SO MUCH PILEUP

Philately Fridays: Singapore, 1981

2013-05-03T10:48:00.001-05:00

Philately Fridays: Australia, 1973

2013-04-26T09:39:00.003-05:00

Four stamps from Australia teaching the people about metric conversions.

Philately Fridays: Australia, 1983

2013-04-19T16:10:00.000-05:00

I think we need a little peace and harmony right about now.

More Vacation Fun Spots

2013-04-10T16:48:00.001-05:00

Click image for larger view.

Gorgeously-designed and exceuted illustration for a 1982 issue of Disney's Vacationland magazine. Two years ago, I posted a similar illustration, but this one has much more going on. One of my all time favorites.

Philately Fridays: Cuba, 1972

2013-04-05T08:46:00.002-05:00

Cuba gets ready for the 1972 Olympic games in MUNICH!

Mr. Peanut's Guide to Nutrition

2013-04-03T09:43:00.003-05:00

Here are a few pages from a 1970 brochure about health as explained by the one and only Mr. Peanut!

Philately Fridays: 1970s Israel

2013-03-29T10:16:00.000-05:00

Wow, it's been a long time since I last posted! Here are four Israeli stamps for you to enjoy. Unfortunately I track down exactly what year these were released, ~~but they seem to be from the mid to late 1970s.~~ Enjoy!

EDIT - thanks to the blog reader who reminded me these are from 1968!

Philately Fridays: Cuba, 1967

2012-07-06T08:59:00.003-05:00

Loving the subtle grooviness of this stamp from Cuba, commemorating their participation in the 5th Pan American Games. The distinctly Cuban color scheme and funky illustration style goes nicely with the clearly Canadian Games logo.

Philately Fridays: German Democratic Republic, 1983

2012-06-15T09:00:00.001-05:00

Philately Fridays: Germany, 1972

2012-05-18T08:34:00.000-05:00

Nice one from Germany with the shoutout to "Invincible Vietnam." Excellent deliberate use of halftone dots.

Philately Fridays: Maldives, 1974

2012-05-04T11:52:00.001-05:00

Here's a small batch of islands making their Philately Fridays debut - the Republic of Maldives. For a tiny little collection of land, they sure cranked out some great design work. Here's their 1974 World Cup stamp. Stay tuned for more Maldivian mayhem soon!

Philately Fridays: Germany, 1979

2012-04-27T09:18:00.001-05:00

Two stamps from the German Democratic Republic, celebrating the International Year of the Child.

Sounder Organ Playing Guide

2012-04-24T18:08:00.001-05:00

Groovy sheet music book cover (unfolded) for the Hammond Sounder organ from 1973.

Philately Fridays: Art Nouveau in Germany, 1977

2012-04-20T11:26:00.004-05:00

Groovy three stamp set from 1977, celebrating the Art Nouveau movement in Germany.

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Pinball Hall of Fame

2012-04-09T13:49:00.003-05:00

I was in Las Vegas over the weekend and didn't miss the chance to visit the Pinball Hall of Fame. Here are a few photos (please excuse the poor quality - all I had on me was my cell phone) of their enormous collection of games in excellent condition.

Philately Fridays: Peru, 1971

2012-04-06T09:04:00.001-05:00

Here's one from the 1971 International Pacific Fair held in Peru.

Philately Fridays: Two from Germany

2012-03-30T09:40:00.002-05:00

Probably for the same reason I love amusement park maps, I love super clean architectural illustrations like the ones in these two stamps from Germany. The first one celebrates the 75th anniversary of the suspended tram in Wuppertaler and the second one is for the Sport Und Erholungszentrum recreation center in Berlin.

Philately Fridays: Hungary, 1978

2012-03-23T08:32:00.003-05:00

Four super sci-fi fantasy stamps from Hungary, 1978.

Philately Fridays: Germany, 1983

2012-03-09T10:28:00.002-06:00

Two stamps from Germany all about SPORTS! No idea why the illustrator got all wavy with everything, but it works for me.

John Alcorn

2012-02-27T10:35:00.004-06:00

photo by Phyllis Alcorn, 1989.

John Alcorn was an American graphic artist and illustrator, working from the 1950s up until his death in 1992. A graduate of Cooper Union, a member of Pushpin Studios, and then an art director at CBS, Alcorn then went on to set up shop as a freelance illustrator, creating his most eyecatching and memorable work. Here are some of my favorites. To view much much more of his work, visit The Art of John Alcorn website.

Editorial illustration, 1969

One of the dozens of book jackets Alcorn produced while working in Florence for the Italian publishing house Rizzoli. This cover is from 1973.

1972.

1973.

1976,

Packaging design for Aramis Perfume, 1982

1989.

Philately Fridays: Germany, 1977

2012-02-24T08:55:00.002-06:00

Three-stamp set from Germany, putting a subtle 1977 twist on the art nouveau (Jugendstil) styles of the turn of the 20th century.

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A Glossary of Television Terms

2012-02-21T12:00:00.002-06:00

Fantastically-illustrated piece by John Alcorn under the art direction of the legendary Lou Dorfsman for CBS, 1964.

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Philately Fridays: Hungary, 1982

2012-02-17T10:04:00.003-06:00

Two stamps from Hungary from a year of competitive recreational activities. 1982 didn't just see Budapest hosting a stamp-worthy Rubik's Cube world championship, but also a stamp-worthy European table tennis championship!

Here's some footage from that Rubik's Cube championship:

Stefan Kanchev

2012-02-16T09:23:00.004-06:00

When it comes to logo designers, you really couldn't hope for anyone more creative and prolific than the late, great Stefan Kanchev. During the second half of the 20th Century, he single-handedly put Bulgaria on the world graphic design map, pumping out hundreds and hundreds of logomarks, postage stamps, and other incredibly stylish and effective designs. Here is a collection of some of his best work. These images are from a series of photos from an exhibition of Kanchev's work found on logoblink.com

Check out more from Stefan Kanchev on So Much Pileup.

And definitely check out much much more from Stefan Kanchev over at stefankanchev.com.

Star Wars promotional designs

2012-02-15T11:02:00.004-06:00

I've been a Star Wars fan for as long back as I can remember. The original trilogy shaped a lot of my childhood and creative imagination. There was a great deal of fantastic design work associated with the films and here's a collection of some of it, mostly found online.

Early logo before the more commonly-known yellow on black letters came to be.

Poster for NPR's radio dramatization of Star Wars by illustrator Celia Strain. See more of her work at comicartfans.com

My all-time favorite Star Wars poster, from Israel.

The Italian design is also great. I love the creative liberties taken by the artist.

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Incredible comic book ad showing off a ton of Star Wars toys.

And perhaps the most bizarre of all, this poster with C3PO and R2D2 asking parents to make sure their children have been immunized!