Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Maherajah Water Skis 1972...

As a young apprentice sign painter in 1989, I would dig around the shop, through the piles of old signs, artwork and anything else that 40+ years will pile up. One of the items that I came across was this poster from 1972, featuring a very young Suzanne Somers. The poster was not in good shape, as it had been stored rolled up, with boxes stacked on top for years. My boss, saw the poster, and became very protective of it, as if it had been lost, and he had now found it. He then told us that it was very rare, and worth a lot of money. "And don't even think of taking it out of the shop"! Now, I would have thought, from the way he reacted, that he would have taken the poster and stored it away in a better environment, like in the office, but no. He rolled up the poster and threw it behind the easel. Thinking that time would pass, and he would forget about the poster, I waited. For some reason though, he would re-find the poster every year or so. Each time making as big of a deal about it, as he had made the first time around. Several years later, in a rare "freak out", about how cluttered the shop was, he started throwing years of patterns, silk screens, and paperwork in the truck, and had me drive it to the dump. Only after, did I realize, that in his haste, he had thrown out the poster. He never even mention the poster again, perhaps he had finally forgotten. This is more often than not the case, old guys become attached to items, and the won't let them go. Only to misplace them, or decide to throw them out, without placing them in the hands of someone that they know would appreciate them. I sure would like to have that poster for the shop wall, but it was not to be...

11 comments:

  1. Man,
    That brings back memories! Thanks for sharing. I had a few of those posters when i was selling the water skis in South Carolina in the early 70's. At the time it was very interesting (poor choice of words, but you understand)advertising for the Southeast.

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  2. I have several of these Suzanne Somers Maherajah "Right On" posters available if you want to buy one. They were donated to the Healdsburg Museum in 2011 by Bob Maher, founder of Maherajah. We have a display about Maherajah in the current Museum exhibit "Russian River Good Old Days." Bob said that we could sell them as a fundraiser for the Museum. (Maherajah Company was located in Healdsburg, CA for 20 years, beginning in 1965. He wants us offer them at $50 each. Call or email if interested: 707-431-3325 or info@healdsburgmuseum.org

    Thanks, Holly Hoods, Curator

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    1. We were in the sporting biz
      We went to Healdsburg to look at the skis, ended up putting them in our store and with that we got a few of those posters unfortunately we used as a dartboard getting points for certain parts of the body long time ago

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  3. still have any available????

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  4. I remember going to a photo shop in the 70's that had that poster up on a wall..The photographer was known to the shop owner..

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  5. A perfect quality of bag is worth to carry useful gears such as wakeskates, kneeboards, ski vests and many others. To achieve this aim, you should visit to water ski shop.

    Michael Cuthbert

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  6. Hi everyone! Did you know that Bob Maher, owner of Maherajah Skis has a brand new online store and Suzanne's poster is for sale on the website www.MaherajahStore.com Check it out and while you're there grab a sweatshirt and some decals! I'm his assistant and he has a few of those posters left for sale :) Happy hunting

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  7. I have a poster along with a collection of Maha skiis. lots of memories.

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  8. Who was the Photographer?

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  9. if interested, You can still purchase this poster on Maherajah.com or call bob at (707)272-2564

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  10. Does anyone know what an original poster sells for. I bought a Maharajah in 1972, and the poster came with it. still have it.

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