"Las Vegas in Postcards" in Bookstores Now!

March 12, 2009

I was on K-DWN radio yesterday morning promoting my new book, "Las Vegas in Postcards: 1905-1965".

As many of you know, Carey Burke, Allen Sandquist and I spent a long time working on this book last year and our hardwork paid off. The book looks great. It is filled with historic postcards that depict the real history of Las Vegas and focus not only on the well-known iconic side of Las Vegas but also the little known residential history of the town.

We owe a big debt of thanks to Dennis McBride, the Curator of History, at the Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas for letting us use some early postcards from their collection. Mostly, the postcards came from Carey and Allen's extensive collections. Many are rare and rarely seen postcards.

So, if you want to know about the Roadside Architecture of Las Vegas, the gaming, the neighborhood churches and schools, real history of the motels (some of which still exist on East Fremont Street) as well as the real history of the buildings and businesses on Fremont Street and the Strip, then be sure t to get a copy of this book.

On Friday evening, May 8th, Carey Burke and I will be doing a book-signing and program (moderated by Dennis McBride) at the Nevada State Museum. Stay tuned for more details as that date draws closer.

Also, we are preparing a companion video to go with the book. Both the companion video and autographed copies of the book will be available for sale here in the weeks to come. So, keep an eye out here for more details!

Of course, if you find you just can't wait, the book is available in most local to Las Vegas Barnes and Noble and Borders bookstores. You can also buy copies of the book at the Gift Shop in the Nevada State Museum.

Las Vegas in Postcards: 1905-1965 Publication date set

January 31, 2009

Just wanted to give everyone an update on our upcoming book.

It will be available as of March 2nd.

This is a look at the history of Las Vegas through postcards. Many came from the private collection of my co-authors as well as the Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas. It offers a look at not only the history of Fremont Street and the Strip but of neighborhoods and other important local places of importance such as schools and churches. Las Vegas has always been much more than just a gaming mecca and this book offers a glimpse into what life was like in 20th Century Las Vegas.

So keep an eye out for it in your local bookstores.

Or you can pre-order it on Amazon here:

http://tinyurl.com/bnntom

Or from Arcadia Publishing here:

http://tinyurl.com/dzxg3z

Or if you would like an autographed copy, we will have the book for sale here on the blog in a few weeks.

If you live in Las Vegas we will be doing book signings around the Valley so keep an eye out here for more details on that as well.

Las Vegas of YesterYear

January 23, 2009

Here are some more memories of the Las Vegas of our collective memory. Please feel free to share your thoughts and memories with us!

There used to be a magazine called "Your Host in Las Vegas". These ads are from the June 1950 edition. The magazines were in all the hotel rooms and you could make notes on the bottom of the page of when you visted the places.

It's been there off Boulder Highway for over seventy years. Back in 1950 you could eat there for $1.50. Today, you can probably have all you can eat for under $10. Notice the diary at the bottom so you could take the magazine home with you and have a souvenir of your trip!

Wilbur Clark's Desert Inn was one of the poshest places to stay on the Las Vegas Strip back in the day. Check out our history of the famed DI here:

http://tinyurl.com/ce75d5

The Modern West in Old West splendor. The famed Hotel Last Frontier and the Ramona Room. The Harmonicats, a mouth organ trio, were a staple on the Las Vegas Strip of the 1950s. They rose to fame on their cover of "Peg O' My Heart" in 1947.

Learn more about the Harmonicats here:

http://www.harmonicats.com/mlwkjrnl.htm

Learn more about the history of the Hotel Last Frontier here:

http://tinyurl.com/b4rtd4

The Golden Nugget was a paen to the famed days of San Francisco and the Barbary Coast. With it's beautiful bullnose front and its Victorian-era flasher bulb sign that seemed to hang in the air with no support, the Golden Nugget reminded one and all of Las Vegas's frontier past.

Learn more about the Golden Nugget here:

http://tinyurl.com/bz5cph

Learn more about the Golden Nugget signage here:

http://classiclasvegas.squarespace.com/classic-las-vegas-neon-designe/

My thanks to my friend Genevieve in Atlanta for passing this great magazine along to me!

Las Vegas: A random group of memories

January 17, 2009

Here are some photos that I came across when cleaning out my office. I'll be posting more over the weekend. Feel free to leave comments about these pieces of Las Vegas history, especially those that aren't there anymore.