45. RADIO WAVE!

Radio rules the airwaves in the '50s as Pinoy audiences cocked their ears to listen to their favorite rock-around-the-clock music programs, Tita Betty's Children's Hour, radio drama serials such as Dr. Ramon Selga, Mga Kwento ni Lola Basyang, Edong Mapangarap, Kwentong Kutsero, the fiery commentaries of Rafael Yabut and the pieces of advice from Tiya Dely Magpayo and Kuya Cesar. Plastic radio consoles such as this German-made example were staple in every Filipino living room, a Pinoy lifeline to news, information and entertainment. I was ecstatic when I purchased this working model in Chatuchak collectible shop, lugging it all the way home in my suitcase. Occasionally, I would plug it to listen to my favorite programs. Listening to the voice of Kanye West, Mariah Carey and Justin Timberlake coming out from an old-fashioned radio just feels...weird.

44. RETRO TRIPOD LAMP

Tripod lamps--alongside stiletto-legged tables, Sputnik lights and molecule clocks--were all the rage in the '50s. The sleek and streamlined look of the atomic age inspired the manufacture of countless furnishings and accessories for the modern mid-century home. A relic from this era is this wonderfully preserved tripod lamp--a Php 200 Bangkal find. The narrow circular shade caps a cone supported by 3 tubular sticks, a minimalist, but a functional creation perfect for a den or a study.

43. AFRIKANA FIGURINES

Found these '50s figurines representing three African maidens a-dancing--complete with grass skirts-- in a local thrift shop. Ethnic types that included Indians, Asians and Africans, were favorite models for cheap figural decoratives from the 1940s-60s. This trio must have been kept in a glass cabinet; they are perfectly preserved after all these years. Could they have been the inspiration for The Supremes?

42. LITTLE GOLDEN BOOKS

Back in the 1960s, these little books with their golden spine and wonderful cover were every child's dream birthday or Christmas presents, but they were so hard to find in the Philippines, I had to rely on used editions generously given by the kids of our American tenants. Thank God, these Little Golden Books were very hardy and durable so I still have these today. Launched in 1942 by Western Publishing in Racine, Wisconsin, LGBs were affordably priced at just 25 cents each, available to almost all children, not just a privileged few.

Since then, billions of LGBs have been read by children the world over, mirroring popular culture over the years. My favorites include Lassie,Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Captain Kangaroo, Bozo the Clown, Gene Autry, The Lone Ranger, Smokey Bear. Later stories were based on characters coming from Hanna Barbera, Sesame Street, Barbie and even Pokemon. Today, LGBs, published by Random House, are little no more: they're big collectibles and were even exhibited at the Smithsonian!

41. SHIRLEY TEMPLE, Child Superstar!

The most well-known child actress of the 1930s was born in 23 April 1928, rising to fame at age 6 for the movie "Bright Eyes". During the Depression years, the films of this bedimpled moppet made her filmdom's top grossing star. She acted, sang and tap-danced her way in movies such as: Stand Up and Cheer, The Little Colonel, Rebecca of the Sunnybrook Farm and won acclaim for singing "On the Good Ship Lollipop" and "Animal Crackers in my Soups" which became her trademark songs. In 1935, Shirley Temple received a special miniature Academy Award Oscar "in grateful recognition of her outstanding contribution to screen entertainment during the year 1934." After her film achievements she began a notable career as a diplomat with assignments in Ghana and Czechoslovakia and retired from public life, occasionally coming out to receive the Kennedy Center Honors in 1998 and the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2006.

Before long, the adorable Shirley became the darling of Hollywood's merchandising machine. Capitalizing on her popularity, millions of Shirley Temple materials flooded the market--from dolls to coloring books, kitchen ware to children's clothes, calendars, music sheets, baby carriages and all sorts of toys. Shirley temple dolls are the most desirable, especially the early composition ones produced by Ideal Novelty, commaning hundreds, and even thousands of dollars when found in pristine condition.

This precious 10 in. Shirley Temple doll, was found while rummaging at Makati Cinema Square over 10 years ago. Somebody saw me looking over a box of old action figures and dolls, and she approached me if I'd be interested ina doll her late grandmother owned who told her that "the doll was a Hollywood actress doll named Shirley", and that she had owned it for many, many years. The next day, we promised to meet, and in a plastic bag, she had this doll, her limbs loose and her clothes scruffy, but nevertheless complete. And yes, it was an early composition Shirley Temple Doll--identifiable through the name of the maker incised at her nape.

I paid for the doll for 250 pesos, took her home, give her a good cleaning and replaced the elastic that held her arms and legs. Later, I got a genuine vintage Shirley Temple button from an international toy auction, which she now produly wears. My Shirley Temple is ready once more to stand up and cheer!

40. Boxed: THE BEE GEES

"When I was small, and Christmas trees were tall...." there were the Brothers Gibbs--the Bee Gees--Maurice, Robin and Barry. The Bee Gees were an alternative to the Beatles as their early 60s songs were more mellow with neat harmonies--Spicks and Specks, Holiday, New York Mining Disaster, Cherry Red. But the Beatles juggernaut was in full force then and so the Bee Gees had to play second fiddle to the Fab Four--that is, until the Disco Craze came along. The soundtrack of "Saturday Night Fever" catapulted the group to mega-stardom, earning a horde of new found fans.The massive global impact of both the film and the soundtrack was seismic, bringing the disco sound into the mainstream. Soon, everyone was dancing to the beat of "Stayin' Alive", "Night Fever", "More Than a Woman" and other hits. Lunch box companies took note of the resurgent fame of the Bee Gees, which was parlayed into a metal lunchbox you now see here.

Maurice would die in 2003 (younger brother Andy died much earlier, in 1988, of a heart problem) and the Bee Gess were never the same again. But whatever, their memory is still "stayin' alive..stayin' alive...ha-ha-ha-ha-stayin' aliiiii--iiii---iivve!

39. TEKS: Philippine Collectible Cards

Back in the '60s and '50s, Filipino kids spent their precious centavos collecting "teks" cards, the local equivalent of American trading cards. These "teks", available at the corner sari-sari store, showed hand-drawn Filipino or American superheroes (Superman, Mandrake the Magician, Batman, etc.). Others featured running story series (such as the one shown here, "Master Kung Fu") that looked like panels of a comic book when put in a correct sequence.

These cheap cards, printed on cardboard, were numbered so that a whole collection could be assembled--to be traded, swapped or kept as childhood treasures in shoeboxes. One could also accumulate "teks" by playing a toss-up games with friends, derived from the traditional "cara y cruz" rules. "Teks" have all but disappeared in the growing-up years of Pinoy kids, being replaced with fancier and more expensive Pokemon Cards, NBA basketball cards and gaming character cards that kids now stash away in binders, to be seen and not played. So unlike our own "teks" that you can hold, shuffle, flip, toss in the air--and still love afterwards. Kids collect cards--not thinking about return of investment, but just plain fun.