I love to save old TV stuff and most here know I have various TV Guides dating back as far as 1953, before it was even a national publication. Then there's Ed Conroy, who's a serious collector of television as seen in Ontario (and I'm proud to say, a SOWNY member) whose Retrontario site is a marvel to behold. 

But few people can claim to actually have made a living by saving and preserving all forms of old media, including kinescopes, ancient TV shows, old station IDs, and even those hoary old films they used to show you in classrooms about how to properly date or treat a girl. 

His name is Ira Gallen and he's amongst the world's best known TV archivists. He will literally drive anywhere or do anything to get his hands on old VTR tapes or paraphernalia that some TV or radio station might be throwing away because they don't have room for them anymore.

So how does he make a living off that? He sells these rare and vintage bits of history to producers, who may want to have a certain vintage TV show or old commercial showing on a set in a movie to recreate a bit of history and reality, but have no idea where to get it. 

Back when I had a 10' satellite dish, Gallen's old New York City cable show, called "Biograph Days, Biograph Nights" was on every week on some obscure channel and you'd never know exactly what you'd see. The program was an amalgam of black and white Warner Bros. cartoons, vintage commercials, ancient videos and even long lost movie clips or interviews. It was an amazing hour and I never missed it. 

But while I don't think the show is still on, the Internet has taken its place and Ira has a huge presence on YouTube. His subsite there, called TV Days, has a treasure trove of material you'll never see anywhere else.

There's a Topo Gigio video, a commercial for an unsuccessful Post cereal called "Corn Crackos," the Chiquita Banana jingle, a 1945 newsreel, a Howdy Doody Christmas, a 1948 instructional video called "Your Movie Camera and How To Use It," an old TV bowling show, Mr. Magoo for GE bulbs, and several episodes of an old NBC kids show called "Rootie Kazootie." And believe me that doesn't even begin to list them all. 

Two that fit SOWNY are embedded here. One is an RCA presentation for a new tape "cartridge" circa 1957, that I've never seen before, but it appears to have been a large early version of what would one day become the cassette. 

And then there's a spot for an RCA portable transistor radio that comes with its own stand, in a "guaranteed non-breakable IMPAC case."

You can see what's on offer here. But beware - this site is a giant time waster. And I can't think of a better way to waste it!