Sears Roebuck, 1955
Duds for Dad
Give Him a Collection of Cliches for Christmas! Continue reading Duds for Dad
Sears Roebuck, 1955
Neiman-Marcus, 1973
A Brave New World of your own… for $80,000
Was “Information Overload” a thing in 1973? Neiman-Marcus thought so, and commissioned a retreat that you could escape into… Continue reading A Brave New World of your own… for $80,000
Montgomery Ward, 1975
Holy Superhero Crossover, Batman!
Christmas 1975: Montgomery Ward releases a set of action figures and a crossover plot to go with it, hoping parents would buy all eight dolls for the holidays…plus the Batcave, Batmobile, and Jokermobile. Continue reading Holy Superhero Crossover, Batman!
Chicago Mail Order Company, 1936
Blues For Men. (And the occasional gray and brown)
Photos from the 1930s are all black & white. Men’s actual clothes from the era weren’t much livelier. Continue reading Blues For Men. (And the occasional gray and brown)
Chicago Mail Order Company, 1936
Fashion in (almost) living color
If you watch enough old 1930s movies, you can be forgiven for thinking the world once existed only in black and white. So it’s startling to see these 1936 fashions in a riot of colors. Continue reading Fashion in (almost) living color
LGB Model Trains, 1990
G is for Giant
Model trains come in different sizes or gauges, from the minuscule Z-gauge to the mighty G-gauge. G might may well stand for “Giant”. These are some big model trains. Continue reading G is for Giant
Chicago House Wrecking Company, 1904
High Class Low Down Toilets
Excuse me, low down closets. Water Closets. Such a misleading term. A water closet should be where you store your Dasani bottles. Continue reading High Class Low Down Toilets
Collegeville / Woolworth, 1967
“And what are you supposed to be?”
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?”
Lafayette Electronics, 1951
Apparently it IS Rocket Science
I just love this 1951 catalog cover. Who cares what’s inside — if you’re going to put a spaceship on the cover with scientists inside the Mission Control controlling the launch with clipboards, I’ve already bought into it. Continue reading Apparently it IS Rocket Science
Magnavox Odyssey2, 1981
Not exactly a Playstation
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