From the first golden age of video gaming we have this 1982 catalog for the Imagic video game cartridge collection, available for Atari and Intellivision.

The catalog itself contains mostly descriptions of Imagic’s games along with cover art photos and game shots. Here are a few from games I played on the trusty old Atari 2600 back in the day:

Towards the back is a beautiful storage center, complete with faux wood grain.

And as many other video companies had in the ’80s, Imagic offered their own brand-specific club membership. Theirs was cleverly named the Imagic Numb Thumb Club. On the plus side, they offered a sweet game poster. On the down side, no awesome patches like Activision.

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Is it a microphone? A futuristic communications device? No! It’s the wonderful new Ronson electric shaver, the most advanced electric shaver ever made! And it can be yours by order from Email Braude & Sons’ 1959 catalog.

Emil Braude & Sons were wholesale distributors nationally advertised watches, jewelry, silverware, clocks, and appliances. They were based out of Chicago, Illinois.

(image courtesy Flickr)

I know that making fun of 1970s fashion is an easy thing to do, and I certainly enjoy a good bell-bottom or earth tone joke as much as the next guy. But one thing that gets overlooked in ’70s jokes is how primitive the home exercise equipment of that time looks compared to now.

To illustrate, here are three pages from the Fall 1977 Sears catalog that showcase home workout equipment made up of approximately 86.3% pipes and belts. Let’s get physical!

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Whether for their graphic design, optimistic photographs, or quaint vintage charm, I always have a blast looking at old college course catalogs. So I’m going to share some of my favorites with you, grouped by decade. Up first are the groovy ’70s. Here are one dozen college course catalogs from the Me Decade, covering both undergraduate and graduate schools from small junior/community colleges to well-known and prestigious universities.

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(All images courtesy the Internet Archive.)

In Airline Memories, I share aviation items and curiosities from the long history of commercial flight. You’ll see everything from ephemera to souvenirs and other branded items from various U.S. airlines. If you have a request or anything else to share, leave a comment or contact me directly.

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Not a day goes by that people don’t mourn the loss of the great TWA in some fashion. Next to Pan Am, TWA may be one of the most iconic airline brands no longer with us.

But not today! For thanks to the Gray Flannel Suit time machine, we can hop back to 1970 and check out this fantastic souvenir and accessories Flight Shop catalog. In it we can dream of ordering fantastic TWA-branded merchandise like model airplanes, umbrellas, golf balls, luggage tags, and even cutlery.

Enjoy!

In Sears Catalog Goodness I pull one page from a vintage Sears catalog to highlight neat, interesting, or just plain funny images and products sold by one of America’s greatest retailers once upon a time.

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You knew I couldn’t go the whole Halloween season without sharing some vintage costumes from Sears, right? Well I’m not about to disappoint you on that front, so here is a page from the Fall 1958 catalog featuring the biggest heroes and stars of the day — Zorro, Superman, Lassie, Woody Woodpecker, Casper the Friendly Ghost, Bugs Bunny, and “Pop-Eye the Sailor Man.”

The name characters on this page are great, of course, but my eye is drawn toward the costume that probably dates this assortment more than any other — Satellite Joe, the “man of tomorrow.” If that doesn’t scream Space Age I don’t know what does. Let’s get a closer look at him.

Man, what I wouldn’t give to see a color photo of that costume in real life.

In Sears Catalog Goodness I pull one page from a vintage Sears catalog to highlight neat, interesting, or just plain funny images and products sold by one of America’s greatest retailers once upon a time.

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From the 1957 Sears Christmas catalog we have what look like Halloween costumes but are absolutely not.

If you were a kid in the 1950s then I don’t have to tell you how large the whole Western genre loomed in American pop culture. In particular, two of its biggest stars were Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, whose career began in the 1930s and spanned decades.

Given that, it was not at all strange for boys and girls to dress like cowboys and cowgirls just because. It didn’t even need to be Halloween. I suppose the closest thing we have to that now is when little girls dress like Disney princesses.

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While on vacation in Cape Cod recently, I brought a wad of cash to my favorite used book store and went nuts. In fact, I didn’t purchase one book. Instead I walked away with a healthy stack of vintage magazines — everything from old issues of Family Circle, The Saturday Evening Post, and Better Homes and Gardens to random fashion and auto magazines. And this, the 1959 Symphonic Phonographs catalog.

Within these pages lies a bounty of vintage turntable models, all with that special late ’50s beauty. You’ve got your sturdy and fashionable portable players, like the Junior and Sophomore models seen here…

… and you’ve got hefty models that double as furniture, as was the style back then, like the Symphony.

You really can’t go wrong either way I suppose. I have no idea what one of these beauties in good working order would fetch on the market today, but I was at least willing to fork over three dollars for the catalog. If you want to see the whole set — including the original order form — you can check it out on my Flickr page.

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So I’m bopping along, looking through 40-year-old Sears catalogs, as I am wont to do, when something catches my eye. No, not hideous fashion or vintage toys, although I certainly find plenty of that. I’m talking about a something altogether different.

Tucked away on page 543 of the 1969 Fall/Winter catalog is an item that you might miss if you focused on the rather, um, interesting vintage baby car seats. See if you can find what I’m think of on this “Travel Time” page…

Did you see it? Nope, not the car seats. It’s item #6, listed as the “Steel Travel Platform,” and it is a lovely relic from the golden age of Mid-Century Baby Travel.

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