The Story of An Old Rusty Metal Box

Many years ago, I'd heard from an elderly work colleague who told me about a construction worker driving a bulldozer, demolishing an old concrete house, somewhere in the Chinatown area.. 

On one fine day, this worker had dug up an old rusty metal box containing cash and gold jewelry. This worker couldn't even be bothered to collect his salary, and he'd disappeared right away without any trace. 

Nobody had ever heard from him anymore since that time. 

Were These Books Discarded, Lost, or Hidden?

That image below isn't that of a book, but an old postcard showing the demolished National Library at Stamford Road.

In the early 1990s, I'd read an interesting book (Goldstein, Joshua S., Long Cycles: Prosperity and War in the Modern Age, Yale University Press, 1988, pp384) at the reference section of the National Library and it had a catalog number R338.542GOL. In 2006, I've tried to search for this book to read it again, but it isn't there in the new building. Does the National Library Board discard away a good academic book like this?

Again in the early 1990s, I'd used the old catalog index card system and found an interesting title (Moss, William Stanley, Gold is Where You Hide It: What Happened to the Reichbank Treasure, London: Andre Deutsch, 1956) but the book, which had a catalog number 332.41MOS, was nowhere to be found on the bookshelf at that time.

My search using the then newly-installed computerized Octopac system had revealed two catalog numbers, CL-332.41MOS and BM-332.41MOS, available for lending. That would mean that there were two books of the same title, one located at the Central Lending section of the National Library at Stamford Road, and the other at the Bukit Merah branch library. Needless to say, both these books of the same title could not be found, presumably lost, I would guess. Or had anyone been hiding them?

More Postcards of Elvis Presley

Keep your new postcards individually inside good quality transparent sleeves.

As far as possible, avoid direct contact with your fingers on these new postcards.

SingPost IPO Cards

Do you recall SingPost putting these IPO publicity cards attached with fridge magnets into your mailbox? 

Some people thought that these cards were junk mails and threw them away without saving those magnets.

Postcards of Elvis Presley

Keep your new postcards individually inside good quality transparent sleeves.

As far as possible, avoid direct contact with your fingers on new postcards, especially those having white background.

Singapore Postcards

Keep your new postcards individually inside good quality transparent sleeves.

Banknote Albums

I'd bought cheap banknote albums for my cheap banknotes.

After I'd sold my banknotes, I'm using these albums for my old used postcards.

Always keep your used postcards separately from your new postcards.

CLEO Postcard

This is probably the smallest gain I'd ever made from selling my stuff on eBay Singapore so far.

Cost of Singapore 2008 CLEO postcard: FOC (given by my daughter)

Auction price paid by buyer: $1.00

PayPal commission charge: 53 cents

Cost of 1st Local postage: 26 cents

Cost of standard envelop: 10 cents

Gain from auction sale: exactly 11 cents

Positive feedback to be gained: Priceless

2008 & 2009 ZoCards/Postcards

I am pleased that a friend has made a great effort in driving a great distance to my place of residence to give me this huge stack of 2008 and 2009 ZoCards printed in Singapore.

These are free postcards printed by advertisers for public distribution and they are good collectible items.

Singapore

Postcard & Matchbox of the Mid-1970s

Souvenirs of the good old days of the mid-1970s. SOLD!

In those days, a visit to Skillets Coffee House on the ground level of Supreme House at Penang Road was a special treat 'coz it served a dish of tasty lamb chops and a glass of fruit juice for about S$10.00.

After eating that sumptuous meal, browsing inside a record store for one or two vinyl LP records to buy at $9.00 each would cost quite a substantial sum of pocket money.

1970/1971 Postcard, Singapore Lido Cinema

This is a nice used postcard showing the old Lido Cinema, most likely printed in 1970 or 1971. You look closely at the two palm trees and you'll see the title of the movie, The Christine Jorgensen Story starring John Hansen, which was produced in 1970.

It was a drama motion picture based on an autobiography of the first man to become a woman -- the story of Christine Jorgensen, the first person to undergo a sex-change operation.

Here's another story as told by a teacher back in my good old school days.

In 1966 when this cinema screened that action adventure movie Thunderball, about that action spy agent James Bond 007, the queue to buy admission tickets on the first few days had stretched right out to the parking lot in front of this cinema (see left image).

My school teacher was among those movie fans queuing patiently to watch Thunderball.

1970's Postcard, National Theater

This is a scarce mint postcard most likely printed in the mid-1970s depicting the demolished National Theater at River Valley Road.

That prime vacant plot of land hasn't been redeveloped ever since the demolition many years ago.

Singapore

An Old Colonial Building Downtown

Large piece of 1984 reproduction black & white picture postcard sealed in a non-reflective glass and wood frame.

That colonial building is currently under some kind of modern renovation for some years and I guess the work is almost done now. Guess where is the site of that building?

This item was sold to a bidder at Yahoo! Auctions Singapore in October 2006. SOLD!

Singapore, Old Colonial Buildings

Nicely sealed and framed, this is a 1984 reproduction black & white picture postcard depicting some old colonial buildings of a bygone era.

Guess which giant shopping complex is situated on that site now?

This item was sold to a bidder at Yahoo! Auctions Singapore in October 2006. SOLD!

Singapore

Nice Yummy Postcard for Display

When Kenny Rogers Roasters opened a dining restaurant at Suntec City sometime in the 1990s, it gave away large colorful postcards like this to its diners.

I'd got this nice postcard and later sealed it inside a wooden frame of 20 cm by 25 cm in size.

Now this is really yummy stuff.