop located in Colonia, NJ. Little did I know that they were a very long bike ride from my home. But I digressed. Upon opening one of my first orders, amongst the gags and tricks, was a free copy of their “Giant Magic Catalog”. Turning the pages of the catalog was a mind blowing, cigar exploding, ring squirting, smoke from your fingertips experience. I can still remember sitting in front of the fireplace thumbing through the catalog thinking “I’ll get one of those and one of those”. I guess I can blame Bob Bokor, proprietor of “The Shop”, for my collection-obsession.
We always seem to remember our “firsts”. What was the “first” that started your collection-obsession? Was it a Richie Rich comic book, your amateur magician uncle, a local magic shop or one of the many mail-order companies of the time?
Have a Safe and Happy New Year!
Great forum topic!
I was doomed to be a collector from the get-go, Dr. Sab:
A.) I think collecting is in my DNA ... at least the obsessive compulsive nature that fuels it. I was always passionate about my toys from an early age.
B.) I came from a family interested in antiques. We were always going to some farm auction or garage sale. On weekends, my folks would drive around the state to small towns stopping at the antique shops along the way.
C.) Uncle Johnny dealt in antiques and my uncle John had a huge barbed wire collection of all things. That is where I learned that one of something could be mildly interesting, but thousands of an item was totally awesome.
D.) Uncle Johnny and Aunt Marilyn also babysat me in the mornings before school. Their son, my older cousin Mike, collected comic books. That is where I was bombarded with all the wonders that mail-order items promised (but never quite seemed to deliver on).
E.) My first job in Junior High School was working at the local antique shop. I was a frequent visitor to the shop. The owners eventually asked me if I’d like to help them monitor the store. They lived across the street so they were close by if a customer needed help beyond my years. I learned a lot from them, that experience and the customers that came in.
There you have it. As you can see ... I was doomed from the very beginning to collect something. I had no idea that “something” would be Sea-Monkey® kits but, looking back at all of my early influences, it should come as no surprise.
PS: I love the artwork on the cover of that Abracadabra Magic Shop catalog. Those old simplistic (rather crude) illustrations speak to me. I don't have any catalogs from the Abracadabra Magic Shop in my collection. Let me know if you run across Sea-Monkeys®, X-Ray Spex, Hypno-Spex or the likes in any of them. I'd like to add that to my collection.
QUESTION: What did you end up collecting? You had mentioned blueprints, plans and kits for things you could actually (or theoretically) build yourself. Do you collect things like that?
Thanks for becoming a member and the great posts, Dr. Sab. And ...
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Happy New Year TRM! It must have been very cool to work in an antique shop. I worked in a toy store in high school. I wish I would have bought all the first generation Star Wars figures. It wasn't my taste then.
My collecting tastes have changed over the years. As a kid it was mostly magic tricks and gags. I had an uncle that was an amateur magician. He passed away very young and I inherited all his equipment. Not many of the tricks came with instructions so it was interesting trying to figure out how stuff worked... especially the guillotine.
My obsession seems to teeter-totter back and forth. I'm a mechanical engineer by trade so I was always interested in building stuff. Plans to build anything that moves gets my attention but if I see an old Fishlove prank, I'll hit the buy-it-now button. As a kid, me and a couple of friends started building what we called a Rail Runner. A lawnmower powered go-cart that would run on the railroad tracks by our houses. Crazy the stuff you do as a kid.
Stay safe.
@drsab I only have a couple of Fishlove (or Fishlove-esque) items in my collection … but I’m always tempted to nab them up as well. Their graphics are super cool, their condition and price is usually nice and they typically have a wonderful “cheeky” sense of humor to them. They are a logical fit with the old mail-order novelty and magic items from the time period.
The items that I have are the oversized pair of “Hollywood Super-Specs” for my novelty specs collection and a set of oversized flatware like the ones that Paul Reubens uses in “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” when he’s eating breakfast from "The Breakfast Machine." (It’s a favorite movie of mine.) There’s also a nice scene in “Big Adventure” in “Mario’s Magic Shop” where Pee-wee tries on a pair of X-Ray Spex. Mario’s is very reminiscent of the little magic shop I used to visit in the neighboring "big city" when I was a kid ... and of my trip to meet Jackie Flosso at the Flosso-Hornmann Magic Shop in the late 1990s.
I agree the graphics seem to capture the time period so well. Another example is the SS Adams packaging that spanned decades but somehow always looked current on the peg rack.
It sounds like we frequented the same magic shops. I remember Tannen’s and Flosso-Hornmann’s magic shops in NYC fondly. Flosso’s was advertised as the oldest magic shop in the world but was certainly the dustiest. The catalog below is on eBay currently.
You definitely came to the right place, Dr. Sab. All the things you’ve mentioned are right up our alley; comic book ads, mail-order, novelties, blueprints, Fishlove, SS Adams, Magic ... that’s what we love here at House of the Unusual.
I was born in the early 60s so I’m suspicious we’re of a “similar” age.
Your “dust” comment on the Flosso-Hornmann Magic Shop made me laugh. Yep. You nailed it. By the time I was there visiting it was late in the shop’s lifespan. The selection was slim and the dust was plentiful. But it was such a treat to meet and chat with Jackie about his life, career and “the good ole days.”
The man who “invented” Sea-Monkeys® used to work at Flosso’s Magic Shop and they were lifelong friends of Harold’s. Later on, Flossos’s sold some of Harold’s products. The catalog you showed has Harold’s Sea-Monkeys®, X-Ray Spex and Hypno-Spex listed in it for sale.
Tannen’s Magic Shop is still there and it’s in the office space next to where the Flosso store used to be.
So ... back to that lawnmower powered go-cart of yours. Did you and your friends get any traction with that thing? Sadly, I’m neither mechanically inclined or a handy man. — TRM
@TRM Sorry for the late reply. It really was an engineering marvel. We used the engine and clutch mechanism from I think a 2 hp Briggs & Stratton mower. The gear system was off of an old abandoned 10 speed bike we found. The tires had plywood discs screwed to the inside of the rims to keep it in-between the rails. Aluminum frame with wooden pallet seats. We screwed, welded and glued all the components together. First test was on the street. Crazy! No steering or brakes. Of course this wasn't needed when used on the rails. When my dad figured out what we were doing, he shut the project down. I wish I had a picture of the final prototype. It could have found its way into Boy Life as a DYI project.
FYI: The tracks we planned on riding, on the weekend, were freight trains only. We did follow some safety standards.
@drsab Oh ... you would have been a fun neighborhood friend to have growing up. A dangerous friend to have ... but a fun one for certain. 😎 😎 😎
Hey Dr. Sab did you ever try to build the 7 foot robot?
Hi Eddie. I did have the plans from the Abracadabra Magic shop as a kid. They were really poor from what I remember. My dad would not have been very happy when I removed the HVAC vent pipes from the heating system to make the legs and arms. It would have made a great "Little Rascals" episode!
Eddie: Now that you brought up the 7 Foot Robot. Are the ones below items you offered at one time? These were on eBay recently.
Yes Doctor Sab these are the same ones from the Abracadabra Magic Shop you had as a kid. what someone did on eBay was they cut out or photocopy the ad from a Vic Lawston catalog or the one pictured above the Abracadabra magic catalog and pasted them onto an envelope then photocopy plans. I have sold them for years... Not the ones I want Bummer!
Hey Doctor Thank you for looking out for me...God Bless you my friend!!!
Eddie. Do you still have a copy for sale? They would be a blast to have. I might even try to build him. 😉
Eddie: We need to hook this man up with some of your robot plans and see what transpires. — TRM
I will need his address...
Eddie: I sent you an email with my address and entered it in the system also. Thanks.
Ok I will follow up. Thanks