More Than A Hobby

Scaramouche card

The other day I received in the mail a decent-sized package.  I opened it up, knowing full well what it was.  Checking the contents, I was quite happy, then put them in the bottom left drawer of my dresser.  You see, that's where that particular bit of merchandise goes.

Aha, you think.  He's just told us where he hides his Christmas presents.  Uh, no.  But that is where I put my non-Western movie memorabilia.  And these two lobby cards were from a 1962 re-release of Grand Hotel, which is anything but a Western.

Yes, I'm a movie memorabilia fanatic.  My family learned a long time ago to quit calling it 'stuff' or 'junk.'  The latter word always got a "tch, tch, tch," especially when they discovered what some posters were going for.  Alas, none of mine are in the astronomical range.

In that case, why own them?  Simple:  I like them. Now if I like the film and not the artwork, forget it.  A perfect example is the highly underrated 1956 Western Tension At Table Rock.  For a forgotten film, the memorabilia from this movie is astronomical.  And whoever designed the poster had to have been on LSD!  (Remember, it was legal then.)  Fortunately, the 1/2 sheet, which is 22x28 is wonderful and I found it for $4 in an auction.  I don't have a place to put it, but I have the money order going out in tomorrow's mail.

Several pieces of my memorabilia are signed:  A lobby card from True Grit is signed by Glen Campbell.  Henry Fonda's signature adorns a lobby card from The Rounders.  Robert Fuller not only autographed my soundtrack album from Return of the Seven, he'd never seen one before.  Joel McCrea signed my 1/4 sheet to Ride the High Country front and back.  (This is my favorite piece of memorabilia.)  An ad from The Comancheros has John Wayne's signature below it in the frame.

An entire wall of my study is adorned with lobby cards from Western films.  Every month, I change them out in order to showcase more cards. (I'm past due for this month.)  I do this in twenty-one different frames, and I have six posters on the wall, not counting the Ride the High Country one.   

One corner of my bedroom looks like a tribute to Scaramouche.  Janet Leigh has signed some things from that film.  Lesley Anne-Down has autographed some lobbies from The Pink Panther Strikes Again that are on the wall. 

Yes, it's an addiction.  But a harmless one.  And I do go through my collection, just like I did my baseball cards as a kid.  Sometimes, I'll go, "Wow.  I didn't remember having that German set," or, "Gee, that's in better shape than I realized," and I'll reminisce about the film or how I found the memorabilia.  It's a blast going through my collection. 

Everyone should have a hobby.  This is the one that helps to deplete my bank account.  But I enjoy it, and opening the package to see if that lobby card from the 1957 version of 3:10 to Yuma is as good as they say is always a thrill.  I know my friends and family think I'm a nut, but that's okay.  I'm just thankful they put up with me, quietly nodding as I get excited to see the mailman.