The Allee Willis Museum of Kitsch

Bloody “Handelabra”

I found this bloody hand candelabra (which I’ve dubbed a “handelabra”) at a church rummage sale for $1.00, although I susp...

March 26, 2010 by Douglas Wood

3 comments

Waist Trimmer – Make You Beauty!

Found this at a .99¬¢ store (but not THE .99¬¢ Store– a knock-off). Made in China, the WAIST TRIMMER is simply a thick belt (nylon...

March 25, 2010 by Douglas Wood

2 comments

It’s Libby, the Supertramp waitress!

L.A. is chock-full of huge celebrities, but how cool is it to meet Libby the waitress on the 1979 Supertramp album, BREAKFAST IN AMERICA? Me...

March 24, 2010 by Douglas Wood

5 comments

Electric Liberace Hot Nuts Dispenser

Yep, that’s really what this is. ‘Ya can’t make this shit up. Standing 10″ tall, this rhinestone encrusted ceramic d...

March 23, 2010 by Douglas Wood

11 comments

Bar Hounds

This 1950 print by Constance Depler Coleman (who, by the way, is still alive and churning out art) is entitled, “Bar Hounds” and...

March 19, 2010 by Douglas Wood

2 comments

Classy Mirror Sign

These smart-aleck signs that one sees in small businesses, restaurants, bars, etc. really make you wonder: does anybody REALLY find them fun...

by Douglas Wood

2 comments

Fruit or Fowl?

Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a piece of fruit! It’s a bank! It’s all three! This plastic 1/2 Orange, 1/2 B...

March 18, 2010 by Douglas Wood

3 comments

Owl Painting – 1968

No, this 1968 owl painting is not oil on canvas but rather melted crayons on construction paper....

March 17, 2010 by Douglas Wood

10 comments

Quack Medicine Ultra Violet Ray Machine

This vintage quack medicine device– the Elco Violet Ray Machine was made around 1910 and claims to treat (and I quote from material I ...

March 15, 2010 by Douglas Wood

5 comments

Rusty the Auto Parts Man

I bought this figure from a homeless man on Hollywood Boulevard who said he made it out of discarded car parts with the generous help of a l...

March 14, 2010 by Douglas Wood

8 comments

How to Make an Orange Crate Chair

This article, “Orange Crate to Juvenile Chair in 20 Minutes” appears in the 1956 “Do-It-Yourself Booklet” published ...

March 12, 2010 by Douglas Wood

2 comments

Walnut-Head Granny Doll

Cue the Bernard Herrmann Psycho shrieks! Can’t you just picture this handmade walnut-head granny doll holding a knife and terrorizing ...

March 11, 2010 by Douglas Wood

3 comments

Morey Amsterdam’s Good Luck Rabbi

I guess playing comedy writer Buddy Sorrell on one of the greatest sit-coms of all time (The Dick Van Dyke Show) wasn’t enough for Mor...

March 10, 2010 by Douglas Wood

12 comments

They Came from the Fifties!

These Sci-Fi paperbacks were published between 1956-1959. The covers pretty much say it all, but wanted to add that “The Wife Factory&...

March 9, 2010 by Douglas Wood

6 comments

Mod Vintage Apron

This vintage apron was made by Jade Fashions in San Francisco. Not sure if it’s late sixties or early seventies, but the vivid fabric ...

March 8, 2010 by Douglas Wood

2 comments

Hepcats of Venus – Beatnik Sci-Fi

Two esoteric cultures (beatniks and Sci-Fi) collide in this January, 1962 issue of Fantastic Stories of Imagination magazine. The color illu...

March 7, 2010 by Douglas Wood

4 comments

Indian Fireworks Labels – 1960’s

These vintage fireworks labels are from Sivakasi, India. The marketing approaches defy description– two show young children with the d...

March 5, 2010 by Douglas Wood

1 comment

The Finest in Adult Reading (1960’s)

These eight salacious paperback covers are from the late sixties. I threw out the actual books because they smelled like cigarette smoke, bu...

by Douglas Wood

3 comments

Naughty Clinton/Lewinsky Russian Nesting Dolls

In light of the plethora of recent celebrity sex scandals, this set of wooden Russian Nesting Dolls from the Clinton-era seems downright qua...

March 4, 2010 by Douglas Wood

1 comment

Find the Murderer! Oh, and buy our records, see our band and visit our flea market.

This jaw-dropping ad actually appeared in the Hollywood Reporter on April 22, 1997. As you can see, it starts off by offering a $50,000 rewa...

March 2, 2010 by Douglas Wood

8 comments

Miss Velma and the Tree of Life!

It’s not often one clips and saves newspaper ads, but my wife felt this one was a keeper and now years later, I’m so glad she di...

February 27, 2010 by Douglas Wood

19 comments

Homepride Fred Flour Man

Say “Cheerio” to Fred the Flour Man. This plastic character from the mid-sixties became the mascot for the U.K.’s Spillers...

February 25, 2010 by Douglas Wood

6 comments

“Ask Swami” Fortune Teller/Napkin Holder

This 1950s fortune-teller machine slash napkin holder might’ve been the inspiration for the one in the classic Twilight Zone episode w...

February 24, 2010 by Douglas Wood

9 comments

1952 Nitey Night Sleepers Ad

Confirming that 1950’s housewives had WAY too much time on their hands, the caption for this 1952 magazine ad above reads, “Clev...

February 19, 2010 by Douglas Wood

12 comments

Yasser Arafat Rubber Head

Found this charming Middle Eastern chotchke in a vintage store on Sheinkin Street (the Melrose of Tel Aviv) while living in Israel for two y...

February 18, 2010 by Douglas Wood

7 comments