The Carlington Summit

I hope you had a great summer. This month, we have some more oldies but goodies. Prices have certainly gone up over the years.

First Barbie doll (1959): Mattel introduces the 11.5 inch Barbie. Since then, her facial features and general appearance have been updated slightly to reflect changing attitudes towards women. Cost: $3.00

First birth control pill (1960) Cost: $11.00 for a month's supply

First Polaroid camera, Model 95 (1948) Cost: $89.75

One-way passage on the Hindenburg (1936-37): Air service between Germany and the United States took about 60 hours. The Hindenburg made 10 round trip trans-Atlantic crossings before it exploded over Lake Hurst in New Jersey on May 6, 1937. Cost: $400 (US)

The Italian Carbine Rifle that killed John F. Kennedy: Lee Harvey Oswald purchased the rifle by mail in 1963. Cost: $21.45

Ticket to see “Our American Cousin” at Ford's Theatre in Washington DC on April 14, 1865: That was the day Abraham Lincoln was shot. Cost: 50 cents.

Florida in 1819: Spain ceded Florida to the United States in 1819 for a credit that it owed the US. Cost: $5 million

A pair of eyeglasses (1785) Cost: $100

First ball point pen (1945): It was advertised as the first pen that writes underwater. Cost: $12.50

First transcontinental airfare, one-way (1939): On Pan Am from New York to Southampton, England, or from New York to Paris. Cost: $375

First Apple computer (1977): Apple's first fully assembled computer was the Apple II. It was the first personal computer with an ability to generate colour graphics. Its monitor, however, was a television set. Cost: $1,298

First electric blanket (1946): Sold by the Simmons Co. of Petersburg, Virginia. Cost: $39.50

The first suburban tract houses (1947): In Levittown, New York. Cost: $7,990

Stonehenge (1900): The historic manmade circle of stones on Salisbury Plain, England, together with 1,300 acres of surrounding land, was offered for sale in 1900. The site was eventually purchased by the British government. Cost: $625,000 (US).

Happy collecting!

P.S. If you have any old 45 records you don't want any more, give me a call at 725-2249.