Innovari: Innovations With Steel

During U.S. Steel's 1966 automotive presentation of "Innovations in Steel" to officials of the motor car industry, the Jack Brokensha Quartet and the Lenore Paxton Trio provided a distinctive jazz background for the occasion.  Their particular jazz style is high-lighted in the theme selection, "Steel Blue" which was created especially for the show as a musical tribute to U.S. Steel's concept-in-steel, Sports Station Wagon, Innovari.

We like the originality of "Steel Blue" so much that we invited the two groups to a recording session so that this album could be made for you.  We hope you enjoy it.

UNITED STATES STEEL
Recorded January 11, 1967
Detroit, Michigan

U.S. Steel really put a lot into their 1966 and 1968 Innovari & Innovan campaigns. The autos never saw production but the company sure did make a good case for their concepts.

Innovari I::

'Innovari is an experimental sports station wagon. It was innovated by U.S. Steel to show steel's unlimited design potential for automotive uses.'

'Style, stamina, and a preview of things to come.'

Innovari II::

In 1968 U.S. Steel brought back their favorite Innovari music makers, The Jack Brokensha Quartet and the The Lenore Paxton Trio with the album, Holiday Innovations. The album has fifteen holiday tunes including an original piece by Lenore Paxton and Loretta Balowski written exclusively for US Steel - Trimming The Tree At Christmas.

The foldout album cover design featured the Innovan II - this time using a taxicab concept to demonstrate the versatility and cost savings of designs in steel...'Because a taxicab has to behave like a car, and wear like a truck.'

An unusual limousine-type look: alligator-grain embossed steel sheets for the textured roof and wide easy open doors on a single stamped steel hinge.

'The 'interior styling creates a completely functional "people" package designed to provide the utmost in rider convenience, comfort and safety.'

As always, Syd Mead's  prototype illustration makes the Innovari a symbol of elegance and success. (From Mead's book, Steel Couture - Syd Mead - Futurist Sentinel.) Originally created for the U.S. Steel book, Innovations (1968).

(Images via Luis Casar on Facebook)

'Lune Fin de Siècle' - A Wonderful End of the 19th Century Automaton

The wonderful and very rare 'Lune Fin de Siècle' (The End Of The Century Moon) Musical Smoking Automaton by Vichy, c. 1891:

Depicting a young man with large full moon face leaning against a fluted column, a cigarette between his lips and a walking cane in his right hand, with plaster-composition head, articulated brown glass eyes and wire monocle, dressed in burgundy satin tailcoat, cream silk waistcoat, yellow tie and pointed shoes.

The figure tilts his head from side to side, rolls his eyes and twirls his cane as he inhales from a lighted cigarette placed in the holder and blows the smoke out through his nose.

The 'Lune Fin de Siècle' - one of Vichy's most recognisable automata - draws on the popularity of the moon as a motif in French literature and visual culture during the late 19th and early 20th century.

Gustave Vichy and his son Henry both used the face of the 'Lune Fin de Siècle' as a registered trademark on the company's letterheads, labels and advertising. The original model may have been sculpted by Henry Vichy himself. Certainly the figure shows signs of Henry's influence, including the shapely modeling of the slender body and a sense of the unexpected in the large round head that appears to rest upon it. Another indication of Henry work is the pencil date "9.12.91" found on the figure's bedplate (sic?).

'Lune Fin de Siècle' was part of the Atracciones Apolo, an indoor amusement park opened by Josep Vallés Rovira on Parallel Avenue, Barcelona, in 1935. Atracciones Apolo was a popular destination and featured in two films: 'Apartado des Correos 2001' (1950) and 'El fugitivo de Amberes' (1955). Alongside the magic grotto, the 'Autogruta' ghost train and other rides, the park also contained the 'Museo las Maravillosas Figuras en sus Dioramas' (Museum of Marvellous Figures in their Dioramas) featuring automata exhibited as scenes in floor-standing cabinets.

The marquee of Atracciones Apolo is pictured in the right center.

All operated from electric motors but many (including the 'Lune Fin de Siècle') also retained their original clockwork motors inside the cabinets. According to an article published by 'Edición del Domingo' on 19 August 1990, the automata exhibit closed in 1957. The park closed its doors to the public in around 1991 and the bulk of the building was demolished. The Apolo's collection of automata and mechanical effects was eventually dispersed amongst La Fira bar in Barcelona, the Museu de Joguets i Autòmats in Verdú and a well-known antique doll specialist in the South of England. The automaton [shown] here has been restored to full mechanical function at the House of Automata in Forres, Scotland.

Side views show the magical charm of this fantastical figure.

To read a bit more about this outstanding automaton, as well as view pics of the clockwork and pneumatic system, click this link to get to the Invaluable auction listing. On 7 November 2015 this Lune Fin de Siècle sold for €135,264 ($145,004). Below is a video of the fine Dandy at work.



- Original descriptions and photos found in the Invaluable Auction listing -

What Is There Not To Love About Vintage Tin Toy Rocket Ships? Take These For Example...

Rocket Ships! So many good ones. This batch is from the Alphadrome Robot and Space Toy Database. Each of these gems have a unique feature to them. For instance, the Vispa Rocket is a classic from Argentina. The Universe Televiboat from China has the neat action where the rocket stops, the astronaut operates his camera, the rocket begins its journey again and the action repeats. If you want to know more about any of them just click on the name under the images and you'll be transported to the expert Database. The designs speak for themselves - all one needs to appreciate that is a simple eye for cool. To view a larger image click the pic. Happy rocketeering!

X-12 MOON ROCKET - YONEZAWA - JAPAN

VISPA ROCKET - VISPA - ARGENTINA

V-3 ROCKET - HAJI - JAPAN

UNIVERSE TELEVIBOAT ME777 - CHINA

TWO-STAGE EARTH SATELLITE - LINEMAR - JAPAN

THREE STAGE ROCKET - NOMURA / NIKKO - JAPAN

SUPER SONIK INDIAN ARMY ROCKET - VTC - INDIA

SPARKLING ROCKET FIGHTER SHIP 5 - MARX - USA

SPARK ROCKET FIGHTER X-1 - YONEZAWA - JAPAN

SPACE SHIP X-7 - MASUDAYA - JAPAN

The Beautiful Design And The Space Age Mystique Of The Pyrotomic Disintegrator Weapons

March 1953 U.S. Patent image for Grover C. Schaible's Toy Pistol - The design would become famous as the Pyrotomic Disintegrator pistol manufactured by Pyro Plastics, N.J. (image via Google Patents)

The Pyrotomic Disintegrator pistol is considered by most collectors as the Holy Grail of ray guns. Doc Atomic at Astounding Artifacts best describes its allure:

For many people, myself included, this is the very ideal of a vintage space gun. It's got rings. It's got vents. It's got a sweeping design that conveys the poetry of space flight. It's even got its name spelled out in a cool, 1950s font that's underlined by lightning bolts. That's right, lightning bolts! And did I mention it's called the Pyrotomic Disintegrator? If anyone tries to say that's not the best name for a ray gun ever, that person's looking for a fight.

The top Pyrotomic Disintegrator pistol is the first to be manufactured - it's known as the candy-colored Pyro. The bottom pistol is the copper version manufactured in the later part of the 1950s - a more authentic space cadet look. (images via Doc Atomic's Attic of Astounding Artifacts)

There was a Pyrotomic Disintegrator rifle manufactured by Pyro Plastics shortly after the pistol.

August 1953 U.S. Patent image for Grover C. Schaible's Toy Gun - The design would become famous as the Pyrotomic Disintegrator rifle manufactured by Pyro Plastics, N.J. (image via Google Patents)

Toy Rayguns lists the Pyrotomic Disintegrator rifle as one of the 'rarest (and most beautiful) toy ray guns in the world.'

...being perhaps the rarest of all space rifles, The Pyrotomic Disintegrator Rifle is also the most beautiful. Powerfully sculpted with a fluted barrel and an undulating stock, this wonderfully designed toy exudes a sense of delicacy and techno-scientific power.

The Pyrotomic rifle is 'fired' by turning the rotating crank on the side which causes the barrel to move back and forth. (image via Toy Tent)

Both the Pyrotomic pistol and rifle are very hard to find in good condition. Having been made with brittle plastic makes the guns fragile and susceptible to cracking and breaking if dropped. The shooting mechanism was cheaply made and is often not working in the surviving guns. So, not only are the Pyrotomic guns considered the most beautifully designed, they are also the most scarce. Perhaps sometime in the future someone enterprising might recreate the guns based on G. C. Schaible's 1953 patents - the question is, would the beauty of the designs carry without the 1950s sci-fi space age mystique?

Earth, Seas, Skies, and Space - Arthur Radebaugh Had Grand Ideas

Shims and Oil Seals - It's what National Motor Bearing Co. in Redwood City, CA. produced. NMB manufactured their products for transportation - trains, planes, automobiles, ships, subs - basically, anything that moved. It was a key player in the defense industry during WWII. NMB was a proud company and very forward looking. During the 1950s, the NMB plant in Redwood City was considered one of the most high tech operations around. There was one man who has been credited as the main inspiration for this futuristic image - creative genius and master artist Arthur Radebaugh. Radebaugh worked in the Marketing and Advertising department between 1951 and 1955. Below are some of the details from various adverts created by him. The man wasn't just a commercial artist - he was a futurist with a limitless imagination.

Transportation:

Infrastructure and Agriculture:

Collecting important natural materials - on this planet:

...and elsewhere:

Research - on this planet:

...and elsewhere:

And here's one last concept that is already in use in our time:

Arthur Radebaugh had a whole lot going on in his head. To read more about this brilliant man, and see more of his other works, click here.

(h/t to Atomic Samba for the images)

The U.N.C.L.E. GUN - A Cold War Weapon That Keeps On Giving

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (NBC TV, September 1964 - January 1968)

U.S. Operative Napoleon Solo and Russian Illya Kuryakin participate in a joint mission working for U.N.C.L.E. (United Network Command for Law and Enforcement). They battle a mysterious international syndicate known as THRUSH (Technical Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and the Subjugation of Humanity), which is working to proliferate nuclear weapons.

That's the set-up. Below is a screenshot of Solo during a tense moment in The Iowa Suba Affair episode. He's holding the much coveted U.N.C.L.E. GUN - in this shot it's a Mauser carbine.

Cut to a close-up of the weapon - it's a Walther P38 carbine...!(?)

That's a neat bit of trivia pointed out by Brad Ferguson - the master craftsman at U.N.C.L.E. GUNS, the go to place for fab replicas. Like this P38 carbine:

It could be the real thing, yeah? If a collector wants one it'll cost a nice chunk-a-change. The all metal semi-auto blank gun (which fires 8mm blanks) alone sells for $575.00 - that's not including all the extras that make it the carbine version. Still, for a super-agent U.N.C.L.E. collector, the price is reasonable for this fab work of craftsmanship.

And then there's this...

It's the 1965 Man From U.N.C.L.E. Napoleon Solo Gun set! The toy weapon was designed by Reuben Klamer, and his staff at Toylab studios and marketed by Ideal. Rather than being based on the Walther P38 or the Mauser, this gun appears to be more of a standard .45 automatic. This kit has it all - the cap gun that 'Converts Into Rifle With: Stock, Silencer, Telescopic Sight, [and] Bipod' and it comes with an U.N.C.L.E. No. 6 plastic badge and a 'United Network Command For Law And Enforcement' membership card. Below is the listing from a 1960s Wards' catalog. Their version came with a holster. Notice the price.

The instruction sheet gives details on how to lock and load the caps clip, and the cleaning of the gun. Of course there's a nice detailed accessory assembly graphic as well.

The Wards' price was listed at $3.99. This particular set sold in most stores for $4.99. In March 2015, the final bid for the set at Hake's Auction #214 was $1,075.25.

So there it is. The moral of the story: Cold War weapons, real or imagined, are pretty damned expensive.