For those wanting to offer a gift with a civic touch, there’s no lack of opportunity to score locally themed merchandise. In the olden days, you might’ve had to luck into an item of curiosity, or quality, via estate, garage and going-out-business sales. But now we’ve got options, including itsastlouisthing.com ("Your St. Louis Favorites, All in One Place!") and brick-and-mortar shops, including St. Louis Curio Shoppe (which offers a li’l everything related to local culture), and or STL-Style, located up Cherokee from the Curio, with its own selection of in-house bags, mugs and tee-shirts.
But it’s fun to occasionally scour the corners of the web for what’s available for sale, with a local touch. To not make this a completely random exercise, our visit was to online sales giant eBay, the ultimate source for weird odds ’n’ ends. Just the kind of stuff we’re looking to track, both new and vintage. Mind you, the items discussed here were up for sale just a few days ago, on Friday, May 25. If still around, feel free to bid away. And remember: we’re not that far away from Half-Christmas, so it’s not as if the gift-giving season is lifetime away...
Chester Himes, Cast the First Stone, 1952, first edition book, Buy it Now price of $194.50: During the mid-20th century, Chester Himes wrote a slew of hardscrabble noir fiction, with language that’s definitely of its time. His characters, even when cast as the good guy, were flawed. And violence was a requisite of all Himes’ books, with both the good guys and the bad dispatched with colorful, inventive ways of dying. First editions are often a pricey buy. There could be the Himes completist out there, looking to score this very piece. If that’s not you, but you wish to sample some intriguing detective fiction with a rugged edge, there’re plenty of Himes titles out there for a few bucks - including copies at your local, physical bookseller.
Tribes with Knives T-shirt, Buy it now Price of $99.99: In the 1990s, there was a nice sampling of rock bands in town, with one of everything represented. Influenced, no doubt, the bands like The Cure, Tribes with Knives melded Goth with metal, creating a dark sound that was perfectly in-step with the moment. As old rockers will tell you, there’s nothing like a nice, worn-in tour t-shirt and this Tribes with Knives model has wear; the seller even notes that the screen-printing’s a bit cracked. But the moths have not gotten to the web’s one, single opportunity to clad yourself in the black-and-white of Tribes. At a penny under a C-note, this item comes with a heavy freight. But if you’re the kind of person cruising the web for exactly this item, well, those fast-twitch muscles in your brain might just click “buy”
The Pruitt-Igoe Myth DVD, priced between $12.75-$20.87: In a perfect world, the Chad Frederichs-directed Myth would be shown in every high school and college in St. Louis. A wonderful retelling of a largely tragic tale, The Pruitt-Igoe Myth is a revelation, possibly setting the bar for documentaries with a St. Louis bent. The good news is that the film’s now on DVD, with the kind of extras that a viewer’s come to expect with any home video release. It’s not exactly bad news, but you can now stream the film on-demand at Netflix, for nothing more than the cost of your monthly membership. But for a certain group of civic enthusiasts, having this one around the house is a positive, especially with the bonus clips. We’ll also note that while you can buy this via the eBay giant, the film’s own website gives you a compelling reason to buy it directly from the filmmakers themselves. And it’s simply this: they did the work and they’ll make more cash, per dollar, if you buy there. But for those thinking quick-quick and wanting to save a couple of coins, you’ve got options.
Sprits of St. Louis, new ballcap, Buy it Now priced at $30.99: It says here that the greatest graphic designs ever done for American sports franchises were done in the early ‘70s, as the ABA attempted to overtake the established NBA. Our local squad disappeared from the franchise landscape when the leagues eventually merged, but the stories of that era have been well-chronicled through the years; our team wasn’t great, but it was full of great characters, let’s say that.. At some point, a local rapper’s going to rock a Sprits cap during a video shoot and these will be flying off of a warehouse’s shelf. Until then, you can be a walking conversation piece, as you stroll down Delmar in a brand new Spirits cap; while lots of programs, tickets and other paper paraphernalia exist from back in the day. But you can’t wear those. And this one’s actually priced in line with the cap prices down at your local mall, so the dollars here seem neither a deal, nor a deal-breaker.
Cardinal Points, a book of baseball poetry by Joseph Stanton, Buy it Now price of $13.49: Local folks would tell you that the Cardinal baseball team has quite a following. (Understatement?) There are probably few topics of St. Louis interest on which more ink has been spilled, with new works coming out in monthly basis. It’s interesting to come across a title like this one, which features a writer, a baseball team and the poetic form. Sadly, no examples come with the listing, but we imagine that pitchers stare menacingly from the mound, clouds of dust are kicked-up at second base and kids are eating popcorn.
A Musical Portrait of Gaslight Square, multi-artist LP, But it Now value of $9.75: You can’t have a round-up of this type without one allusion to Gaslight and this album is, in some respects, this is one of the key must-haves for any died-in-the-wool local collector, of music or civic culture. Featuring a who’s-who of the Gaslight age, this Norman Records release is one that actually pops up in the yard sales and flea markets, with some regularity. Once you start seeing it, this title will definitely pop back around. Funny enough, I’m currently in possession of three copies, and have been at four in the recent past. So, if you wanna make a deal, know that you’ve got options.
