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Collegeville (Woolworth), 1967 All I’m sayin’ is that cosplay was once a lot simpler. Halloween costumes from the late 1960s were typically a plastic mask, a glorified pair of pajamas, and maybe a wig. That’s if you were lucky and your mom took you to Woolworth’s, where you could purchase an off-model Bugs Bunny. If … Continue reading “And what are you supposed to be?”
Back in 1981, this was the type of video console that would set a gamer’s heart racing. (Shakes head sadly.) Continue reading Not exactly a Playstation
In the Wizard of Oz movie, even before Elvira Gulch morphed into the Wicked Witch of the West she scared me, pedaling away furiously on her bicycle wearing tortuous-looking high-laced shoes…like these. Continue reading Sturdy Shoes, Sensible Savings
Games, if you look at them closely enough, are often anything BUT fun and games. Wargames, for instance, have existed in a professional sense essentially since war itself. Continue reading Making Fun of War
Do you think just maybe the “Toy Story” movie folks may have found a little inspiration here, huh? There’s some nightmare fodder in that pair. Continue reading Toy Stories
The pet most kids wanted for Christmas in 1959 was a collie, and you can thank the TV show “Lassie” for that. But ordering one from a catalog? Continue reading Lassie by mail
In the 1990s Mario loyalists were pitted against the Sonic crowd – the playground was bitterly divided over which videogame system was the best. Continue reading The Battle of the Century – SNES vs. Sega Genesis
The back cover of this ca. 1903 Spear & Company catalog is rather sweet, in both copy and illustrations. The tyke is happy, and so is the copywriter: “Nine people out of ten when they look at this picture will think of days when wagon coasting…. Continue reading “Makes every boy who owns one happy.”
Unlike girls, boys did have lots of career options in 1961. But they did face death. Continue reading Christmas 1961: One for the Boys
If there were any doubt about how strongly gender roles and expectations were once ingrained in American lives, this 1961 White’s Christmas catalog should remove all doubt. Continue reading Girls’ Gifts: Gender Definitions for 1961
