Category Archives: Blast from the Past

Black and White and Read All Over

Posted on September 18, 2022 by Tina

Newsstand in the vicinity of 15th and Locust circa 1981. The Photo Elective All students majoring in illustration at The Philadelphia College of Art were required to take a minor course in photography where the students would take and process black and … Continue reading →

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I wonder what Valerie Perrine is up to

Posted on September 4, 2022 by Joe

A buddy of mine has been haunting flea markets and online auctions looking to feed his unquenchable hunger for old comic books and magazines. He managed to score this issue of Playgirl’s Games for Lovers from March of 1981 as … Continue reading →

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The Dorothy Haon Letters

Posted on August 25, 2022 by Tina

I was running errands in my neighborhood, when I came across old letters scattered on the rain soaked steps of a Church. The envelopes were yellowed with age and one had a three cent stamp affixed to it. My curiosity … Continue reading →

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The Old Homestead

Posted on August 18, 2022 by Joe

Here is a shot of my parents’ house in Westville, NJ that I took sometime during the Fall of 1982. The Sears branded SLR camera I shot this with was borrowed from my Father and was loaded with either a … Continue reading →

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The Wonder of White Bread

Posted on August 17, 2022 by Joe

This was another cartoon spot illustration that I did for The Philadelphia Daily News as part of “The Secret Life of Food.” It ran with the shivering banana that I featured here at Willceau Illo News recently. Similar to the … Continue reading →

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Artists’ Corner

Posted on August 12, 2022 by Joe

This was a little cartoon I did when I worked at Taws which was an art supply store located in Center City Philadelphia. This was for a short-lived newsletter published by the store called 100% Rag. I thought I had … Continue reading →

Posted in Blast from the Past, Illustration, Philadelphia | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Chambers of Commerce – Eat, Drink and Be Merry!

Posted on August 11, 2022 by Joe

Long before fine dining in Philadelphia took place in makeshift shacks made of forklift palette wood and plastic tarpaulins haphazardly situated on the pavements and streets outside of the actual brick-and-mortar restaurants, people read newspapers. They were actual newsprint newspaper … Continue reading →

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The Counter at Bill’s No. 7

Posted on August 7, 2022 by Tina

Here is another scanned 35mm negative in the Photo Elective category. We’re back inside Bill’s No. 7 which was on Main Street in downtown Willimantic, Connecticut. I must have been in there between the breakfast and lunch rush. At its … Continue reading →

Posted in Blast from the Past, Photo Restoration, Photography, The Photo Elective | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Chambers of Commerce – Get a Tattoo!

Posted on August 3, 2022 by Joe

Back when tattoos were still novel and newspapers had readers and thus advertising revenue and thus budgets to hire freelance artists, I did this cartoon for The Philadelphia Daily News. My illustrations accompanied an article entitled Chambers of Commerce which … Continue reading →

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Inside Bill’s No. 7

Posted on August 2, 2022 by Tina

Here’s another scanned 35mm negative in the Photo Elective category. This one was from the interior of a fantastic old diner on Main Street in downtown Willimantic, Connecticut. Through the window you can see Willimantic’s famous foot bridge. All sophomore … Continue reading →

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Lost and FOUND!

Posted on July 27, 2022 by Joe

A little digging turned up the tear sheet featuring the shivering banana from yesterday’s post. It was for an article in the The Philadelphia Daily News titled “The secret life of food,” and it was published on August 28, 1996. … Continue reading →

Posted in Blast from the Past, Curious Clutter, Food, Illustration, Pixels Versus Pigment | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Sign Remains

Posted on July 19, 2022 by Joe

I think I had just finished my post about the former ubiquity of the once mighty Blockbuster chain of video rental shops when I spotted this sign on my commute to work. Perched high up on a very tall pole … Continue reading →

Posted in Blast from the Past, Looking South | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

DUCKWORK • October 1981

Posted on July 17, 2022 by Joe

I was settling into my freshman or foundation year at the Philadelphia College of Art when this issue of the school’s quasi-newspaper was published. I have written about this particular issue previously on this website, but I’ve recently became aware … Continue reading →

Posted in Blast from the Past, Philadelphia | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Relics of the Recent Past

Posted on June 29, 2022 by Joe

It’s weird to think that Blockbuster is gone. I wasn’t a regular customer because there was another chain closer to home, but they were everywhere. At the height of the popularity of video rentals, I always felt that large urban … Continue reading →

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