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Collecting NYC Merch – Interview With Souvenyr
New Yorker Andrew Short, 41, loves collecting anything New York City related from old clubs to running tees. Get ready for a deep dive into NYC history!
“The reason I started collecting NYC-related items is because of my love of the city. My dad would drive to Mets games when I was around 7-8 years old, and I remember there’s a part of the Long Island Expressway that hits the Van Wyck, and you can see the skyline from there. I distinctly remember thinking, “Ohh my god...what and where is that.” From there, I always had an obsession with the city. In my early teen years, I’d go to a lot of punk and hardcore shows in New York, and I always bought tees from the bands I saw. I kept the tees and flyers up until my mid-twenties, and then I started to collect New York ephemera. During my college years, I was obsessed with anything Manhattan-related, and at that time, I would hunt for smalls and paper items.
Technically, the first piece I “acquired” that I found later on as an adult, was an old Mets blow-up baseball bat my dad bought for me at Shea Stadium.
I probably have over 400 pieces, give or take. At first, I loved collecting old NY maps, magazines, punk flyers, and pennants. I thought they had great graphics that were unique to that era. I started collecting apparel after my first design job creating souvenir tee graphics for stores around the U.S.
I used to keep every single item I found. Much like most collectors, I was treating every item like my child, and I didn’t want to let go of anything. After the pandemic, I had a good friend of mine (Enrique from Fine and Dandy Archives) ask me if I wanted to do a pop-up at his store in February of 2021. That was the catalyst that gave me the jump start to sell my collection. Now I barely have an attachment to anything that I find. As I’m getting older, I’m realizing whatever I find, I can’t take with me when I’m done on earth, so why not find the best home I can for it? There are a few exceptions of pieces that I will hold on to for longer than others, but for the most part, anything is up for grabs.
Here are 13 items from my colletion:
Max’s Kansas City Telephone Key FOB
Max’s was an old music venue and restaurant on Park Avenue. A place where music and art mixed, celebrities, artists, drag queens, and everyone in between would attend. It was an iconic music venue where many bands recorded live records such as The Misfits, Johnny Thunders and Sid Vicious. I believe I found a lot of these key fobs online somewhere. The original owner was in a band that had played at Max’s in the late 70s and they had kept these in their attic. If I remember correctly, the band was from the South.
80s Area Night Club Invitation
I’m a little obsessed over old nightclubs from the 80s. Based on what I’ve read, nightclubs back then had such a diverse mix of people, and the invitations for clubs were extremely creative. Area Night Club was known for such creative invites to its regular patrons. This particular one used to have those candies that came in a roll as contraceptive pills on it. As you can see, they didn’t make it, but the idea of this invitation is genius. These are extremely rare now, I found a collector who had them on consignment from someone who used to be a big club goer.
2006 CBGB Wristband
This was my own wristband from one of the last shows I went to there. I kept it because I knew it was closing. CBGB was one of those venues you thought would always be around as a kid until it wasn’t. I guess it wouldn’t be NYC without a personal favorite of yours disappearing. I enjoyed going to see NYC based bands because the crowd was more diverse than at the ones where I grew up. I’d go to a show and see people that looked like me and it just felt more at home.
1977 NYC Blackout Tee
This I purchased from the original owner. They had lived in New York no less than three days when the blackout happened. He walked from the Upper West Side through Midtown and purchased this shirt as a souvenir. That particular blackout seemed insane with the riots, looting and it was also the Summer of Sam, the infamous serial killer. I love this particular tee because the graphic is genius.
70s NYC Road Runner Tee
Running is my second passion behind design. It’s a sport you just need to put on a pair of sneakers and just go. You can explore so many areas of New York all while being able to clear your mind of whatever problems you have going on in there. I love old running tees, to me they have so much more character and creativity than what I see today. This particular one is one of the first designs the NYRR club ever put out. I also love the fact it’s on an old 70s Champion blue bar tag.
70s Plato’s Retreat Tank Top
Plato’s was a swingers club that was located in the famous Ansonia building on the Upper West Side. I won’t get into too many details but from what I’ve read on this old club it had a 50-person jacuzzi and “mat room.” It eventually closed in the early 80s due to some tax scheme and the unfortunate rise of AIDS. This tank I found online . I asked the original owner about its origins, and it was her aunt’s and she got it when she attended Plato’s. When I received the package I immediately took it out with rubber gloves and directly into the wash machine.
30s Fulton Fish Market Tag
The reason I love this is the typography. There was obviously thought regarding the design and type hierarchy of this. I especially love how the green type was stamped on top of the crab. I found a lot of these when the Brooklyn Flea was in a yard in Fort Greene years ago.
1986 Paradise Garage Sweatshirt
This one is special because of the history Paradise Garage had. It’s also so hard to find anything related to this old haunt from the West Village. The Garage predominantly hosted black and brown gay men who came to dance. It had a bumpin’ sound system with the legendary DJ Larry Levan at the helm. Somehow this sweatshirt made its way to Michigan and the seller found it at an estate sale.
40s New York Athletic Club Track Jacket
I don’t really know why I like collecting NYAC items. Maybe it has to do with the simplistic logo that signifies running and sports. The heritage that goes along with that club is also really cool – If I remember correctly it’s one of the oldest clubs in the world like it. This particular jacket fell on my lap, a very well known sneaker/running collector reached out to me asking me if I wanted to purchase it. The rest is history.
1997 Raybeez CBGB’s Tribute Concert Tee
I was too young to attend this concert but I remember always hearing about it through friends. Ray Barbieri was the lead singer for this hardcore/punk band Warzone. He unfortunately passed away from pneumonia, and his friends put on a 2-day tribute show together at CBGB’s. They sold two different tees based on the dates and bands. I used to have both of them at one point but me dumbass sold one of them because I needed money at the time.
The Village Voice Banner
This was sold to me by my friend Madison Santos of Doubles Tennis. He knew I loved collecting NYC objects and clothing so he asked if I wanted to purchase this amazing piece. For those that don’t know, The Village Voice was a weekly alternative newspaper for the downtown scene. Iconic New Yorkers such as Greg Tate, Michael Musto, and Norman Mailer worked there. The logo for the Voice is iconic, the skinny sans serif font encased in the blue rectangle.
Follow Andrew on @souvenyr_
vintage New York Mets