So What Else Do You Do?

[ELazansky]

I collect decks of vintage playing cards. If you think tracking down a first edition book in fine condition can be tough, try searching for a deck of playing cards from 1900 with all 52 cards not creased or bent PLUS jokers PLUS the original box. My oldest deck is from the 1880's. Some descks go for thousands of dollars. Just like with books, I could never go that high. But the artwork on some of the older decks is amazing.

PICTURES!!!!

OK, here are a few of my favorites:

1) This is the Congress #606 Moon Fairy" deck circa 1899 from the US Playing Card Company. It is complete with all 52 cards plus the rare Joker as well as the original box:



2) This is a deck of Cadets #343 circa 1895 from the US Playing Card Company. It is a miniature or "toy" deck complete with all 52 cards plus Joker and box:



3) This is a souvenir deck from Southern Pacific Lines circa 1930. These decks would have been handed out to passengers on the train. This deck is in unused condition - all cards, Joker, and souvenir booklet explaining the photos on the cards. The deck still has the original gold gilt on the edges:

[Lookwhoitis]

I'm into '80's arcade games and have built my own MAME cabinet....



I also have a 'cocktail/table top' (2 player) cabinet as well. Always gets a lot of use when we have parties at the house!

I wish I had the technical know how to build a MAME cabinet! Id love to own one. Buying one is probably out of the question too, as I seem to be spending my disposable cash as fast as I can make it on King Collectibles!

[racerx45]

Cool. What got you interested in the soda dispensers, if you don't mind me asking?

Don't really collect anything else myself. I have some sports memorabilia, mainly Chicago related.

I started out collection all things Coca-Cola but after getting my first dispenser I started selling off the rest to fund all the different dispensers. I have something like 60 now.

Vintage ... soda ... dispensers. lol, that's a first for me! Cool though. How do you have them displayed? One room, all over?

I used to collect King, now I collect graphic novels.

I only have a few displayed right now but have a plan to have them displayed in a wall cabinet

http://youtu.be/8omFihfzW9M

Bonus points for anyone that can tell me the year, make, and model of the car I am driving.

It looks and sounds like a 60s VW Bug - not sure the exact year.

Good ear, it is a 60’s VW just not a bug. It’s a 1963 Type III Karmann Ghia



Yep I own a purple car!

[ur2ndbiggestfan]

Wow, I really like those playing cards.

I collect non-sport trading cards.

[Stebbins]

ELazansky: Those cards are so awesome! Another of my interests is poker-- I worked as a dealer a few years back--and unique playing cards always catch my attention.

[Jean]

it's fantastic, about those playing cards! My mother collects playing cards, not vintage, just any - I always bring her a deck or two whenever I travel to some place. I will photograph her collection when I go to her place again.

Bears themselves are interested in tons of stuff, just don't know where to begin... Most recently, I've been deep into programing in C#, just for fun. Never learned anything of the kind, never attended any classes, but last summer my London friends showed me some basics and I loved it!!! Surprisingly, bears are very good at this stuff! Recently have reproduced, as an exercise, the old Lines game (took about three weeks), now am writing a collection of games (minesweeper, nurikabe and the like). It's amazingly entertaining!! Also we started (these same friends and bears) writing a game of our own, in Processing, when I was in London; now we're writing it via Skype and TeamViewer, a little every day, it's so awesome, I can't think of a better way to have fun!

[dnemec]

Great idea for a new thread! I love to see what other people do and collect. I would have never thought soda dispensers or playing cards.

As for me, I was inspired by Heart-Shaped Box to start collecting "weird stuff." Unfortunately, my budget goes more to books that anything else. I do have a lovely memento mori that I bought at Obscura in NYC (known for being the shop on Oddities, if you watch The Science Channel), as well as an old scythe, some bugs and a jellyfish in lucite, a voodoo doll, and a taxidermied bat that I named Vlad. See what I mean by weird?

When I'm not reading or trolling for more books, I also am pretty good with my hands. I love projects. Here's an example of my work that hangs outside my office where there are at least 400 books residing:




By the way car lovers, ever been to Carlisle, PA, and the fairgrounds therein? 82 acres of land and car shows every other weekend during the summer. It's where I lived for 3 years when I was in law school.

[Merlin1958]

Goofy story for you to hopefully enjoy. I used to have a penchant for pinching interesting and uninteresting restaurant salt & pepper shaker's. My wife joined in and we moved on to other table ware. LOL It got pretty bad. I have a couple of "Pizza Place caddie's"!! LOL In any case, the family decided to start buying them for me at some point and I have a pretty extensive and unique collect of Salt & Pepper shakers. The Chrysler & Empire State building, Giants, Yankee's (bears), Mickey and Minnie, Hamburgers and on and on!! LOL Weird, I know!! LOL

I must have close to a 150 sets of S & P shakers!!! LOL Fun fact: I used to fill them all, so I could use any set I currently felt like. For many years, maybe as an outlet to being married to me for 34 years, she would secretly empty them driving me completely crazy!! LOL Now, we choose a "Set of the Month" and she actually keeps newer ones in the original box!! Married life is a trip!!! LOL I do love her to death and perhaps, someday mine!! LOL

[Jean]

will you post the pictures?

[becca69]

Cool. What got you interested in the soda dispensers, if you don't mind me asking?

Don't really collect anything else myself. I have some sports memorabilia, mainly Chicago related.

I started out collection all things Coca-Cola but after getting my first dispenser I started selling off the rest to fund all the different dispensers. I have something like 60 now.

Vintage ... soda ... dispensers. lol, that's a first for me! Cool though. How do you have them displayed? One room, all over?

I used to collect King, now I collect graphic novels.

I only have a few displayed right now but have a plan to have them displayed in a wall cabinet

http://youtu.be/8omFihfzW9M

Bonus points for anyone that can tell me the year, make, and model of the car I am driving.

It looks and sounds like a 60s VW Bug - not sure the exact year.

Good ear, it is a 60’s VW just not a bug. It’s a 1963 Type III Karmann Ghia



Yep I own a purple car!

That was going to be my second choice - I had a '72 lime green Ghia and a '74 orange Ghia. I miss them terribly!

[ke7285]

I have way too many hobbies. I collect antique radio's and music machines (victrola, edison disc player, regina) also a ham radio operator (n8qvx callsign). When i'm not searching for book's and radio's I love to fish and hunt, along with riding quads and camping. Love the old car's racerx45, playing card's way cool I have not seen any in my many adventures to estate sale's and flea market's seeking first King book's and radios.
Kevin
http://

[Maturins_Daughter]

I enjoyed reading about all your collections - the cards were gorgeous!

As you can probably tell by my name, I have a thing for turtles. My collection started when my husband brought a wooden turtle puzzle home from a business trip. Since then, I've gotten many more turtles from friends and family, and even a pencil drawing done by my sister-in-law.

[Jon]

How do you photograph them, Bonnie? They're so fast!

[Maturins_Daughter]

High-speed lens