GODZILLA vs. THE THING Unused Ad Mat #203 (AIP/National Screen Service, 1964)

 

This is another brief one today, but here is an UNUSED vintage Ad Mat (or Ad Mold, or even "flong," which some people call them) from GODZILLA vs. THE THING!

We have looked at a few of these over the years, but if you are new here:  these were ordered through the pressbook, and were made of molded wood pulp.  The idea was that molten lead was poured into them, and added to a block of wood to make a newspaper ad printing block! As such, this destroyed the mold, so as you can imagine, unused ones rarely pop up!

The entire piece measures 4 & 5/8 by 3 & 3/8 inches, but that is including the large border around the ad.  Through the magic of "having the pressbook," we can compare the ad mold to the actual finished product, below!

This of course plays off of the legendary Reynold Brown artwork for the half-sheet poster of this film, which is a masterpiece.  

This ad mold has been added to the newest edition of our Guide to Vintage American Godzilla Theatrical Promotional Items, which you can download for free and see this and much, much more!

Godzilla & King Kong Aurora Model Kits Retailer Order Form! (Aurora, 1964)

A quick one today, but the image speaks for itself. Here is an original retailer order form (measuring 8.5 x 11 inches) that is announcing the 1964 King Kong and Godzilla Aurora model kits, which will run you the princely sum of a buck-forty-nine apiece!

This piece has an even cooler story in its provenance.  I purchased this from one of the top Aurora model collectors in the world, and it actually came from the personal collection and estate of Andy Yanchus (1944-2021).  Yanchus was a colorist at Marvel Comics for 17 years (he even colored the AMAZING SPIDER-MAN issue that was the Hobgoblin's first appearance!), but before that, he actually worked for Aurora for over 10 years, designing kits and rising to the rank of Aurora Project Manager.  As you would expect, he left Aurora with a huge collection of artifacts and artwork.

This is an awesome piece with its connection to Godzilla history already, but knowing the "rest of the story" makes it even better!