One hundred years ago this month New Mexico achieved statehood and became the 47th state.
The state was dubbed the “land of enchantment.”
This 1937 road map highlights various points of interest including Bottomless Lakes, Indian Reservations and Salt Lake Crater.

Another interesting detail is the layout of Route 66.
The original design of the famed route was to pass through Santa Fe, but after the state’s Governor lost an election bid, he re-designed the route so that it would pass through Albuquerque instead.

As 2011 comes to a close and we ring in 2012, here’s an interesting piece of New Year’s Eve/Prohibition memorabilia.

This is a poster promoting a New Year’s celebration at a speakeasy.
The soiree was held to ring in 1928.
The location, however, is unknown as the consumption of alcohol was banned at this time in U.S. history.
So only those ‘in the know,’ knew where to go.

My hunch is this flyer is a reproduction.
I base it on condition (nearly flawless) and there’s a copyright (see photo 3).
Unfortunately, I don’t know anything else about it.
If any MVG fans know more please contact us, we’d love to know more.

In the meantime, a happy and healthy New Year to all!

Here’s a great 1937 ad for NOMA Disney Christmas lights.
I believe it’s from the December edition of Mickey Mouse Magazine.

In addition to these Mickey Mouse lights, NOMA also manufactured sets featuring characters from the Silly Symphony shorts, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Pinocchio.

To learn more about this ad and NOMA lights, check out a great blog called Vintage Disney Collectibles.

Greetings from the World's Fair 1939

I think you’ll go nuts over these Mr. Peanut fun facts!

* Antonio Gentile, a 14-year-old schoolboy, created Peanut Man.
In 1916 Planters Peanuts held a contest to create a company logo and Gentile won. He was awarded $15

* A commercial artist later added the monocle, spats and top hat

* The first ad starring Mr. Peanut appeared in a 1918 issue of the Saturday Evening Post

* Mr. Peanut is one of the most iconic advertising images of the 20th century.
His image appears on many collectibles including the 1939 World’s Fair bookmark shown here.

Last year, I read this fantastic book about the subject.
What a fascinating period in US history!

Anyway, this postcard came out in the prohibition-era.
The caption reads: Prohibition is a Howling Success in Maine.
Hindsight and the look of the men on the postcard prove just how successful the ban on alcohol was!

Prohibition is a Howling Success in Maine

Now Pan Am wasn’t the only airline taking to the skies in the 1960s.
TWA (Trans World Airlines) was high-flying too!

The two sides of this matchbook cover advertise the novelty and adventure of international travel.
This was still an era when flying was still considered a luxury.
By the way, the first TWA flights between New York and Paris began in February 1946.

Here’s a really cool piece of ephemera I picked up recently.
It’s a application to register as a chauffeur.

It was filled out on July 25, 1925 and it looks like it was signed by Samuel A. Martins.
He was 21 years-old, 6 feet tall and weighed 185 pounds.
Martins lived in Portland, Oregon.

I wonder if he got the job?

In 1967 Jefferson Airplane had arrived!

The band had been fixture in the San Francisco rock scene since 1965, but ’67 was the year they landed nationally and internationally.

Their soon-to-be classic album Surrealistic Pillow was released earlier that year.
And the band set out on their first East Coast tour.

This is the hard to find concert program from that tour.

Vintage Postcard of the Tropicana

The Tropicana nightclub in Havana, Cuba was dubbed “paradise under the stars.”
It opened in 1939 on six-acres of land and contained lush tropical gardens.

This vintage postcard dates back to the nightclub’s heyday in the 1950s.
Headliners included Josephine Baker, Nat King Cole, Celia Cruz and Carmen Miranda.

In addition to it’s five-star celebrity roster the Tropicana was also a prime site for gamblers and international gangsters.

Laconia Airport, Lake Winnepesaukee & White Mountains

The airport was built on over 400 acres of farmland.
Laconia Airport was one of thousands of federal WPA (Works Progress Administration) projects completed in the 1930s and 40s.
It was originally conceived as a defense airport, but it was never used for that purpose.

Today, it serves as a small municipal airport with one runway in operation.