Questions and Answers
 

QUESTION: Do you remember Gene London who appeared on WCAU, Channel 10, Philadelphia, many years ago?  I was a member of the Gene London Fan Club and sent in for a set of twelve movie star photographs.  The four by five inch black and white photographs include pictures of Susan Hayward, Bridget Bardot, Connie Stevens, Jayne Mansfield, and others.  I still have the envelope with its three cent stamp in which the pictures came.  Do they have any value?  --  BH, Northampton, PA

ANSWER: Of course I remember Gene London.  Does not everyone?  The answer is an obvious no.  You have to be well above forty and have grown up in the Philadelphia television viewing market.

When I received your question, my immediate thought was: “What happened to Gene London?”  I did an Internet search and found the following up-to-date biography in the “Children’s Show Hosts” section of www.tvacres.com:  “Gene London – Tall, slender children’s show host with dark hair and a soft spoken manner who starred on the GENE LONDON SHOW in the Philadelphia area on WCAU-TV Channel 10 from 1959 to 1977.  Early programs began with Gene London opening the door of his General Store and flipping the sign to read ‘Open for Business.’  As the kids passed by Gene, he palmed the top of their heads and sang the opening theme song.  Once inside the General Store, Gene told stories and used a large drawing pad to illustrate key scenes and characters from the tales….Originally called GENE LONDON’S CARTOONS & STUFF, THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF GENE LONDON, and CARTOON CORNERS, the format for THE GENE LONDON SHOW changed over the years.  At first Gene worked for a general store that was located next to a confetti factory…..Later the program shifted to the haunted Quigley mansion located next door (the mansion’s exterior establishing shot was just a painting) with stories and plots centering around ghosts, UFO, aliens.  When the show was cancelled, Gene moved to New York City and became involved in the fashion industry as a dress designer.  Until 2001 Gene operated a retro clothes shop called “Gene London: The Fan Club’ on Manhattan’s West 19th Street….”

Gene London, born Eugene Yulish in Cleveland, aspired to be a Disney artist and often showed Disney cartoons and movies on his show.  Early in his career, he worked at Pocono Mountain resorts teaching puppetry.  His puppeteering TV credits include JOHNNY JUITER and ABC-TV’s TINKER WORKSHOP with Bob Keeshan (a.k.a. Captain Kangaroo) and THE TODAY SHOW with Dave Garroway.

After leaving Philadelphia, Gene London also served as a Broadway and Hollywood fashion consultant, spokesperson for Mikimoto brand jewelry, and assembled a movie celebrities costume collection numbering 60,000 accessories, dresses, and gowns.

Apparently many others also remember the Gene London show.  Visit the website www.tvparty.com, go to the “Philly Local Kid Shows” listing, and click on “Gene London” and “A Letter from Gene London.”

Regular readers of “Rinker on Collectibles” know that I am engaged in a continuing project to collect information about local children’s television programs (programs that aired only locally; not nationally) in the period between 1945 and 1980.  I also am continually searching for premiums and giveaways from these programs.  Such material is especially hard to find, even on eBay.

Having stated this, when I do find premiums and giveaways from local children’s television programs, I do not have to pay a lot of money for them.  Most examples are priced at $25.00 or less.  Although scarce, there are no buyers for them.  They bring more when they cross over into another collecting category.

I could not help noticing that you listed only female movie stars.  Were there no male stars in the mix?  Being an old-timer, I can assure you many of these names brought a smile to my face.  The value of your pack of movie star photographs is between $15.00 and $18.00.

QUESTION: I was reading in the Saturday, November 20, Newsday [Author’s Note: A Long Island newspaper], about your love of Hopalong Cassidy memorabilia.  I am not a big collector of Western memorabilia.  I have looked on eBay for an autographed photo of Hoppy.  Are they hard to find?  I would appreciate any advice you can give me on this matter.  – MB, E-mail question.

ANSWER: The key question is: “What Hoppy signature do you want?”  Remember, Hopalong Cassidy is a fictional character portrayed by William Boyd, an actor.  Those who grew up watching Hopalong Cassidy movies in the theater or on television often confuse the two.  Hopalong Cassidy became a real person to many of us.

William Boyd-signed photographs are tough to find.  Most are found on non-Hopalong Cassidy images, mostly from Boyd’s silent film and early talking picture days.  When signing a Hopalong Cassidy photograph, Boyd normally signed “Hoppy” or “Hopalong Cassidy.”

Printed photographs containing a printed signature abound.  They were given away as premiums by a wide variety of licensees, especially bakery companies.  Several licensed products also contain images with a printed “Hoppy” signature.

Alas, like baseball autographs, fraudulent “Hoppy” signatures are prevalent.  One of my more embarrassing moments in the field occurred when an individual wanted to present me with a gift for a favor I had done for him.  He bought a signed “Hoppy” photograph from an extremely well-known autograph dealer.  Upon receiving the gift, I took one look at the signature and knew immediately that it was a fake.  I should have told him, but I did not.  Fortunately, this was a long time ago.  Today, I would not hesitate to tell him he had been had.

Normally, I advise individuals to pay less for a picture that has been endorsed to a specific person.  In this case, the endorsement may help establish authenticity.  In fact, if I was buying a signed “Hoppy” photograph, I only would buy it from a person who said they stood there and watched Boyd sign it.

Boyd did sign autographs.  In fact, he was extremely generous with his signature.  If you cannot find a signed photograph you can trust, consider buying a clipped signature from an autograph book and framing it beneath a color picture of Boyd as Hoppy.

How much should you pay?  My advice is to ignore price guide prices.  Hopalong Cassidy price guides are either badly out of date or authored by individuals with a vested interest in keeping the market high.  My suggestion is to not spend over $75.00, at least this is what my heart tells me to tell you, largely because of my love for Hopalong Cassidy.  My head says set a $50.00 limit.  If the signature is printed, limit your purchase cost to $20.00 or less.

Most importantly, do not buy any “Hoppy” signature without a money back guarantee if it should prove to be a fake.  If you have any question in your mind, walk away.  Be safe rather than sorry.

QUESTION: I recently found some old collectible cards in the attic.  I have identified them as GUM cards based upon an old price guide I found entitled The American Card Catalog (Nostalgia Press, 1967).  I have cards from two different sets, neither of which is complete.  The older set is identified as R69, The Horrors of War (1937), and the other as R164, War Gum (1941-1942).  Can you give me any idea as to the value and marketability of these cards?  --  PW, Macungie, PA, E-mail Question.

ANSWER: As collecting trends change, reference book titles appear and disappear.  Such is the case with price guides devoted to non-sport trading cards.

Old-timers like me still refer to these cards as Bubble Gum cards because we remember when they came in packs featuring a rectangle of incredibly sugary tasting gum.  The only person for whom the gum was good was the dentist.  Bubble gum was one of the principal causes of tooth decay in children who grew up in the 1940s through the 1960s.

Christopher Benjamin and Dennis Eckes’ The Sport Americana Price Guide to Non-Sports Cards 1930-1960 (Edgewater Book Company, 1991) is the most recent price reference I own.  It provides this information about your two series:

“Horrors of War (288).  2 1/2” x 3 1/8”.  ‘Horrors of War,’ perhaps the most famous non-sport card set of all time, was marketed in 1938 by Gum, Inc. of Philadelphia.  The sensational graphic artwork and propaganda-laden text turned the series into an overnight success, and it was even featured in LIFE magazine.  The first 48 cards have small size numbers prefaced with the abbreviation ‘No.’  Of these, 1-24 are considered slightly more difficult to obtain than 25-48.  Cards 25-192 are the most common in the series….Cards in the 193-240 sequence finish off the ‘traditional’ or ‘first’ series of Horrors of War….They were issued in gum pack wrappers with four different sets of war designs and in six different colors: blue, green, orange, rose, white and yellow.  Of these, green and white are the colors most commonly encountered.

“On the back of the cards in the 193-240 group, we find the statement ‘Additional Series Coming!  Look for Them!’ and sure enough, Gum Inc. printed another 48 cards….All of these ‘second series’ cards are difficult to find in top condition, especially the three cards picturing Adolph Hitler (277, 283, & 286), the most sought-after number in the entire series….”

“WAR GUM (132)  2 1/2” x 3 1/8”  ‘War Gum’ was the last great bubble gum card series to be issued in the United States before the war effort cut off all supplies of essential materials.  Produced by Gum, Inc.’s marvelous tandem, J. Warren Bowman and George Moll, the 132-card series began distribution in 1941 and continued well into 1942.  This allowed the Gum, Inc. art and writing teams to cover many of the current events of the war, to report the actions of the first American heroes, and to spotlight many Allied leaders as well.  Compared to ‘Horrors of War,’ the artwork and write-ups of War Gum are far less graphic and concentrate not on enemy atrocities but on the bravery of Allied servicemen and leaders….Another outstanding feature of the War Gum series is the five different wrappers in which the cards are packed.  Four of these wrappers are actual miniature maps of war zones….”

Back in 1991 individual cards in average condition in the Horrors of War series were valued between $3.00 and $10.00 each and cards in the War Gum series between $2.00 and $6.00 each.  Certain cards, such as the No. 1 card, carried premium prices.

Horror of War and War Gum cards appear regularly for sale on eBay.  The average 1991 values prevail.  Hard to find Horror of War cards sell between $18.00 and $30.00.

Grading your cards is essential.  Consult and apply the same grading standards found in any major baseball card or sports card reference book.

Harry L. Rinker welcomes questions from readers about collectibles, those mass-produced items from the twentieth century.  Selected letters will be answered in this column.  Harry cannot provide personal answers.  Photos and other material submitted cannot be returned.  Send your questions to: Rinker on Collectibles, 5093 Vera Cruz Road, Emmaus, PA 18049.  You also can e-mail your questions to rinkeron@fast.net.  Only e-mails containing a full name and mailing address will be considered.

Home & Garden Television (HGTV) currently lists COLLECTOR INSPECTOR as on hiatus from January 1 through June 30, 2005.  Whether or not it returns as reruns in July depends entirely on HGTV.
 

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