Cats on 8-inch wheels

I wonder why the cat is walking the dogs? And why the other cats are riding bicycles, a motorcycle and a Vespa?
A quite accurate Vespa drawing, some sort of Bachetta (rod) or Roman Vacanzes (Roman Holiday). Well, both the head lamp and the engine cowl are a bit strange. And the speedometer as well.
From a postcard, more details later. Maybe...

Giro del mondo in Vespa

  

I just discovered that my board game "Tour de monde en Vespa" was incomplete. The picture above shows that you besides the Vespas has an indian, an asian, an african and a kangaroo as checkers.

The pictures is from the italian version "Giro del mondo in Vespa" which has a square box, or is it a later version?

Fat chance of finding the missing checkers? Don't think so...



Tour du monde en Vespa!

I have bought another Vespa collectible, the french cardboard game "Tour de monde en Vespa", World tour on Vespa or Giro Mondiale in Vespa (not quite sure about that translation to italian).
A friend bought in France this autumn and then when was kind enough to pass it on to me. Luckily he is not a Vespa freak, although he owns a 60's Ciao in mint condition.
The game is from about the mid-fifties, lots of fun and beautiful stuff to get around the world. As a player you belong to a Vespa Club and get a marker in the form of a Vespa in, maybe, pewter. Then you have dices and a peg-top (?) to spin in order to stop or help you.
My 37 year old school french isn't very useful when I'm trying to read the rules and regulations (i.e. how to play).
Maybe I'll try to play it anyhow with the family during Christmas!

Spin it and you know what to do.

The stuff that makes the game go forward.

The players on their Faro bassos.

You travel in North & South America.

As you can see we live in igloos in northern Sweden.

The faro basso looks awfully big...

My Vespa from Bandai!

Yes! I have acquired a tin toy Vespa from Bandai. It arrived with the post today.
According to the book "Vespa Forever" by Robin Davy it's from about 1957. The colours where silver, red, white and - green!
Mine has been played with, one hubcap is missing and there is some surface rust. The steering column has only one tab instead of three fixating it to the front wheel and fender. The handlebar is a little bit broken. But I don't care, I'm still happy over it!

Cigarettes, booze & Vespa?

I just got this jewel. An old ashtray in the form of a Firestone tire where the tray has beautiful drawing of a couple on a Vespa. From the beginning of the 60's? No faro basso, the headlamp is on the handle bar.
Pretty cool, huh?

Vespa & Lambretta collectibles

Yesterday I found a copy of the Swedish cartoon magazine "Vilda Västern" (Wild West) from the mid-fifties.
Strangely enough they had a collectors series of motorcycles available on the Swedish market at the time. On every backside of the tiny magazine there was either a motorcycle or a scooter. Of course I looked for a Vespa or a Lambretta and came up with this Lambretta 125 F below. Just a black and white picture and some specifications like "123 cc, 4 hp and top speed 70 km/h".
The glass is from the classic Italian beverage maker Cinzano. It's from 2007 and obviously a homage to the vintage Vespa. Hrm, isn't there a bottle somewhere...

The back of a Swedish cartoon magazine from the fifties.