`Back in the day” is an expression that often turns up in conversations of some who grew up in the 1950s and ’60s. It’s another way of saying what previous generations expressed as “the good old days.”
But they both boil down to the same thing: a wistful love affair with things, places and themes from the past.
One way to spread this spirit is to give nostalgic mementos. Antique stores, secondhand shops and flea markets provide a smattering of vintage items, such as original Coca-Cola bottles, movie posters, 45 record singles and metal lunch boxes. But these are often rare items, and their asking price may be more than some budgets can handle.
One way around this is to seek reproductions of such items.
Enhance, a company that makes neon signs for companies like Budweiser and Pepsi, has its own version of the Lava lamp, desk sculptures, clocks and wall hangings reminiscent of the 1950s-’70s.
Oozy (lava) lamps range in price from $25 to $60; neon desk/table sculptures, with images of butterflies, flying fish and flamingos, range from $80 to $100; wall neon sculptures of retro images range from $250 to $500; floor and table Aquastix (bubble) lamps range from $60 to $1,120; and neon clocks range from $50 to $75.
Sales manager Lou Kuchler says the retro items in neon are growing in popularity because they represent a whimsical period of history.
“We’ve made neon signs and sculptures for large companies,” Kuchler says. “In the last few years, we’ve seen how people want to have these for their homes.”
Custom orders can be created by visiting the Enhance company Web site at www.enhanceholding.com or by calling 800-284-8009.
A visit to the Web site, which looks as though it is in neon blue, shows what the company does, but can be frustrating for first-time visitors because prices are not available. To see pictures, call the company’s 800 number to request a brochure.
A neon sign of Old Route 66 and a 1950s image of Marilyn Monroe standing over the subway station easily capture the past–and so do old movies.
The Re Society Ltd. pays homage to Hollywood’s past with its recently introduced “Art of the Movies” collection and its irresistible sales pitch, “Color as luscious as Harlow’s lips, lines as sharp as a Bette Davis barb, and texture as rich as a studio mogul.”
This art house’s works are not typical reproductions. These are fine art lithographs that use the same hands-on techniques, and even the authentic 19th Century French printing presses, that made the Golden Age of posters more than 100 years ago.
A visit to the society’s bright gallery suite in the John Hancock Building provides a chance to see such posters as “Charlie Chaplin, A Dog’s Life,” created in 1918 ($350); “Dracula (Boris Karloff presents),” first made in 1931 ($375); “King Kong,” first made in 1933 ($1,350); and “Wizard of Oz,” first made in 1903 ($375).
The reproduction quality of the posters by the Re Society is so detailed in color and style that these posters look like the real thing. But the Re Society is not trying to fool anyone.
The Re Society is at 875 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 2121. Call 877-376-2438 for an appointment.
