#sears toy catalog

[stone-cold-groove]

Will your child be ready when the shit goes down?

[yeoldenews]

Absolutely magnificent creature.

(source: Sears catalog, Fall/Winter 1918.)

[chernobog13]

Early 1960s Sears catalog toy page.

Considering that $10.00 back in 1963 was worth about $101.00 in today's economy, these puppies were not cheap. And that's before you added in the cost of the batteries, which were never included back then.

Still, Garloo at Sears is a heck of a lot cheaper than advertised on TV:

[halloweentrickortreat]

Haunted House Pinball 👻

[ghettophatbolousblingringtones]

2005 Sears Christmas Catalog

[thegroovyarchives]

1969 Amsco Dollhouse Appliances From the 1969 Sears Christmas Catalog

[kawaii-90s-nostalgia]

Sears Wishbook (1998)

[rmelster]

When I was a child (well, to this day) I loved when, during the first days of November, my local mall started distributing this Christmas Sears toy catalog that I always kept and treasured. The funniest thing? I rarely ever asked for any of those toys: I just loved to sit in my room with the catalog, smell those pages, look at the colourful photos and imagine Santa Claus’ factory where the Christmas elves would be carving, sewing and painting all those amazing toys and wrapping them in shiny paper and sending them to the children all around the world. I never lacked presents myself, but there was something special in imaging those scenes.

I think that is the reason why I sometimes like reading old catalogs, and thinking well to do ladies wearing those brooches in their coats, or important lawyers signing important documents with those quills, or children playing with those toys in the days of old. It feels nice. It feels like home.

[kirbyfigure]

sears wishbook

[kimberly40]

The Sears Wish Book was a magical trove of dream gifts. For generations of Americans, the arrival of the Sears Wish Book was nearly as magical as Christmas itself. It was published by Sears, Roebuck & Co. or Sears beginning in 1933 as a Christmas catalog. Sears officially titled it the Christmas Wish Book in 1968.

In many ways, the Sears Wish Book was a printed time capsule, serving as "a mirror of our times, recording for future historians today’s desires, habits, customs, and mode of living," as described by the Sears News Graphic. Flip to any page in any given catalog to get a glimpse of what everyday life was like for many middle class families in America at the time.

Many people nostalgically think of the Wish Book as filled with nothing but toys. In fact, over the years, more pages were devoted to gifts for adults. The 87-page 1933 Christmas Book catalog featured 25 pages of toys and 62 pages of gifts for adults. In 1968, the Wish Book totaled 605 pages, with 225 pages devoted to toys and 380 pages to gifts for adults.

Sears stopped publishing its wonderful Wish Book in 2011, but brought back a much more condensed version for one year, in 2017.

We never really got a lot of toys like kids do today, so it was actually the Wish Book us kids would fight over, to wish. The Sears Wish Book taught many of us way back when that there's no harm in wishing for the impossible.

[stone-cold-groove]

All I want for Christmas is...

[retroclixs]

NES Nintendo Sears Catalog Print Ad (1989)

[chernobog13]

From the 1966 Sears' Christmas Catalog.

I remember the TV commercials for Captain Action, and I was impressed that he could become different comic book heroes. Really wanted the Superman outfit because there were no Superman action figures at the time. And he would be the same size as my G.I. Joes!

My folks, on the other hand, thought having G.I. Joe was enough for me, so they were not about to start me collecting yet another toy line.

Years later I understand their reasoning, especially as tight as money was back then. But it still would've been sweet to have the superhero outfits (which were sold separately from Captain Action) to put on my Joes.

[jasondamien93]

I miss this!

[qupritsuvwix]

[ufohio]

The Bradbury Ray, Third Generation

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This new, third generation of the laser comes complete with an Interplanetary Code book for secret signaling. And sturdy antiplastic construction in multicolor combinations for instant eye appeal gives the high-tech, highly classified Bradbury Ray a powerful new look and style—no more bulky tubes! 

Extensive testing ensures that the new and improved Bradbury Ray gets far more reliable results than its predecessors. Now, corrective memory-boggling happens most of the time—provided you have a clear shot in clear weather with no more than twenty feet between you and the target—and unforeseen, unpredictable side-effects, such as temporary mutations or bizarre and fleeting otherworldly abilities, are mitigated. 

Finally, a secret ray gun you can be proud to hide in your home and deny ever owning. If you’re cleared for work in the field, your Regional Director of Antisocial Security can assign you your weapon or, alternatively, you may fill out a special request form.  BRADBURY RAYS ARE ONLY OBTAINABLE THROUGH EMPLOYMENT WITH THE DEPARTMENT OR VIA SHENANIGANS