Welcome back to the Profiles & Premiums Newsletter!
Two new Photo ID Guides and a brand new Profile courtesy of Tammy Stone highlight this month's issue.
The following introductory paragraphs contain information about site updates on things-and-other-stuff.com as well as general e-commerce news and notes -- if this stuff doesn't interest you use the links in the purplish-pink box at the left (In This Issue) to skip down to the main content of the issue. Otherwise, here we go:
Links: I finally went through the Links pages on the site and updated them. Besides featuring the new look and feel that I've been trying to spread over the site, I've gone through each link and removed those which didn't work, hunted down a few whose addresses had changed, and added several, especially on the All About Movie Stars & Their Movies page.
I also completely removed the last page of links, which were general and unrelated to the content of the site. I hadn't accepted links to that page for some time, and many of the ones that were there were from bad neighborhoods on the net, links I accepted early on without knowing any better.
Link exchange is funny like that. Back in the early days of the site (2002), I accepted any link exchange that was offered to me. As they became too tough to sort through I split them into relevant pages a couple of years after that. I pursued links by e-mailing webmasters at sites I liked and offering an exchange. Now that the site's been running so long it's something I don't put much effort into. If I see a site I like, I give it a link, either on one of the link pages or on a more relevant page of the site. I usually don't contact anyone about an exchange anymore, if someone likes a page they'll link to it. I think I've even got a couple of links from Wikipedia now (which is sweet!).
More Site Updates: I've finally finished sorting through all of the profiles and have updated each with the new look and feel I've mentioned above--every profile now includes the new menu at the top of the page, which means if you feel like reading a little you can move seamlessly from profile to profile throughout the site. I also finally had a lightbulb click on over my head regarding using CSS and have fixed a lot of the coding on the profile pages--if this means nothing to you, I'll put it this way: the profile pages, which containing the same or more content, have actually shrunk by 1/4 to 1/3 in size on the backend, which means the pages should load for you that much faster
eBay Changes: I went out of my way not to cover these on the blog, instead sticking to the smaller problems I've run into while actually using eBay lately. If you're interested in some great recent write-ups covering all of the changes over at eBay be sure to check out Randy Smythe's Blog Utopia -- as movie fans you may have even purchased from Randy in the past, he used to run Glacier Bay DVD on eBay. Also well worth checking out is TameBay -- they're based in Britain, so if you're in Europe you'll find some of their posts especially relevant, but you shouldn't miss out if you're in the USA either.
As I said, I haven't said too much on the eBay changes, but most of what I have said can be found in the comments areas of these two blogs (where I post under my real name). Short answer here, every time eBay makes a change it effects a great mass of buyers and sellers differently. Past changes have had me seeking alternatives. This time around these changes help my specific business and I've added 500 new listings to my eBay Store since their announcement.
My Changes: I expect by next issue to officially announce old-magazines-for-sale.com has been closed and the new Movie Cards & Movie Collectibles Store on things-and-other-stuff.com will be opened. (Magazines will be moved to eBay for now). I could technically let you in the door to the new Movie Store right now, as it looks like it's going to look, there are listings there, and I've tested the payment system, but I've only got 200 items listed so far, so I'd rather wait another month before giving you the link. I see no reason not to say that will be in the next issue.
Academy Awards: Finally, with the Oscars coming real soon, it'd be a great time to revisit Tammy Stone's article from a few years ago covering the First Academy Awards from 1929.
That's about all for now. Let's get you to your features:
Photo ID Guide: 1938 Carreras Film Stars
Second Series of 54 Cards
I did previously have a page for this set on the site, but it included an image of just one card. Recently though I purchased a complete set, which has been broken with individual cards offered for sale on eBay, and have updated the previous page with a slideshow including images of all 54 cards in the set as well as a checklist for quick reference.
Take your time with the slideshow, this glossy real photo set of cards has some beautiful photographic shots throughout, such as the small image shown above here of Olivia De Havilland.
And here's the 1938 Carreras Film Stars Photo ID Guide ...
Photo ID Guide: 1929 Keiller's Kinema Karton Trading Cards
Never saw these large glossy cards before, but I did find a reference to them in the Murray's Cigarette Card Guide. I picked them up from a dealer in Ireland recently and will be offering the dozen cards I acquired individually on eBay by as soon as tonight (Feb. 21). Issued with chocolates, these cards are larger than standard tobacco cards, with glossy surfaces on front, beautiful black & white photographs, and quite a bit of descriptive text on the reverse.
And here's the 1929 Keiller's Kinema Karton Photo ID Guide ...
May Allison by Tammy Stone
The Silent Collection
In many ways, the simplest thing we can say about May Allison is that she perfectly encapsulates the spirit and parameters of the silent era of film. Her trajectory will not seem unfamiliar to anyone who has taken an interest in discovering the stars of cinema's early years. Unlike many of her peers, she seemed to sense the changes on the horizon as technology enabled sound to enter the pictures and called it quits while she was ahead. In this way a legacy was born.
May was born on June 14, 1890 ...
Read Tammy's entire May Allison piece here --
Tammy Stone is a freelance writer and journalist based in Toronto. Watch for her regular column on the greats of the Silent Screen in The Movie Profiles & Premiums Newsletter. Tammy invites you to write her at stonetamar@hotmail.com with any questions or comments on her column.
That's it for now. Next month will see the return of Susan M. Kelly and another entry to her series of Great Literary Detectives on flm, plus new Photo ID Guides.
In the meantime, have a great few weeks and enjoy the Oscars!
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