Checkerboard

January 2026

• A Close Shave: Survive Marriage with a Razor to Your Throat
• 2026 AAAA Convention: Morgantown, Pennsylvania
• "Cigars" with a Secret
• Acknowledging Don Thornton
• Greetings from Vernfield, PA
• Video: Vermont General Stores
• Wanted Items

There are two types of men in the world: those who use a razor and shaving cream and those who use an electric shaver. And woe to the wife who doesn’t know which man she is married to, as our story will soon illustrate.

The year is 1987, and yes, it is a far different world. For one, newspapers, real seven-days-a-week newspapers that leave your fingers ink-stained after reading and are delivered to your door by a neighborhood kid, are at the center of every town you care to live in. The town I care to live in is Wausau, Wisconsin, a picturesque city of about 40,000 in northcentral Wisconsin.

And yes, Wausau has a newspaper.

In 1987 I’m the Features Editor of the Wausau Daily Herald. Walk into the newsroom and you practically bump into me. I’m the guy sitting behind an L-shaped desk that redefines the meaning of disorganized. Press releases, half-used reporter’s notebooks, old newspapers, a coffee cup and various odds and ends that probably should be filed or tossed litter my work area. Life is messy but good. I’m young, surrounded by other young people, and in love with my job. You can tell that because the guy in front of you in 1987 has a perpetual smile on his face. (He also, unfortunately, sports a mustache that will take years to live down, but discussion of that misguided fashion decision is best left for another day.)

The newsroom, with the rhythmic click-click-clicking of keyboards and the constant metallic brrrring of ringing phones, throbs with caffeinated characters. Reporters, as passionate as newlyweds, and editors, as easily swayed as granite, share a give-and-take relationship. Editorial fireworks are common. Arguments pop up like bottle rockets on the Fourth of July – and fade just as fast. The great peacemaker? An unforgiving daily deadline, the stop sign that forges a begrudging truce ... until tomorrow, when the mini drama unfolds anew.

What’s not to love?

Well, on this day in 1987, what’s not to love in the newsroom is a wife’s gift. See that fellow over there to the right of me, the short guy with the yellow-blond hair and permanent half-smirk on his face who looks like someone just told him an off-colored joke and he’s running the punch line through his head? That’s Pat Rice, our best reporter, a pal and the hero of this story. Rice is smart, quick on his feet, cocky as the day is long, relentless and born to aggravate people in powerful positions. Better than anyone I know, he exemplifies an adage that describes the role of a newspaper: “afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted.”

That’s Rice, only today he is more afflicted than comforted.

The problem? His wife gave him an electric shaver as a present. Rice is strictly a razor and shaving cream guy. She should know that, he confides in me. The electric shaver is too loud in the morning, he complains. It doesn’t shave as close as his razor, he whines. And, to top it off, Rice misses the smell of his Barbasol shaving cream, he grumbles. All legit reasons. Rice would tell his wife the same only he doesn’t want to hurt her feelings. Or, more likely, he’s afraid of her. Same difference. What he really wants is others to do the job for him.

So, he hatches a plan. Rice will shave half his face with his new electric shaver and half with his old razor and shaving cream, then he will make the rounds to county officials, law enforcement and local political types – the same folks he harasses on a regular basis – and ask them which side of his face feels smoother. He’ll then gather their opinions and write a story about the experience.

To sweeten the pot, Rice agrees to pose for a picture with half his face lathered in shaving cream and the other half with an electric shaver about to attack his stubble.

The whole idea is ridiculous. No serious journalist would ever risk his reputation like this. It was silly. Which is why I jumped at the idea. The story and large photo of Rice in all his unshaven glory highlighted the front page of our Sunday Features section. Our readers loved it.

Silly, it turns out, can be sublime.

Of course, the shaving world had long ago figured that out. Burma-Shave launched the most famously silly – and effective – advertising campaign in history in 1925. The brushless shaving cream company’s celebrated advertising gimmick consisted of posting light-hearted rhyming poems on six small sequential highway signs. Messages such as “Are your whiskers/When you wake/ Tougher than/A two-bit steak?/Try/ Burma-Shave” dotted the landscape.

Burma-Shave’s timing was impeccable. By the 1920s, commercial signs and billboards turned America’s roadsides into an advertising medium. Allan Odell, sales manager of the family-owned Burma-Vita Company, created the serial roadside rhymes to advertise the company’s shaving cream. He was inspired by a string of signs leading to a service station in Illinois, each sign promoting a product or service available at the station.

The earliest Burma-Shave signs were wildly successful in boosting sales. Some verses merely extolled the product – “Every day/We do our part/To make/Your face/A work of art/Burma Shave” – while others celebrated intimacy with the opposite sex – “Dewhiskered/Kisses/Defrost/The/Misses/Burma-Shave.” Gradually the company introduced “public service announcements” in the form of playful reminders to drive safely or suffer the consequences: “Drinking drivers/Enhance their/Chance/To highball home/In an ambulance/ Burma-Shave.”

The ad campaign reached its peak in the early 1950s when 7,000 sets of roadside signs were displayed in 45 states. While Burma-Shave survived the Depression and the wartime economy, it couldn’t ride out what was around the bend: speed.

The Interstate Highway System was officially started on June 29, 1956, when President Dwight Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act. The new system allowed for faster travel, which made Burma-Shave signs impossible to read. As highway speeds rose, Burma-Shave sales crashed. In 1963 the family-owned company was sold to Phillip Morris. The well-known signs were removed from roads soon afterward, ending a nearly 40-year advertising campaign. By 1966, the original shaving cream had been pulled from shelves.

The death of Burma-Shave did not, however, mean the end of shaving advertising goofiness.

The same year of Burma-Shave’s demise, TV viewers were exposed to an alluring Swedish model named Gunilla Knutson holding a can of shaving cream to her cheek and, gazing seductively into a camera, purring “Nothing takes it off like Noxzema medicated shave.” A jazzy tune called “The Stripper” played as a man shaved his face in rhythmic strokes to the bump-and-grind of the music.

When the camera returned to a tight close-up of Knutson, she uttered seven of the most famous words from that era of advertising. “Take it off,” she says. “Take it all off.”

From 1965 to 1968, thanks in large part to Knutson’s double-entendre commercials, Noxzema’s rank among shaving creams rose from sixth to the third most popular. Knutson, who was crowned Miss Sweden in 1961, “replaced the ‘hard sell’ with the ‘sex sell’” The Times-Herald of Vallejo, Calif., wrote in 1968.

Shortly after that, Noxzema paired New York Jets great Joe Namath with future Charlie’s Angels star Farrah Fawcett in a wonderfully campy commercial first aired during the 1973 Super Bowl. The commercial opens with a grinning Namath saying, “I’m so exited. I’m gonna get creamed!” Fawcett, who was a model at the time, then applies shaving cream to Namath’s face as a background jingle instructs viewers to “Let Noxzema cream your face, so the razor won’t.” At the end of the commercial, Namath compliments Fawcett, saying “You’ve got a great pair of hands.”

Most advertising historians view the 30-second spot as the first massively effective and memorable Super Bowl commercial, pioneering the use of sex appeal and celebrity power in Super Bowl advertising. How effective was the commercial? Well, in 1973, that 30-second Noxzema spot cost about $88,000. Today, a 30-second ad during the Super Bowl will set you back around $8 million.

As for Fawcett, the commercial supercharged the 26-year-old’s career. In 1976, her sun-kissed face framed by cascading blond hair would adorn the most popular pinup poster in history, selling 12 million copies worldwide. The poster’s cultural impact was so profound a copy of it, along with Fawcett’s original red swimsuit she wore on the poster, is in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. That same year, her role in Charlie’s Angels turned her into a star.

That’s all fine and dandy, you might fairly say, but whatever happened to Rice and his electric shaver dilemma? Good question. It turns out the various officials who pondered while caressing his freshly shaven face overwhelmingly preferred the razor and shaving cream performance over that of the electric shaver.

Rice was pleased. His wife? Not so much. Odd as it may have seemed to Rice at the time, being embarrassed by your husband for your gift-giving choice in the newspaper does not sit well on the home front. His wife’s irritation with the story gave new meaning to the term “razor burn.”

Much like the once ubiquitous Burma-Shave signs, however, everything, including marital disputes, has an expiration date. Calm eventually returned to the household, but only after the electric razor was thrown out – narrowly missing Rice’s head.

Paul Kennedy is the former Editorial Director of Kovels Antique Trader magazine. He uses a razor and shaving cream almost daily, less now that he is retired.

Editor's Comment: AAAA feels very honored to publish this article authored by Paul Kennedy. Paul's national contributions to the world of antiques and collectibles have been substantial, particularly in the years he served as Editorial Director of Antique Trader magazine (which later became Kovels Antique Trader Magazine). Paul elevated the quality of Antique Trader to entirely new heights through his bold and creative vision. Also, his editorial columns were always thought-provoking and geniously amusing. He is one of the most talented writers anywhere and his words are those of a poet. Over the years, Paul was highly supportive of AAAA in a myriad of ways. We remain deeply appreciative for his sense of partnership. And if all of that wasn't enough, Paul is one of the nicest people you would ever want to know. So we hope this first article with us is not his last and we look forward to the prospect of bringing you more of Paul's wit and wisdom in the issues to come.

Paul Lefkovitz, AAAA Publications Editor

We are proud to present the arrangements for the 2026 AAAA Convention! It is not too early to plan to attend this exciting event. Registrations will commence in February. Complete information and registration materials will be provided in the February issue of the Checkerboard and the March issue of PastTimes.

The Basics: The convention will take place from Wednesday evening, July 22 to Saturday morning, July 25, 2026. It will be located at the Holiday Inn-Morgantown, 6170 Morgantown Rd, Morgantown PA 19543. Check-in time will be 4:00 pm and Check-out time will be 11:00 am. The registration fee will be $135 per person. This fee will cover all convention activities including the sumptuous dinner feasts on Thursday and Friday evenings and a fun ice cream tasting event on Thursday.

Convention Agenda (Subject to Change): Returning to our more traditional schedule, the convention will be chock-full of activities on both Thursday and Friday. Attendees will arrive and check-in to the hotel on Wednesday evening, July 22. There will be no formal activities scheduled that evening but a number of dealers traditionally set their rooms up for early room hopping. 

Wednesday 7/22/26

• Arrive at the hotel and settle into your room. Early room hopping.

Thursday 7/23/26

• 9 to10 am AAAA Business Meeting (Ballroom)
• 10 to 11 am Presentation (Ballroom)
• 2 to 3 pm Seminar (Ballroom)
• 5:30 pm to 8 pm Dinner and Ice Cream Tasting/Social (Ballroom)
• Room Hopping throughout the day

Friday 7/24/26

• 7 to 9 am Ice Screamers Display Day SETUP(Atrium)
• 9 am to 3/4 pm Ice Screamers Display Day (Note: Open to public starting at noon) (Atrium)
• Room Hopping throughout the day (Public noon to 4 pm and 7 pm to 9 pm)
• 10 am to 1 pm Silent Auction Setup (Ballroom)
• 1 pm to 3 pm Silent Auction (Ballroom)
• 5:30 pm to 7 pm Dinner / Raffles (Ballroom)

Saturday 7/25/26

• 9 to 10:30 am Wrap-up meeting and final Raffles (location TBD)

Seminars: A presentation will be conducted by Fourth Cone Restoration, a Los Angeles-based,women-owned art restoration studio specializing in vintage poster, fine art, and collectibles, known for its detailed paper conservation and restoration services, including cleaning, bleaching, and tape removal, and for providing clients with progress photos throughout the process.

A second seminar will be announced at a later date. 

The Hotel: Many sections of the hotel have been renovated in recent years. Attendees will be able to choose from a standard room with two double beds at a cost of $139 per night plus tax or a spacious two-room suite with two queen beds or a king bed and a sofa at $179 per night plus tax. The rooms in this hotel are particularly large (over 300 sq. ft.). Each room reservation includes a full breakfast for 2 people. The “H-layout” of the hotel is logical and straightforward with easy access from the two elevators. Ice and vending are available on each floor.

Meals: In addition to free hot buffet breakfasts for hotel guests, the banquet dinners scheduled on Thursday and Friday evenings will feature the following delicious menus:

Thursday Night: "Homestyle Buffet"

• Mixed Garden Salad
• Dinner Rolls
• Entrees: Baked ziti w/ meatballs, fried chicken, and ham w/ pineapple
• Roasted potatoes
• Chef choice of vegetables
• Dessert (pie, cake)
• Beverages (coffee, hot tea, and water) 

Friday Night: Sit-Down Dinner

• Choice of Roasted Chicken, Beef Tenderloin, or Salmon
• All dinners will be served with house salad, rolls and butter, chef's choice of starch, vegetables, and dessert
• Beverages (coffee, hot tea and water)

Local Attractions: The hotel is located about 20-minutes from Denver and Adamstown, PA. This area, often referred to as “Antiques, USA”, boasts the largest concentration of antique malls in the nation. These malls have been popular hunting grounds over many years of past AAAA Conventions in the area. The hotel is also about 40 minutes from Lancaster, PA, a popular tourist destination.

Of note is the onsite Classic Auto Mall which is a consignment enterprise with up to 1000 classic and vintage vehicles for sale. There is no admission charge (www.classicautomall.com) and there is much to see! Also, the Hollywood Casino-Morgantown is close by.

Finally, there are plenty of options for food nearby and a bar/grill onsite that is open in the evenings.

Plan to attend and get ready to register in February!

"Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar" is a phrase attributed to Sigmund Freud (probably incorrectly) that suggests one shouldn't be too hasty in looking for hidden meanings.  However, in the world of Tobacciana, occasionally, a cigar is NOT just a cigar. When? Read on to learn how that is possible.

When a "Cigar" is actually a Fan

The “cigar” to the far left actually conceals an American flag-styled fan (right image). The paper fan would emerge when the top was pulled upwards. Very popular in the mid-20^th century, these novelties were most often manufactured in Japan. They might have been given out as carnival prizes or distributed at political events. A variety of other designs are known to exist and even advertising examples were produced.  

When a "Cigar" Conceals an Alcohol Flask

The "cigar" to the far left provided cover for a very clever alcohol flask. It was designed for those who wanted to sneak an inconspicuous nip or two. The exterior surface looks very realistic and it could easily pass as an innocent smoke. This wooden "cigar" probably dates to the 1920s, consistent with its genuine Ben Bey Cigar label. The flask inside the cigar (right image) is made out of glass.

When a "Cigar" Contains a Deck of Novelty Cards

The well-made faux cigar shown below cleverly harbors a miniature partial deck of cards that folds out (right image). It is made of wood. Its purpose is unknown. It appears to have been produced in the first half of the 20th century.

When a "Cigar" Contains a Paper Advertisement

An advertisement for a local shoe store (right image) was rolled up in this wooden cigar (left image). It's not clear how much exposure the retailer got by hiding these ads in fake cigars but there they are. These early 20th century faux cigars look very authentic. Frank H. Moir Shoes was located in Fredonia, New York.

When a "Cigar" is

Actually a Handkerchief

When a "Cigar" is

Really a Paperweight

When a "Cigar" is Actually a

Personal Alarm

This cigar is actually a tightly wrapped full-size handkerchief! This was an ingenious creation that must have been a real conversation starter when used in the early 20th century. The fabric employed appears to be of high quality.

When you pick up this “cigar” pictured above, it immediately becomes obvious that it is not actually a cigar, but rather, a quite heavy paperweight. These early 20th century pieces often exhibit a rather crude appearance and a worn cigar band.

This "cigar" conceals its true purpose as a whistle used for personal safety. It appears to have been manufactured in the mid-twentieth century. When sounded, it produces a shrill call. alerting bystanders of the need for assistance.

The "cigars" in this article are all in the author's collection.

You may have noticed the numerous articles that have been authored by Don Thornton in AAAA publications over the past couple of years. You know the ones. Delightfully quirky subject matter, rigorously researched to scholarly academic standards, and written with a glint in his eye. With titles such as "Hot Dan the Mustard Man", "The Matchbook's Odd Cousin", "Clever Name Doesn't Save Culinary Clunker" and "ZECTRON: The Secret Advertising Ingredient", he has etched out a special place of his own in the realm of AAAA literature.

Don comes to his role as an AAAA author with a background in journalism. He has also authored several books on collecting vintage memorabilia. That broad and relevant experience comes through in every AAAA article.

Given the quantity, quality, and uniqueness of Don's contributions, he has been accorded the special title of "Correspondent". This is is intended to serve as an acknowledgement of his past contributions to AAAA and anticipated future contributions.

In case you aren't familiar with any of Don's articles, please read on, because the next article in this newsletter was authored by him. You will be seeing articles from Don a bit more frequently in future issues.

Important: Free Raffle!

Don would like to express his support for AAAA in one more way. He is sponsoring a free raffle and the lucky winner will receive two of his published books, as follows:

• Thornton, Don, The Eggbeater Chronicles: The Stirring Story of America's Greatest Invention, Thornton House, 1999, 332 pages.

• Thornton, Don, Apple Parers, Off Beat Books, 1997, 240 pages.

These books, pictured below, each contain an unbelievable amount of arduously researched information about the subject matter.

To enter the raffle, simply click here or send an email, mentioning the AAAA raffle, to: Don at dtoside@gmail.com. Please include your name and complete mailing address. The lucky winner will be announced in next month's issue of the Checkerboard. Good luck!

William G. Nyce was 20 years old when he launched his postcard business on the second floor of his father’s three-story clothing factory in 1908 in Vernfield, Pennsylvania. At the time, the popularity of postcards in the U.S. was taking off.

Nyce started with one hand press and employing a super simple (and super successful) advertising plan, he had his own factory and printing presses only 12 years later. By then there was a continued demand for postcards fueled by the country’s growing obsession with the automobile, auto travel and auto culture.

The secret of his success: the U.S. mail and his own postcards as his only advertising medium. Nyce offered generic rural scenes, 100, 500 or 1,000 postcards, with GREETINGS FROM … “with your town imprint.” Nyce marked these advertising cards with his own “Greetings From Vernfield, PA.”

For example, the Nyce Manufacturing Company offered a generic rural scene, a curved country road next to a lake, marked on the bottom Greetings From VERNFIELD, PA. The back of the sales card is marked in red ink in a box: “All scenes appropriate for any locality ... Your town and state printed in red ink. Delivery in 24 hrs.” The price: 70 cents per 100. And there were “100 Selected Designs” to choose from. These Nyce advertising cards were sent to potential buyers – cafes, drug stores, gas stations, etc. -- across the country. Retailers in Crestline, Ohio, and Milford Kansas, purchased cards.

There also was a linen card with a colorful pumpkin patch that proved popular in Ohio.

In addition, Nyce offered very popular generic “exaggeration” or “tall tale” postcards, including a giant fish jumping out of the water to bite a fisherman in a canoe. The top is marked: THE FISHING IS GREAT HERE and the bottom: Greetings from VERNFIELD, PA. The back of the sales card is marked in part in a red ink box: FREAK FISH COMIC TOWN LOCALS …12 choice designs. The price: 85 cents per 100. Another exaggeration fish card proclaimed: “It Takes Real Fishermen To Land These."

And there was a giant apple on a flatbed railroad car. The sales model is marked on the front top: THE KIND WE RAISE HERE-QUALITY AND QUANTITY and on the bottom: Greetings from VERNFIELD, PA. The back is marked in part in a green ink box: FREAK VEGETABLE TOWN LOCALS 10 selected designs. The price: 95 cents per 100.

Another “freak vegetable” was a humongous cucumber on a horse-drawn wagon with a man standing on the top holding the reins. The sales model is marked on the top: WE BRING THEM HOME LIKE THIS and on the bottom: Greetings from VERNFIELD, PA. The back is marked in part in a red ink box: Hot Off The Press! Will Sell on Sight. The price: 70 cents per 100. Other vegetables included corn on the cob on a railroad flatbed.

Nyce flooded tourist destination and other retailers with these advertising cards, which are readily available today on Internet auctions. Other cards by Nyce included a WILD ANIMAL 10 selected designs, including a momma bear and cubs with the message TOO BUSY TO WRITE – YOU’LL HAVE TO ‘BEAR’ WITH ME.

The Nyce family was part of a group of German Mennonites who settled in Pennsylvania’s Montgomery County in the 18^th Century. William G. Nyce’s father, Abraham, founded the village of Vernfield where he built his clothing factory, which later became a general store (honored with its own postcard). With government approval, Nyce opened a post office in the building and chose the name Vernfield after his youngest son, Vernon.

William G. Nyce, 1888-1958, guided the manufacturing concern over the years from postcards to commercial printing and greeting cards. That switch came in the 1940s and 1950s as postcards began to decline in popularity as the telephone and other forms of communication ruled supreme. The Nyce Manufacturing Company operated until the early 2000s, with the factory being taken over by a church and several small businesses.

Deltiologists* would agree Nyce was not the biggest nor best postcard maker in the country, but is known for its generic image approach to card making and some of its clever cards, including those for the person too busy to write a message. The sales model for this card said in part on its back: “A great hit for those whose time is limited writing to many friends.”

*Deltiology is the collecting, organizing and study of postcards. The term is derived from the Greek world deletion, meaning a small picture or letter. Deltiologists believe postcards are much more than souvenirs or correspondence on a card – but rather a historic repository of popular culture and art.

In this column are those sought-after items of desire that seem to be elusive. If you know where any of these items can be acquired or if you have one available, please click the link to reply directly to the seeker. To place a listing in this column, plefkov@gmail.com. There is no fee for AAAA members. Up to three listings per member are permitted.

Yellow wood Jersey Coffee Bin and other unusual brands wood coffee bins wanted by longtime collector. Please contact Andy Kmiec amkmiec@mail.com

Wood Veterinary painted and stenciled stock food bins wanted. Colonial, Wilbur's, Rochester, Vick's, Stillwagons & other examples. Please contact Andy Kmiec amkmiec@mail.com

Brother Jonathan, yellow Pastime Tobacco and other unusual large tobacco bins wanted. Please contact Andy Kmiec amkmiec@mail.com

Clover Farm Stores (Cleveland, OH headquarters). General store grocery and hardware items, any advertising, displays, signs, tins, boxes, pictures, etc. Anything related to Clover Farm Stores. Dave and Sally Coates, 765-586-9834, dbsjcoat@gmail.com

Early Mr. Peanut/Planters Peanut memorabilia. The older and rarer the better! Please contact at jcamelleri@gmail.com or 864-327-6485. 

Santa Claus bar soap. Call 602 689-7779 or send email to goodfinds31@yahoo.com

"You Pay" Spinners Wanted. Colorful, early, tin litho only. Also known as "Who Pays" Spinners, "Your Turn" Spinners, etc. Used in drinking establishments to determine who pays for the next round. Please contact plefkov@gmail.com.

In search of Raven's Horse, Cattle & Poultry Food poster. Last sold Showtime Auction, April 2013. Dimensions: 13 1/2 x 21 1/2. Motivated buyer. Please call Ken Opengart at 256-520-5211 or email at kenopengart@gmail.com. To see a photo of the poster, click here.

US cigarette boxes, packs and wrappers from 1870-1935 wanted. Please text or email any you might have available for sale. Jon Canfield, joncanfield@gmail.com, 917-841-0275.

Pre-1885 advertising items related to barbed wire and farm fences. I am interested in primary material. Let me know if you have any items including illustrated catalogs, wire company published newspapers, illustrated postal covers and letterheads, flyers, signs, salesman samples, patent models or anything else related to my specific wants. Larry W. Love, wirefence@att.net, 214-497-6787.

Bulldog tobacco oval-top tin. Convention Hall coffee tin (Ridenour-Baker Kansas City) green version. Big Horn 1 lb or 3 lb coffee tin.  Tuxedo tobacco sample pocket tin (top condition). scross1@cox.net.

Philip Morris Tin & Porcelain Advertising Signs, thermometers, door push signs. Excellent to mint condition preferred. Daryl Crawford (804) 721-7294 or email drc4@msn.com

Justrite Pet Foods. The Justrite Company General Office was located in Milwaukee WI. A National Account. Advertising, displays, signs, tins, boxes all with logo on it. Most would come from the 1930s through 1950s. Thanks for the help… Gordon Addington. To reply, click here.

Old Topper Brewery Calendar of the late 1940s featuring a pin up artist nude in large format wanted. Always seeking any Rochester Brewery memorabilia. John DeVolder 585-697-4047 or jcdvette@yahoo.com.

"Jenny" Genesee Brewing Company's girl of the 1950s. Seeking cardboard point of sale-and other items that feature Jenny, who had a ten-year run from 1953 to 1963. Also interested in any cardboard point of sale items from the 1930s through the 1950s from any of the Rochester Breweries. John DeVolder 585-697-4047 or jcdvette@yahoo.com.

Coca-Cola 24" button porcelain sign with bottle in center. Want several in as close to mint condition as possible. Call 336-970-9867.

Books on Oil & Gas Collectibles. Also looking for books on signs. Call 336-970-9867.

Yellow Kid wanted: 50 year collector looking for the unusual. Reply to: yellowkid@tds.net.

Pedal Cars: Photos, postcards, calendars, catalogs and advertising related to pedal cars. To reply, click here.

Beer cans, soda cans, beer and soda tin-over-cardboard signs, cork-backed bottle caps, key-wind coffee cans, quart oil cans. Please email Jeff Lebo at jefflebo@aol.com.

Pedal car related items. To reply, click here.

Matchbook holders. To know what these are, see my articles in Checkerboard

for Nov. 2020 and May 2021. I will consider all items, in any material from plastic to gold, and not necessarily with advertising. Email Andy at matchbookholder@yahoo.com.

Cigarette Packs. Advanced collector looking to purchase vintage packs. Please contact Dheeraj by email: DHEERAJ.KHIYTANI@GMAIL.COM.

Donald Duck Goyer Coffee Cans; One pound can & 3 oz sample size in good condition with lids. Please send email with photos & prices to Jessica_l_Upton@yahoo.com.

Morimura Brothers (Japanese import company operating in NYC from 1880-1941) advertising items wanted: trade cards, pamphlets, catalog pages, salesman sample pages, porcelain items with advertising. To reply email at victdelit@aol.com.

DeLaval Items and Farm Advertising Signs. Always looking for top quality and unique items. Contact Gregg Hillyer at hogs2gregg@aol.com.

Antique advertising pertaining to country store or drug store products or places. Especially those showing women or girls with the product or location shown. I would consider any  antique advertising (paper, cardboard & metal signs). Quality a plus! Dale Peterson at cpeters2@sbcglobal.net.

Unusual one pound peanut butter tins. Tin litho or paper label. To reply, click here.

Marshmallow Tins. Smaller than 5 Pound Size. To reply, click here.

American Cookie, Biscuit and Cracker Tins and Boxes. To reply, click here. 

Banjo related advertising wanted Pre-1940s. Long time collector buying banjo company signage, catalogs, billheads, periodicals, minstrel banjo items such as posters, broadsides, sheet music (pre-1870s) with illustrated banjo covers, early photographs showing banjo players (pre-1915). My main collecting interest is in 19th century material. To reply, click here.

"Antique American Medicine Bottles" by M. Knapp... soft cover book with price guide. Printed in 2012. Cemartinjr@comcast.net or 781-248-8620. Also, see my other want ad for Clarke’s ephemera and bottles.

Looking for 3 Vintage Tins. American Eagle "Oriental Mixture" tobacco (dimensions approx. 6.5" long, 2.75" wide, 1.5" tall); 1 Gal. Indian Head Hydraulic Brake Fluid; and Packham´s Caramel Toffee. Any offer is welcome and any condition considered. To reply, click here.

Morton Salt, older items, and also Pacific Coast Borax, especially a crate or box. Email pego1950@hotmail.com or call Peggy Dailey 612-522-9211.

Comic Book-Related Advertising Items: Must be from before 1980. To reply, click here.

Clarke’s Vegetable Sherry Wine Bitters, Sharon, MA & Rockland, ME: All sizes, variants, smooth/pontil base. Especially need labeled Clarke’s any size! Also, any Clarke’s ephemera…trade cards, almanacs, newspaper ads, etc. Charlie Martin Jr., 781-248-8620. Email: cemartinjr@comcast.net.

George Petty: Advanced collector looking for unique or rare items. Photo’s, store displays and non paper items. NO Esquire pages. Pete Perrault. To reply, click here or call (502) 290-7661.

Ice Cream Advertising: Mr. Ice Cream desires better graphic ice cream advertising including: postcards (Advertising and RPPC), trade cards, letterheads, billheads, booklets, poster stamps, blotters, magic lantern slides, pinbacks, watchfobs, and pocket mirrors. Allan Mellis, 1115 West Montana St. Chicago, Illinois 60614-2220. mellisfamily@rcn.com To reply, click here.

Stock food, poultry food, veterinary advertising wanted. Posters, medicine packages, give-aways. Email kenopengart@gmail.com or call (256) 520-5211.

Singer Sewhandy Model 20. Green-regular paint, not hammertone. To reply, click here.

National Biscuit Company, Nabisco, Uneeda Biscuit, Uneeda Bakers, Muth Bakery, NBC Bread toys, signage, tins, containers, displays, historical items. Please Email jbarney@ameritech.net or call (937) 205-2232.

Early Cigarette Rolling Papers: Pre-1940s - American, Zig Zag, Braunstein Freres, Bambino, and Ottoman papers wanted. To reply, click here.

Antique/Collectible Banking and Financial System "Giveaway" and advertising items. Specifically from Pennsylvania. Alarm devices and such. To reply, click here.

VITAMINS advertising, displays, signs, bottles, and anything related: Hadacol is an example. Most would come from the 1930s thru the 1970s. Also anything related to cod-liver oil and WEIGHT-LOSS, REDUCING, ANTI-FAT, and OBESITY ITEMS. To reply, click here.

Dwinell-Wright Co. Royal Ground Spice Cardboard Spice Boxes. One side displays horizontally. Approximately 3.75" by 2.25". Any type of spice is OK. To reply, click here.

ENSIGN Perfect and ENSIGN Perfection vertical pocket tobacco tins to enhance my collection. Feel free to contact me at 614-888-4619 or k8pyd@breezelineohio.net to see if you can help fill the voids.

Edmands Coffee Company, Edmands Tea Company, 1776 Coffee, American Beauty Tea, Japan Tea, Devonshire Tea, (imported by Edmands, Boston/Chicago): Any items such as tins, signs, paper, or anything else related to the Edmands family of companies in Boston is desired. To reply, click here.

The AAAA Checkerboard is a monthly e-newsletter that is made available to all AAAA members at no cost. The mission of the Checkerboard is to increase knowledge about antique and collectible advertising among AAAA members. The Checkerboard also provides news and updates about AAAA. It is produced each month with the exception of the four months per year when the award-winning PastTimes print newsletter is published. Paul Lefkovitz (plefkov@gmail.com) serves as AAAA Publications Editor. Jack Dixey, Dheeraj Khiytani, and Alice Muncaster serve as Associate Publication Editors. Copyright 2026, Antique Advertising Association of America.