Thursday, July 22, 2010

aka "Make Money! Get Prizes!"

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo152/MarkAAlfred/Superman%20171/S171L.jpg

You know, this is the first time after reading a million comics that, along with all the other come-ons from this ad for the Junior Sales Club of America, "You can get this OFFICIAL J.S.C.A. BADGE."

Now, what would you do with this badge, anywho? Show it to your teacher as an excuse for being tardy? Tell your mom that you were late coming home from school because of OFFICIAL J.S.C.A. business?

Or maybe you could just show it to the cranky lady at the end of the block after she threatens to call the police because you rang her doorbell.

Now, the cards are $1.25 per box (a little steep for 1964, I think) but yet making 50 cents off each box sounds like a good deal. Assuming that twenty other kids at your school weren't pitching in the same neighborhoods!

I can just imagine some little old lady or man with an inability to say no, and with a closetful of greeting cards with nobody to send 'em to. *sniff*

Monday, July 19, 2010

Soldiers and Romans, Oh My!

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo152/MarkAAlfred/Superman%20171/S171K.jpg



I never sent off for anything by mail from a comic-book ad.

I would guess that the Toy Soldiers were pretty much the same army men that most of us played with, and like the ones imitated in the Toy Story movies.

The footlocker-type case was probably made from card stock, wouldn't you imagine?

If you'll read the text for the Roman Armies, you'll see that one set is blue and one is yellow -- 66 of each, I suppose. And while they look pretty bloodthirsty in the illustration, I bet opening the box and finding little yellow and blue injection-molded guys *might* have been a let-down for some.


The ads, while for similar products, list different companies and addresses. That's more evidence that once upon a time, there were a lot more businesses and manufacturers in this great country of ours.
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