A museum of pop culture? Yes, please! Geppi’s Entertainment Museum in Baltimore is exactly that — “dedicated to presenting the story of popular culture since the nation’s earliest days in an entertaining and educational fashion so that our guests have the unique opportunity to walk through a timeline that parallels and is entwined with history as a whole.”
I’ve been to Baltimore several times, and to this place twice. That’s how awesome it is. It’s filled with all sorts of artifacts, ephemera and promotional items, and I’m just sharing a few favorites here, out of a collection of over 6,000 objects.
Above, a cover of Punk magazine, featuring Debbie Harry. “Exclusive: How to Be a Punk, for All You Sophisticates.”
This comic cover reminded me of our seed bombs:
Donald Duck — a party game:
A New Kids on the Block button:
More buttons, tons of them:
Geppi’s Entertainment Museum is located in Camden Station at Camden Yards, right by the Inner Harbor. Its collection spans 250 years of pop culture, including Superman, Luke Skywalker, Barbie, Mickey Mouse, etc. Interestingly, the museum was founded by the CEO of Baltimore-based Diamond Comic Distributors. It makes perfect sense, doesn’t it?
By the way, I’m a big fan of smaller, more esoteric museums. The American Sign Museum in Cincinnati is a favorite, and I always take visitors there. My trip to the Houdini Museum in NYC was fascinating. Also in NYC, the Noguchi Museum is a hidden gem. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum features more awesome lettering and typography than you might imagine. Lastly, the Creation Museum is, err, umm, pretty interesting in its own right [also, actually not small at all].
Department of Everyday Visualingual 
Reblogged this on ontheshelves and commented:
As a cultural anthropologist/librarian/music academic, having other folks realize the need for a popular culture museum is very much validating for our discipline. I’m glad VisuaLingual’s blog highlights this importance and I think next time I’m down at the Baltimore DeathFest, I’ll give Geppi’s Entertainment Museum a visit. Looks quite fascinating!