Retail of militaria, ca. 1953-8 in Culver City, California.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

This catalog turned up in the disposal of an old, old California collection.

It gives the many interested in this theme some tangible evidence of how all this began, and as I found it when I started in 1961.

There is not a lot of SS material, which underscores that it has always been rare.

These prices were no bargain at the time, either.

The firm is still in business, but I do not think they sell this regalia anymore.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

"....If you want to compare the value of a $20.00 Income or Wealth , in 1953 there are five choices. In 2015 the relative:
historic standard of living value of that income or wealth is $177.00
contemporary standard of living value of that income or wealth is $252.00
labor earnings of that commodity is $256.00 (using the unskilled wage) or $315.00 (using production worker compensation)
economic status value of that income or wealth is $457.00
economic power value of that income or wealth is $921.00..."

Today money has no value, and the market for this regalia has undergone a profound transformation.

I shall not imbibe of the berserk cultural pessimism on this topic that is otherwise the norm.

Nostalgia is always a misleading thing.

[texasuberalles]

There was a dealer in militaria in Calif. named S.W. Holmers in the mid fifties.

I currently have in my collection an Alg. SS visor which has a personal knowledge of where/when it has been till I acquired it 30 years ago.

Holmers sold it to a collector in Gatesville Texas for $7.50. It went to Gatesville to Waco to Atlanta to Austin.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

Bravo, dear friend, you are a pillar of our community.

[seventyeighth]

A phenomenal piece of ephemera. Thank you for sharing this F-B. It's perfect. The crude illustrations, the courier font. Take me there.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

For me, it is all of Marcel Proust, and at my age, you spend more time looking backward while swallowing pills and wrangling with the peeved doctors, et cetera.

One day someone will look at all of this with equal curiosity, if mankind even still exists.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

A phenomenal piece of ephemera. Thank you for sharing this F-B. It's perfect. The crude illustrations, the courier font. Take me there.

Here is Culver City at the time that Mr. Rettting went into business there. Maybe he had an affiliation with film and television.

The top image is the back lot of MGM. As in Metro Godlwyn and Mayer.

- - ------- - -

and ten cents for a hamburger in the Eisenhower Administration suggests that ten dollars for an SA kepi or twenty bucks for an SS dagger was not really a bargain.

Since the nostalgia for this epoch is wide in the USA at the moment, one does well to assess these things with a skeptical eye.

[AZPhil]

Nothing like a call of authentication base on an artist drawing. Thank for the Pic's FB. You started collecting the year I was born So all of your gained and shared knowledge is greatly appreciated here.

Semper Fi
Phil

[Friedrich-Berthold]

Thanks for the kind words. Your friendly sentiments are not shared by all.

[Gwar]

Thanks for the kind words. Your friendly sentiments are not shared by all.

Certainly a few bad "Apples" do not destroy the crop... The harvest of knowledge is better when all contributors can reap the rewards of their efforts... JMO...