Philately Fridays: Cuba, 1967

Loving the subtle grooviness of this stamp from Cuba, commemorating their participation in the 5th Pan American Games. The distinctly Cuban color scheme and funky illustration style goes nicely with the clearly Canadian Games logo.

Philately Fridays: German Democratic Republic, 1983

Philately Fridays: Germany, 1972

Nice one from Germany with the shoutout to "Invincible Vietnam." Excellent deliberate use of halftone dots.

Philately Fridays: Maldives, 1974

Here's a small batch of islands making their Philately Fridays debut - the Republic of Maldives. For a tiny little collection of land, they sure cranked out some great design work. Here's their 1974 World Cup stamp. Stay tuned for more Maldivian mayhem soon!

Philately Fridays: Germany, 1979

Two stamps from the German Democratic Republic, celebrating the International Year of the Child.

Sounder Organ Playing Guide

Groovy sheet music book cover (unfolded) for the Hammond Sounder organ from 1973.

Philately Fridays: Art Nouveau in Germany, 1977

Groovy three stamp set from 1977, celebrating the Art Nouveau movement in Germany.



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Pinball Hall of Fame

I was in Las Vegas over the weekend and didn't miss the chance to visit the Pinball Hall of Fame. Here are a few photos (please excuse the poor quality - all I had on me was my cell phone) of their enormous collection of games in excellent condition.

Philately Fridays: Peru, 1971

Here's one from the 1971 International Pacific Fair held in Peru.

Philately Fridays: Two from Germany

Probably for the same reason I love amusement park maps, I love super clean architectural illustrations like the ones in these two stamps from Germany. The first one celebrates the 75th anniversary of the suspended tram in Wuppertaler and the second one is for the Sport Und Erholungszentrum recreation center in Berlin.

Philately Fridays: Hungary, 1978

Four super sci-fi fantasy stamps from Hungary, 1978.

Philately Fridays: Germany, 1983

Two stamps from Germany all about SPORTS! No idea why the illustrator got all wavy with everything, but it works for me.

John Alcorn

photo by Phyllis Alcorn, 1989.

John Alcorn was an American graphic artist and illustrator, working from the 1950s up until his death in 1992. A graduate of Cooper Union, a member of Pushpin Studios, and then an art director at CBS, Alcorn then went on to set up shop as a freelance illustrator, creating his most eyecatching and memorable work. Here are some of my favorites. To view much much more of his work, visit The Art of John Alcorn website.


Editorial illustration, 1969


One of the dozens of book jackets Alcorn produced while working in Florence for the Italian publishing house Rizzoli. This cover is from 1973.


1972.


1973.


1976,


Packaging design for Aramis Perfume, 1982


1989.

Philately Fridays: Germany, 1977

Three-stamp set from Germany, putting a subtle 1977 twist on the art nouveau (Jugendstil) styles of the turn of the 20th century.



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A Glossary of Television Terms

Fantastically-illustrated piece by John Alcorn under the art direction of the legendary Lou Dorfsman for CBS, 1964.



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Philately Fridays: Hungary, 1982

Two stamps from Hungary from a year of competitive recreational activities. 1982 didn't just see Budapest hosting a stamp-worthy Rubik's Cube world championship, but also a stamp-worthy European table tennis championship!





Here's some footage from that Rubik's Cube championship: