242. A Case in Point: 50s COKE ALUMINUM CASE

One of my earliest Coca Cola collectibles is this stamped aluminum carrying case that can hold 24 bottles. I remember picking this up from good old Makati Cinema Square, which, back in the '80s , was  a favorite hunting ground for all things old, vintage and collectible. I've seen a few aluminum cases here in the Philippines; I don't think these were produced locally--local crates were of wood until the 70s, when plastic replaced them. The crate is divided into niches by means of metal rods that are covered in rubber. I just checked ebay and currently there's one similar to this priced at $96.00--with an hour to go before the end of the auction. Past examples were sold for $70 plus. As you can see, this aluminum crate is a nifty way to display my collection of vintage Coke bottles. What a way to "open happiness!"

241. LA NAVAL PRINT

Few months back, I was in Cubao to check on some stuff my dealer supposedly found from an old house in Quiapo. Just as I was arriving at his place, he sped by in his car, the trunk loaded with house junk--just precisely the stuff my thrift shop dreams are made of! He said he had a couple of old prints, so he pulled out this frame, with glass intact.

I could barely see what was behind the glass; it was smeared with dirt and dust build-up! But I could faintly see the hazy shape of what appeared to be a print of the celebrated Virgen de la Naval. I paid for the frame--dust, grime and all--and headed for home.

I immediately pried open the back of the frame, and the backboard turned out to be a cardboard print of some Dutch landscape, complete with windmills and all. My hunch was correct, for upon carefully removing the fragile paper print that the backboard supported, I turned it over to see that it was indeed a nice print of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary--Virgen de la Naval!

The image of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary is one of the most revered Marian image in the country. The ivory figure was carved by a Chinese artisan in 1593, who was converted into the faith while carving the image. It now reposes at the Sto. Domingo Church in Quezon City where its annual feast day--La Naval Fiesta--is celebrated every October.

It was my first time to see this kind of print--I have one printed by the UST press that dates from the early 20th century. There were some pencil scribblings at the back of the paper print which puts the date of this making before the War.

240. Before They Were Famous: ALFIE ANIDO'S YEARBOOK

Remember Alfie Anido? He was one of the so-called Regal babies launched to stardom in the late 70s to 80s (the others were Willima Martinez, Snooky Serna, Jimmy Melendez, Gabby Concepcion, etc.). Well, back in 1973, he was a chubby elementary school graduate whose batchmates include President Noynoy Aquino, designer Pepito Albert and senator Teofisto Guingona III!

That's what I found in his Ateneo Yearbook, which I picked from the recent Greenhills Antiques Fair. Just 14 years old here, Alfie was a member of the Varsity Football. Upon graduation, he remained in Ateneo to pursue a management course.

While in college, he started appearing in commercials and in fashion shows, and was soon discovered for the movies. He was teamed up with former Miss Magnolia finalist, Dina Bonnevie, whom he supported in the 1980 hit camp film "Temptation Island".

Just a day before his 21st birthday, on 30 December 1980, Alfie died, reportedly of suicide. But rumors abound that the Enriles had something to do with his untimely death (he was with Juan Ponce Enrile's daughter, Katrina, at that time). In Enrile's recently published memoir, he revealed that Fabian Ver was behind the rumor linking his family to Alfie's death, a rumor that has become a sort of an urban legend in Philippine showbiz. Who would think that only 7 years before that, Alfie was a happy, chubby, cute young Atenean, with perhaps just his football games in his mind?

239. Extra! Extra! PRE-WAR PHILIPPINE MAGAZINES

Pre-war magazines in readable and stable condition are so hard to find that when a dealer offered a couple of these publications to me, I grabbed them all--and wanted more! The rarest is perhaps, Lipang Kalabaw, which started as a satirical-political magazine in Tagalog came out in in three different periods: 1907-1909, 1922-24, and 1947-48. It was operated by Lope K. Santos and illustrated by Jorge Pineda. It ceased publication in 1909, but was revived in 1922 as Bagong Lipang Kalabaw--and this magazine example came from that period.

On the other hand, The Philippines Free Press was founded in 1907 by its editor-in-chief, R. McCoullough Dick until the 60s,when Teodoro M. Locsin took over as publisher. This issue dates from December 1925.

Another popular pre-war magazine was published by Ramon Roces--the Graphic-- which was edited by A. C. Fabian. Famous writers who wrote for Graphic include E. Aguilar Cruz, Nick Joaquin. It featured essays and literary pieces in English, plus color sections that reproduced the artworks artworks of  the up-and-coming artists of the period, like Jose Bumanlag David and Carlos "Botong" Francisco.

The Spanish La Vanguardia was an American era publication which came out during the early 20th century, It was part of a newspaper empire founded by Don Alejandro Roces that also included Taliba (in Tagalog)  and Tribune (in English and edited by Carlos P. Romulo) -- hence, the T-V-T periodicals.

238. CHOCOLATE DEMISTASSE CUPS

I remember my Grandmother Patricia's (Apung Tiri) old and tiny demitasse cups which my Mother kept for the longest time in an old bookcase that had lost its glass panelled doors. In fact, she used that bookcase to store her special crockery, to be taken out and used only during special occasions like our annual fiestas. Same was true for Apu’s lovely little cups—they were only taken out once or twice a year. By any standards, her demitasse cups were just plain white ironstone cups, not even porcelain—with a raised relief of a carnation flower in front.

These cups were used to serve special hot chocolate, freshly made from ground chocolate mixed with peanuts and gatas damulag, then briskly whisked in a brass chocolatera using a wooden batirul. The resulting frothy chocolate drink was sipped daintily from these cups, to be savored slowly, with puto, broas or çhurros, depending on your taste and budget. 

Sometimes on Christmas, we also filled these cups with green duman (gelatinous rice) and then pour the hot chocolate afterwards—a taste treat unlike any other! My Mother too had her own sets of demitasse cups which she recived as wedding gifts—she had real porcelain cups with transfer print of roses as well as even smaller ones with gilt rims. So treasured were these cups that they were even etched on the bottom with my mom’s initials—E.R.C. Through the years though, we lost a lot of these cups; we only have half a dozen now, some without handles, others with cracks. Even then, I keep them on display on a shelf in our old house, a family souvenir of sorts. 

Recently, I came upon a nice set of demitasse cups of similar make from two different sources—one from a San Fernando dealer and the other from a roadside Bulacan antique shop. I bought them years apart, so I suppose these cup styles were rather popular. But what makes them special was that they were personalized either with the names of the owners or with personal wishes intended for guests. One example has the name ”Apolinaria” written in a flourish in gold. Others carry greetings like “Amistad”(Amity or Friendship) and “Recuerdo” (Souvenir), in low-grade gold.

These were done by itinerant artisans who once roamed towns offering their unique services of personalizing utensils, jewelry pieces and objects of value by hand. There are those who carefully incised the back of plates and cups with the owner’s initials using a hammer and a metal pick. Others used their calligraphic skills, writing names using gilt paint, as in these examples. I was lucky to get ten perfect cups—each a showcase of the vanishing art of personalizing objects by hand, as well as memory pieces to remind me of my Apu I never met, and my late Mom’s cooking skills which I continue to miss every day.

237. ANNE SHERIDAN PAINT BOOK

Coloring books are one of my fave collectibles--I saved a few from the 60s and 70s, which were largely based on TV programs like Brady Bunch, Partridge Family, Bonanza, etc. But the earlier coloring books--or paint books--were based on glamor girls, screen hunks, vamps, vixens and singing stars of Hollywood. The lovely Ann Sheridan, the original "Oomph Girl" is one such subject of this large (11 x 14), scarce paintbook that dates from 1944.

Ann was the winner of the "Search for Beauty" contest that earned her a screen test at Paramount Pictures. At 18, she was put under a contract under the name Clara Lou Sheridan. She moved to Warner Bros. in 1936 and became a leading star of many comedies and light romance movies
She remained active in the 60s, appearing in "Another World" (1964) and the western series "Pistols 'n' Petticoats" (1966). 

This paint book has 48 pages of Ann to color, showing her activities on and off-screen. It was publihsed by Whitman Co., a leading juvenile publications company. This is an ebay find, worth about $25, with a few pages colored.

236. E-Z BILT TIN HOUSE

My tin toy collecting was jumpstarted by this tin toy house that I bought at the famous Makati Cinema Square, back in the days when it was still a happy-hunting ground for scroungers and thrift shoppers--with the basement level full of shops that sold practically anything used, vintage and second-hand.

The painted metal parts were in a box that had long since disintegrated, but I distinctly recall that it was marked with a"BILT E-Z" brand name. I assembled the pieces easily and formed this multi-level structure, put it on a shelf and forgot all about it. That is, until I saw a similar tin building featured on a Smithsonian Magazine!

A quick research yielded some information about this toy from the 1920s. The BILT-EZ building was made by Scott Manufacturing Company Inc, Chicago, USA. The parts connect together by means of tabs which project at right-angles from the top and bottom of the wall pieces and slip into the edges of the roof/floor parts. Balconies and lengths of roof edging are also attached with tabs. Roof/floor sections are connected together by means of connector plate.

Here is a youtube video I found of this early tin construction toy:


RARE E-Z BILT TOY