The This-Old-Jeep.com 2011 Calendar- March

Finally, for this month, we have two photos of what else? Guys loving the time spent in the saddle of their jeeps. The top photo comes to us from Arizona, but unfortunately, I have no other information on it, just a guy out doing some yard work in his MB Once again it belongs in the files of maybe someone out there knows who these men are?

The bottom photo is of two men that I can speculate was taken in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan as the license plate shows that it was registered there in 1949. But the interesting things about it is the given name of the 2A... “Santa Maria.” No word on whether the Nina or the Pinta were nearby.



One final note, being an amateur collector of beer bottles, I am curious about the bottle that one of them is holding. I cannot really get enough of it in the scan to identify. Perhaps someone out there has an idea?



You can click here to be taken to the album containing the rest of the pages which will be revealed here one by one over the months of 2011. Check out the This-Old-Jeep.com Zazzle marketplace for lots more jeep related goods including the 2011 calendar for the jeep lover in your life. More is to come soon!

The This-Old-Jeep.com 2011 Calendar- February

Today’s entry is the February page. This was found in a scrapbook from possibly a dealer’s personal album. It came with three other 8X10’s that depict the same 2A hard at work for Canfield Tow Bar Company of Detroit, Michigan. The 2A came equipped with a towing attachment that allowed it to serve as a light duty wrecker, just one of the many future civilian uses that Willys-Overland foresaw the jeep excelling at.

I will post the three remaining photos in a future post. They also feature the 2A along with a special guest jeep model assisting!

Coming up tomorrow, March! In the meanwhile you can click here to be taken to the album of the pages. Don’t forget if you want the calendar itself you can still find it at the This-Old-Jeep.com Zazzle marketplace! There’s still plenty to see in it (and plenty of 2011 left!) and it would look great in your garage or man-cave!

The This-Old-Jeep.com 2011 Calendar- January

I’ve wanted to show off the pages of the This-Old-Jeep.com 2011 calendar from Zazzle for awhile now, but unfortunately it got lost in the shuffle. So this weekend I’d like to try to make up for it by covering the first three months and from there on we’ll go over a page a month. You can click here to view the album containing the pages.

These photos are mainly ones that have not been found in the pages of This-Old-Jeep.com prior to the calendar so there’s plenty to see. starting off with January however we have two photos that have appeared before but are such perfect winter photos that they had to show up here. As is the case with so many photos that you find the subjects and locations and circumstances are anonymous or contain one little tidbit. The man and the boy standing near the CJ and the photo of the MB near a hunting (?) camp along with the Ford (?) pickup are tantalizing pieces in a puzzle that the jeep formed worldwide over its history and that continues today. Make up your own stories about the photos. I know that I already have.

And don’t forget that you can still buy the calendar from Zazzle, an online marketplace that you can find a huge variety of items from t-shirts, to caps, bumper stickers, mouse pads. I am going to work on refreshing the store soon and have new products, new t-shirts, new caps and more! And coming soon, iPhone and iPad cases featuring your favorite little workhorse, the jeep!

EC Comics' Two Fisted Tales

Thanks for hanging in there, folks! Today we have a reprint of an EC Comics original that I was lucky to have stumbled across. It’s a reprint of the September/October 1951 issue of “Two Fisted Tales.” “TFT” was brought out by William Gaines’ EC Comics in 1950 and was part of a lineup including The Vault Of Horror and Tales From The Crypt comics. It stayed true to theme of telling a short but compelling little story that often relied heavily on irony, the unexpected and characters getting their just desserts in a morality play. The artwork for the cover and the first story “Death Stand” was done by the exceptional 1950’s comic book artist and illustrator, Jack Davis. Davis was also one of the original artists for Mad magazine and EC Comics when he had found his niche in freelance work after a stint in the Navy.

I remember reading and enjoying many of Davis’ unique stories in both Mad and these EC reprints both when I was a boy and even now as an adult.

They still hold up and I thought you may enjoy these few pages too. While the jeep is an inherent part of the story it’s main focus wasn’t entirely on the jeep itself. But these few pages show that Davis could draw a decent MB (even though he gets the slot count for the grill wrong, 11 and 12 slots in two different panels...). Oh well, it’s more important that he didn’t draw it to look like a CJ in olive drab!

You can click here to be taken directly to the album and see the rest of the pages. Check back tomorrow for another magazine article from 1952!

1948 Collier’s Magazine Station Wagon Ad

When you think of the jeep, and in particular, the early jeep, most people think of the rugged, hard working dirty faced little companion that endured a war and trucked on through post war America by not being afraid of getting its tires muddy. But there was another side of the market exemplified in this ad that Willys Overland appealed to. This ad comes from a 1948 copy of the women’s magazine Collier’s and it shows that the Willys wagon was also built to enjoy the less rugged side of civilian life.

At this time, the 463 and the flat head six “Lightning” equipped 663 wagons were strictly two- wheel drive until the following year and perfect for a trip around town. With it’s “luxuriously appointed interior with arm rests front and rear, 3 ash trays and 2 dome lights,” it was still certainly spartan compared with today’s modern SUV, but it showed itself to still be a full blooded jeep.

To see the full sized ad you can click here to view the ad along with other vintage station wagon ads.

Stay tuned to This-Old-Jeep.com for lots more this year. I still have plenty to scan. I’m also still in the process of revamping the look of the site. Check out our Facebook and Twitter feeds if you haven’t already and let me know what you think!

The Goof That Laid The Golden Egg- Argosy Magazine Illustration

Today’s entry comes in the form of a two page illustration from the October 1955 issue of Argosy magazine, a pulp magazine geared towards men’s interests that we have highlighted before for a cover illustration featuring a jeep.

The illustration is a dynamic and well laid out design of a GI taking a tumble from a jeep before landing upon the pursuing MP. “The Goof That Laid The Golden Egg” is a typical example of the kind of articles found in Argosy, light comic/ drama and the true story that filled the pages and attracted many a man to sustain a publication of nearly 100 years!

The illustration was done by a well respected comic and commercial artist, Jack Hearne. Though he seems to have led a sad existence in the latter stages of his life, he was a talented illustrator who worked from the fields of comics to the auto industry. You can find a Flickr stream of his work here as well as a short tribute to him here. You can click here to view the album of illustrations.

Coming next week I plan on showing off many new photos that I have published in This-Old-Jeep.com’s 2011 calendar available from Zazzle. It’s still available for sale and not too late to get a neat one of a kind calendar for your wall featuring nothing but original never before seen photos of what else? Jeeps! Until then enjoy your weekend!