Retro

26 of the finest artists of the 20th century are celebrated in the Great Modern Artists A to Z poster by Andy Tuohy. Of course, only one artist per letter causes problems - not least oversubscription on some letters and a shortage on others. But if nothing else, the poster will inform you that there's a Larry Zox in existence. No, we've never heard of him either.It's sized at 50 x 70cm and sells for £14.95.Find out more at the Andy Tuohy website

Eddie Albert talks about living in a condemned building above Toots Shor's and having his fly undone onstage.

My father had a friend who was Cherokee. The man loved to read and watch Westerns; a passion they shared. After he passed, his widow called dad and asked if he'd like to have a box of Louis L'Amour paperbacks. Dad is never one to jump to a "yes", so I said it for him. He frowned at me, but enjoyed reading all of the books. I'll be featuring some of the covers. They date mainly back to the 1970s. This cover was done, I believe, by David J. Blossom (1927-1995), son of Earl Blossom (1891-1970). He was born in Chicago, Illinois but lived most of his life on the east coast, growing up in Rye, New York and Weston, Connecticut. He lived in Westport and Southport, Connecticut until 1963, when he moved with his family to Weston, where he lived until his death in 1995. ??He worked at Young & Rubicam as an art director (for the Ford Motor Company and Pan American Airways accounts) until moving to Weston, CT when he became a freelance illustrator. (SOURCE: AskArt) He was known for illustrating Romance and Western covers. Click here and here to see examples of Romance book covers; specifically nurses.

A great piece of period interior design for very little money, this 1960s midcentury-style yellow glass ceiling light. No mention if its history, but it's very much a '60s design (possibly early 1970s at a push), with that bold shade of yellow designed to brighten up any room. It's made of 'thick double-layered glass', which is white in the inside and with a diameter of 32cm.More images on the listing, with the price right now at just one penny.Find out more at the eBay website

Nostalgic skate types might like the look of the Vans Old Skool 2 Tone, which is here in two colour options. Introduced by Vans in 1977, the Old Skool silhouette is in this two tone colourway, a mix of canvas and suede in the two options you see here, along with contrast branding to the side walls, contrast stitching throughout and  an ecru coloured midsole with a rubber brand tab to the heel.£55 is the price of both versions.Find out more at the Size? website

Vintage Maneki Neko figure. The Lucky Cat has been a popular decor item in American households for decades. Believed to bring good fortune, many variations are available – including ones designed to deliver money, luck, happiness and other great things. Although many refer to him as the Chinese Lucky Cat, his origin is actually Japanese. The Maneki Neko (which actually means beckoning cat) was first advertised in 1902, and theorists say he was first introduced around 1876 (there’s argument whether he comes from Osaka or Tokyo). In popular culture, this good luck kitty can also be found in the form of key chains, piggy banks, ornaments or other decorative items. It’s the Lucky Cat statue or figurine that is most recognizable, and common materials used were either ceramic or tin. He’s been seen in many colors and levels of ornateness. Traditionally, he always beckons us with an upright left paw, and many businesses placed him at entrances to “welcome” us. Other postures, though, have been used over the years, including two paws up, and mechanical figures which depict a waving paw. Typically, the left paw raised invites people, while the right paw raised invites money. The most common colors of the cat are white, black, gold (yellow) and red, and each has meaning. White is for luck, black for good health, gold/yellow for money, and red for love. Collectors of original Maneki Nekos also look for other features, including neckwear, ornamental design, and what the cat might be holding. Each detail was designed with a purpose. Retro-style Good Luck Kitty: Serenity. Most interesting are the “legends” behind these cats. There are several, but among the most popular is that of a starving stray cat being taken in by a poor shop owner. In return, the cat sits outside, by the front door, and beckons new customers with its left paw. The cat, bringing prosperity to the shop owner, has since been a long-standing symbol of good fortune for small business owners. Other folktales center around the cat diverting people from danger. Of course, many collect lucky cats because they find them adorable. Newer, retro-styled figures don colorful designs and are displayed for fun just as much as perceived luck. Want to learn more about the Maneki Neko? Two resources include Japan Monthly Web Magazine and Wikipedia. Do you collect these figures? We’d love to see your pictures.

Sometimes a design is a classic because it's so simple. That's the Fritz Hansen Dot stool by Arne Jacobsen. The Dot, aka the model 3170, was developed by Fritz Hansen in the 50s (1954), but as a three-legged stool. It was adapted in 1970 to the design that's available today. Those legs are made of steel, while the seat is made of ash, coloured in a variety of shades, some of which are pictured above.Looks good, pretty useful too. £191 gets you one.Find out more at the Made in Design website

I still don't have an expensive mp3 player. I listen to music & podcasts all the time, so an MP3 player in my employ is likely to get crammed into a pocket and get knocked around a bit. Since there is such a wealth of perfectly serviceable sub $25 models around, it really doesn't pay for me to splash out for a fancy music player (though I'd still like to get an early iPod one of these days). I usually end up with an off-brand or non-brand unit from some online surplus outfit. The one I'm using right now is amazingly feature-packed. It plays music that sounds good (not always the case with a cheapie), videos, even e-books... all of this for the amazing price of $14.So what makes this interesting to the retro crowd (besides the fact that I keep it loaded up with old time radio shows and old Sammy Davis Jr. records...)? It packs a surprise function. This $14 no-name has an extra on-screen menu for "Games". I highlighted the joystick icon to be greeted by what is clearly a not-at-all legal NES emulator. The included game ROM? A game starring a certain plumber in his adventure-ready coveralls. Ahem. That signature music came on, so I was looking forward to playing NES games on a $14 cheapie that I could recommend to all of you, but there's a significant problem. There aren't enough buttons to actually play the games. You use the fast-forward and rewind buttons to move left and right (the buttons are on top of each other to make gameplay even more disorienting). No buttons on the player make Mario jump or do anything other than move left and right. As you can imagine, this does curtail one's game selection quite a bit. I can't even think of one game that would be fun this way... Arkanoid maybe?My guess is that my player is reusing firmware from another (possibly less cheap?) MP3 player that hopefully has more buttons built in. I guess that an NES emulator doesn't pose much of a challenge to modern processors - even the sorts of processor chips they can afford to slap into a cheap MP3 player. Let's remain vigilant, retro readers, for any other cheap electronics harboring an illegitimate 8 bit secret.

Looks like I may need to sell off my Clash CDs and trade up for this huge box from one of my favorite bands.Details:The Clash Sound System: Recorded Works Box Set Designed and compiled by The Clash.Collected for the first time:All of The Clash's seminal studio albums remastered.3 CDs of demos, non-album singles, rarities and B-sides.DVD of all videos with unseen footage by Julien Temple and Don Letts.Original and newly commissioned Clash fanzines, exclusive poster, dog tags, stickers, badges and more.And, for the less obsessed:The Clash Hits Back2-CD album, featuring 33 of the band's iconic tracks.Sequenced from their legendary Brixton Fairdeal show in 1982.Containing the best studio recordings of the full set, plus 8 extra tracks andthe original setlist, as handwritten by Joe Strummer, which he usually tapped to the back of his Telecaster before each gig.

The high street does the 1960s, with this black and white check shell top from River Island.  It's an unashamedly retro design in swinging sixties style, with black and white checks and embellished with Quant-like flowers. There's a keyhole opening and button fastening at the back to add to the period look. Wear it with this mac to be perfectly attired for the spring.  It's yours for £25.  Order it online