Description: The J. M. Brunswick Manufacturing Company opened for business on September 15, 1845, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Originally J. M. Brunswick intended his company to be mainly in the business of making carriages, but soon after opening his machine shop, he became fascinated with billiards, and began producing them. A series of mergers would see the company grow considerably, expanding into making a number of other products, including the ornate neoclassical style bars for saloons were a popular at the time. As saloons began adding bowling lanes, Brunswick saw the popularity and began making balls, pins, and equipment. The firm popularized vulcanized rubber bowling balls, replacing the earlier balls made of solid wood.
Description: Originally known as The Boys Next Door, The Birthday Party was an Australian post-punk band, active from 1977 to 1983. Their eponymous debut album was released in 1980, showcasing bleak and noisy soundscapes, which drew irreverently on blues, free jazz, and rockabilly, and provided the setting for vocalist Nick Cave's disturbing tales of violence and perversion. Their 1981 single "Release the Bats" was particularly influential on the emerging gothic scene. Despite limited commercial success, The Birthday Party's influence has been far-reaching, and they have been called one of the darkest and most challenging post-punk groups to emerge in the early '80s.
Description: The 1988 Jesse Jackson presidential campaign was Jackson's second time running for President of the United States. This time, his successes in the past made him a more credible candidate, and he was both better financed and better organized. Although most people did not seem to believe he had a serious chance at winning, Jackson once again exceeded expectations as he more than doubled his previous results, prompting many pundits to call 1988 "the Year of Jackson." Jackson, and eventual nominee Michael Dukakis, outlasted all other candidates to the final primaries, including California. Jackson came in second in delegates behind Dukakis, and beat future Vice President Al Gore, future President Joe Biden, and Dick Gephardt, among others.
Description: November 1st, 1955, is often cited as the official start of the Vietnam War, however, many say that the date is much later based on when American troops became directly involved in the conflict. On the other hand, America’s participation in the conflict between North and South Vietnam began earlier than 1955, and lasted until 1975, making it one of the longest wars in modern world history. Those who served in Vietnam from all branches received the National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, all three of which are represented here in this Vietnam Veteran Award Ribbons design.
Description: Chaco Chicken is the fictional poultry producer from "Our Town," the twenty-fourth episode of the second season of The X-Files that aired May 12, 1995. The episode finds special agents Mulder and Scully in Dudley, Arkansas, as they investigate a missing poultry inspector. The case takes a twist when another poultry worker is shot after she goes insane, leading Mulder to believe that certain townspeople are cannibals. The idea for this 'Monster-of-the-Week' episode came about while the writer was researching the Ancestral Puebloans for the second-season finale. He learned that archaeologists had discovered boiled human bones in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, leading him to use "Chaco" as the name of the chicken plant, and it's proprietor.
Description: The Osaka Tigers were a Japanese professional baseball team founded on December 10, 1935, playing their first season in 1936. In 1940, amid anti-foreign sentiment, the Tigers changed the name to the Hanshin Tigers, and in 1947 changed the name back to Osaka Tigers. The team name was once again changed back to Hanshin Tigers in 1961, and remains the team name to this day, making them the second-oldest professional club in Japan. The Tigers' home field has been Koshien Stadium since day one, a venue considered to be sacred ground not just fans of the Tigers, but for Japanese baseball fans everywhere.
Description: The 688 Club was an alternative music venue in Atlanta, Georgia, located at 688 Spring Street. The venue opened in May 1980, and quickly became the place for up-and-coming acts from the greater Atlanta area to get noticed, build a fan base, and hopefully score a record deal. Speaking of, the club spun off an independent record label, 688 Records, which survived for a time even after the venue had closed in November 1986. All told, 688 Club played host to hundreds of punk, new wave, and alternative rock bands during their relatively short existence, leaving an indelible mark in music history.
Description: Howard "Louie Bluie" Armstrong (March 4, 1909 – July 30, 2003) was an American string band and country blues musician, who played fiddle, mandolin, and guitar and sang. He was also a notable visual artist and raconteur, but one of his claims to fame was being able to play any stringed instrument his picked up. Armstrong was born in Dayton, Tennessee, and was the middle son from a family of nine kids. As a teen, he taught himself to play the fiddle and joined a band led by Blind Roland Martin and his brother Carl. They toured performing a wide range of music, from work songs and spirituals through popular Tin Pan Alley tunes and foreign-language songs. Armstrong, his brother Roland, and Carl Martin, billed as the Tennessee Chocolate Drops.
Description: Mondoubleau is situated in the Loir-et-Cher department and Centre-Loire Valley region of France, and during the '60s and '70s, hosted some of the biggest international motocross racing events on earth. This design celebrates the Mondoubleau Moto-Cross International that was held in the summer of 1977.
Description: If you've ever driven through California from Oregon to Mexico, you know that it's a really long state, but unlike other states, you never feel like you're stuck with the same scenery for long. From a tourism perspective, California is made up of 12 key regions: Shasta Cascade, North Coast (Redwoods), Bay Area, Central Coast, Central Valley, Deserts, High Sierras, Gold Country, Inland Empire, and Counties: Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego. There is literally something for everyone in The Golden State, and this '80s tourist design tries to capture a lot of it in a small space, and really does a pretty good job.
Description: In the wake of the Watergate scandal and Nixon's resignation, peanut farmer turned Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter's outsider image caught the eye of disillusioned voters who were fed up with the politics as usual mentality of Washington. A big part of Carter's success in the 1976 presidential election against Gerald Ford can be attributed to the effectiveness of his grassroots campaign. The "Peanut Brigade," a group of volunteers, friends, and other Carter supporters from Georgia, led his campaign to a string of victories throughout the primaries, frequently leveraging irreverent pop art style imagery of a peanut wearing Carter's signature smile.
Description: "We are preaching our own funerals as we go through this life... don't forget that." Full Moon (Death Classic) is the first track from experimental hip hop group Death Grips, released as a single on March 8, 2011, along with a corresponding music video and a free self-titled EP. The EP consists of six tracks; the latter three of which were later renamed and rereleased the following month on their debut mixtape, Exmilitary.
Description: The US Festival (US pronounced like the pronoun, not as initials) was the name of two early '80s music festivals held in San Bernardino, California. Created by Steve Wozniak, who believed that the '70s were the "me" generation, he intended the US Festivals to encourage the '80s to be more community-oriented and combine technology with music. The first event was held over Labor Day weekend in September '82, and the second was less than nine months later, over Memorial Day weekend in May '83. The '82 event had a mix of bands slotted over the three-day event, but '83 added themed days. May 28 was New Wave Day, May 29 was Heavy Metal Day, and May 30 was Rock Day. A Country Day was added that was held the following weekend on Saturday, June 4.
Description: Jesus Christ Superstar is a 1970 rock opera. Initially unable to get backing for a stage production, the composers released it as a rock opera album musical. The success of the album led to the show’s Broadway on-stage debut in 1971. The musical is sung-through, with no spoken dialogue. The story is loosely based on the Gospels’ accounts of the last week of Jesus’s life, beginning with the preparation for the arrival of Jesus and his disciples in Jerusalem and ending with the crucifixion. It depicts political and interpersonal struggles between Judas Iscariot and Jesus that are not present in the Bible. The work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters.
Description: Released in 1985, Big Lizard in My Backyard is the debut album by the Dead Milkmen. While the album yielded no singles, it received strong praise for the record's tight playing that incorporates funk, country, and many other genres into their particular style of punk, and key tracks from the album quickly became college radio favorites.
Description: First appearing in the debut edition of Valiant on October 6, 1962, The Steel Claw was one of the most popular comic book heroes of British weekly adventure comics of the ’60s and ’70s. The series focused on Louis Crandell, a lab assistant to Dr. Barringer. After an accident took his right hand, Barringer replaced the hand with a sophisticated prosthetic, but another accident unhinged Crandell, giving him the power to turn invisible if he received an electric shock, only his steel hand remaining visible. The deranged Crandell used this not terribly practical power to commit crimes until the balance of his mind was restored, and he became a crime fighter. Crandell went to work for a Government agency called the Shadow Squad.
Description: C.W. McCall's song 'Convoy' reached the number one position on the pop and country music charts in January 1976. The song was about truckers using CB radios to rebel against the new 55 mph federal speed limits, a theme so popular and topical, that the single sold over two million copies upon release. Midland decided to market a CB radio called the 'Convoy Buddy' to McCall fans, and while its 4 watts won’t get you from New Jersey to Omaha, Nebraska, like it did in the song, the radio was a nice unit. In 1978, the movie Convoy was released, based on McCall's song, that featured a new version of the track, written specially to track with the events of the film. The movie injected renewed in interest in the song and the Convoy Buddy radio sets.
Description: Camp Runamuck was an American sitcom that aired during the 1965–66 television season, running for 26 episodes. The series followed the wacky goings-on at the titular boys' summer camp, and at Camp Divine, its girls' counterpart across the lake. Runamuck was run by Commander Wivenhoe, a man who couldn't stand kids, and senior counselor Spiffy, his assistant of sorts. Helping them out were counselor Pruett, Doc Joslyn, and camp cook Malden. Eulalia Divine was the owner of the girls' camp, which was run by chief counselor Mahalia May Gruenecker. The competitiveness between the two camps and the incidents and accidents that would normally occur at such summer camps formed the basis of most of the show's plots.
Description: Return of Martha Splatterhead is the fifth release and first LP released in 1986 by Seattle thrash band, The Accüsed. Named as a sequential follow-up to the Martha Splatterhead EP released a year earlier, the album was well received by thrash fans, with many considering it a masterpiece of hardcore thrash.
Description: Ernest Tubb began performing in the '30s, getting his first record deal in 1936. After a couple of unsuccessful releases, he put together his band, the Texas Troubadours in '43, and quickly became a popular act around Nashville, giving his subsequent records increasing popularity. By the '60s, Tubb was a gold record country superstar, and would go on to be known as one of the most influential artists in country music history. As one of the first country artists to feature an electric guitar in his music, he led the way for both the honky-tonk sound of the '50s and '60s, and the outlaw country revolution of the '70s. His deep, gravely, and slightly off-key singing voice remains one of the most distinctive and recognizable in any genre.
Description: Perfect Products began forming fiberglass hoods, scoops, and body panels in the early '60s as a white label supplier to other companies. By the late '60s, they had had started advertising direct sales in the various hot rod and drag racing magazines, selling via mail order though their catalog. Whether you needed a bolt on hood scoop or a one piece front clip, Akron, Ohio's Perfect Products was the best in the business.
Description: Wigstock began spontaneously in 1984 when a group of drag queens decided to put on a show in New York City's Tompkins Square Park. It became an annual East Village event that continued uninterrupted until the mid-90s, when Mayor Rudolph Giuliani forced it out of the park to an area by the Hudson River. Since then Wigstock has been sporadic, experiencing many interruptions, revivals, and changes of venue, but has never once disappointed.
Description: Toledo Bend Reservoir on the Sabine River between Texas and Louisiana has an area of 185,000 acres, making it the largest man-made body of water in the South, and the fifth largest in the United States. With its 1,200 miles of shoreline, Toledo Bend offers a large variety of recreational activities and is a popular location for freshwater fishing, with many clubs hosting tournaments since it's the dam went into operation in 1969. Sportsman's Paradise Marina opened in Chauvin, Louisiana in the mid '70s, quickly becoming one of the more popular marinas for fishermen looking to get out on the lake and track down some of the bass, catfish, sunfish, and bluegill Toledo Bend is famous for.
Description: Strip is the second solo studio album by Adam Ant, and counting his work with Adam and The Ants, his fifth studio album. It was released in 1983 and was a stylistic departure from his previous musical efforts. This record is much less rock-oriented and more grounded in pop and dance, differing from earlier works that were rooted in post-punk and new wave. The album did not perform as well in his UK home as his previous albums, and performed modestly in the US. Critics generally reviewed it unfavorably, but it produced several fan favorite tracks, and was promoted with several memorable music videos.
Description: Sheridan originated from the construction of a sawmill on Mill Creek in the heart of southwest Montana’s Ruby Valley back in 1863. It’s defined not only by its 20-mile-long valley that holds the constantly meandering Ruby River, but also by the prominent rises of the Tobacco Root Mountains on the northeast and the Ruby Range to the southeast. In the early '80s, Sheridan held their first Testicle Festival, where the featured activity is the consumption of animal testicles, usually battered and fried bull testicles. Sheridan's population of about 700 grows in summer and fall months as people come to recreate, but during the Testicle Festival, the population swelled to about 3,000.
Description: Devlin is an American cartoon series that ran for 17 episodes from September 7 to December 21, 1974, with reruns airing until September 1976. The series, inspired by the popularity of motorcycle daredevils and stunt shows of the time, focused on a stunt motorcyclist with a traveling circus named Ernie Devlin and his siblings, Tod and Sandy. The original title for the show was Wild Wheels, and the title character was "Dare" Devlin. Concerned about potential criticism that the show glorified dangerous activity, the network nixed the title, changed the character's name to Ernie, and mandated the regular presentation of safety tips.
Description: Devil's Crush is a pinball video game developed by Compile for the TurboGrafx-16 and released in 1990. The second installment in the Crush Pinball series after Alien Crush, the game has an eerie occult theme with skulls, skeletons, and demons. It was later followed by Jaki Crush and Alien Crush Returns. The game was ported to the Mega Drive/Genesis as Dragon's Fury (Devil Crash MD in Japan) by Technosoft. Both North American versions, TurboGrafx-16 and Genesis, are censored—all hexagrams have been changed to generic stars, and coffins with crucifixes on them in one bonus stage have been changed to vases. The playfield of Devil's Crush consists of a free scrolling pinball table three screens high with three sets of flippers.
Description: WWI pilot Leigh Brintnell formed Mackenzie Air Service in 1932 in Edmonton, Alberta. Brintnell offered both passenger and cargo service to remote mines and trading posts throughout the Canadian Northwest. His first contract was flying fresh produce from Edmonton to the remote Eldorado Mines, and eventually would maintain daily scheduled flights linking Edmonton with key points in Goldfields, Yellowknife, Gordon Lake, Port Radium, and Coppermine. Known for flying places otherwise unserved, Mackenzie Air Service was a pioneer in bush pilot transportation services that would eventually operate one of the largest modern aircraft fleets in Canada. Mackenzie Air Service would be purchased by Canadian Pacific Airlines in the early '40s.
Description: Country Life is the fourth studio album by English art rock band Roxy Music, released on November 15, 1974. The album is considered by many to be among the band's most sophisticated and consistent work. Country Life peaked at number three on the UK albums chart, and also charted at number 37 in the America, becoming their first record to crack the US top 40. The album includes the band's fourth hit single, "All I Want Is You," which, backed with the B-side "Your Application's Failed," reached number 12 on the UK singles chart. An edited version of "The Thrill of It All," with the same B-side, was released in the US.
Description: Citizen Dick is a fictional grunge band featured in Singles, a ’92 romantic comedy set amidst Seattle’s explosive grunge music scene. The movie focused on six young people, most of whom lived in the same apartment building, and whose lives revolve around the city’s ever-expanding music scene. The inter-related stories about each character’s progress through the singles scene are intriguing and often funny, and the soundtrack is a grunge fan’s dream. Cliff Poncier was one of the main characters and frontman of Citizen Dick, and when asked by an interviewer what the band’s song ‘Touch Me, I’m Dick’ was about, Cliff offers the following rambling reply: “Well, I think ‘Touch Me, I’m Dick,’ in essence, speaks for itself, you know?"
Description: Built on Prague's Wenceslas Square in stages between 1920 and 1928 by Karel Julis, Hotel Julis followed a functionalist building design by leading Czech architect Pavel Janak. The hotel included a first floor restaurant, confectionary, and café, as well as a basement movie theater, and all guest rooms were on the upper floors. After Czechoslovakian nationalization, the hotel was renamed the Tatran, and in 1958, given protected monument status.
Description: In 1940, the owners of Seattle’s Playland Amusement Park decided to build a racetrack where they could host various motorsports events. Calling it Aurora Stadium Speedway, the new 1/4 mile dirt track opened in 1941 and quickly became a popular attraction. Aurora hosted hot rod races one night and midgets on another night, usually Fridays and Saturdays, but as America entered WWII, racing was put on hold at the end of '41. The end of the war saw the boys come home, and racing resumed in '46. Soon, the track would get paved and stock cars were added to the mix. As Seattle's population grew into the once rural area, noise complaints by neighbors coupled with the slow decline of the amusement park led to the track was closing down in '58.
