Six Sentence Stories: Sweet tooth / Meat tooth

Posted on February 29, 2020 by The Vintage Toy Advertiser

Zapf dolls. Hamleys. 1983. UK. Image enhanced by TVTA.

Greetings, vintage mates. I’m linking up with Denise at Girlie On The Edge Blog, where she hosts Six Sentence Stories, and the cue word this time is Slice.

Sweet tooth / Meat tooth

She lived in a house made from gingerbread and candy, with marshmallow walls and marzipan doors, butterscotch tables and toffee chairs, and two plump beds made from Turkish Delight – for when the children stayed over.

A sweet tooth she had, but always craved something saltier; something hot and tender she could slice into succulent cubes, and watch the pink juices run loose.

She glanced through the window at the arrival of the boy and his sister.

She licked her lips and threw another crooked handful of salt into the cauldron.

She tipped back her head and cackled at the thought of such delicious stew to come, never knowing as she let them in – until it was too late – of the sharpened axes they were hiding behind their backs.

Thank you for eating candy with us 🙂

Office Cat Tales: the new furniture arrives!

Posted on February 25, 2020 by The Vintage Toy Advertiser

TVTA’s brand new state of the art entertainment/conference suite rocks! Modern Homes and Office Style Rating: 10/10.

A TVTA short story special.

Wooof could hardly contain himself this morning when our new furniture arrived to freshen up the dusty, old TVTA offices. Of course, like most cats, he spent the first hour sitting inside one of the empty packaging cartons, while I was busy unpacking and assembling.

“Are you going to sit inside that cardboard box all day?” I said. “Or are you going to give me a hand building this furniture?”

“After I’ve finished playing with the polystyrene packing peanuts,” replied the cat, “I’ll give you a hand, so long as it doesn’t interfere with my mid-morning nap.”

“Look,” I said, “You should be pleased we have all this nice, new, modern 1980s and 1990s furniture to replace the 1940s set we inherited from Mrs Coldkettle’s grandmother who worked for MI5.”

TVTA’s old office furniture. The cold war had never been colder. Modern Homes and Office Style Rating: 2/10.

“Ah,” sighed the cat. “I shan’t be sorry to see that old typewriter go. And those razor sharp filing cabinet doors. And those brass drawer handles the size of Olympic hurdling fences… and always a hard-boiled sweet immortally stuck to the back leg of a chair. You’re right, I am pleased we have new furniture!”

“Glad to hear it. We have new kitchen appliances too!”

“Did you get me an ice cream maker?”

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Six Sentence Stories: The Ape that could Heal

Posted on February 21, 2020 by The Vintage Toy Advertiser

Revell Endangered Animals. 1974. US.

Greetings, vintage mates. Today I’m linking up with Denise at Girlie On The Edge Blog, where she hosts Six Sentence Stories, and the cue word today is Claim.

The Ape That Could Heal

In the mirror you see the ape, black and white, a monochrome beast of healing, standing behind you and claiming your bathroom as his consulting room.

You prey he might help strip away your grief; the daily spooking performed by ghosts who arrive as regular as commuters, subway trains, and parcelled-up self-healing books from Amazon which you always finish with disappointment.

“Wash away your pain,” says the ape, his black-olive eyes primordial, sad, gentle, elemental and kind.

You wash and you scrub and you clean and erase the sticky pain which had set itself deep inside your pores, like shellac filling the grain of mahogany tables you have no desire to ever sit at, and where patina seals over all that mattered back then, when you were young and terrified, shivering below a desk in the biology lab, while all around you lay the bodies of classmates.

Says the ape, “Keep scrubbing, and peel back those layers until you see yourself grinning, just like me…”

And all at once, the ape arches his lips and gives the most exquisite and comical grin you have ever seen, and one that causes you to reciprocate; and only then do you find, in your reflection in the mirror, you are monochrome – black and white, just like he – the ape that claimed your bathroom as a consulting room, and helped heal you with ablutions and grinning teeth.

Thank you for healing with us 🙂

BMX – from a 1970s California bike craze to an Olympic sport

Posted on February 15, 2020 by The Vintage Toy Advertiser

The origins of BMX (an abbreviation of Bicycle Motocross) can be traced to the early 1970s in southern California when children adapted their road bikes for the thrill of dirt track racing. Manufacturers soon took advantage of the craze and began selling specially-made bikes. By the early 1980s, BMX had become hugely popular not just in the US but in Europe and other countries.

International timeline:

1977. The American Bicycle Association (ABA) is organised as a national governing body for the growing interest in BMX.
1981. The International BMX Federation is formed and holds its first BMX World Championship the following year.
1993. BMX is recognised and integrated into the Union Cycliste Internationale.
2003. BMX becomes an Olympic full-medal discipline, marking its debut at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

TVTA is pleased to present a gallery of international print images featuring BMX bikes, clothing, accessories, and promotions as advertised throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

: Raleigh Rampar. 1978. US.

: Monark. 1983. Brazil.

: Yamaha BYZ. 1982. France.

: Huffy Pro Thunder. 1984. US.

: Raleigh Aero Burner. 1984. France.

: Motobécane. 1983. France.

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Britains Toy catalogue, 1979

Posted on February 11, 2020 by The Vintage Toy Advertiser

Featuring toys from the world famous British toy manufacturer William Britain, as seen in the 1979 English, French, and German language mini catalogue. Britains are well known for producing durable and highly detailed painted toy figures, play sets, and vehicles, with sets such as the ‘Deetail’ line being much sought after by collectors in today’s vintage toy market.

On a personal note, as a child, I collected the Britains American Civil War soldiers, 7th Cavalry, Cowboys and Indians, and German Infantry figures. I also had one of the wagon and horses sets, and a selection of farm animals, and one of my brothers had numerous animals from the Wildlife range. This catalogue brings back a lot of happy toy memories 🙂

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Brumm’s classic race cars 1930s – 1960s

Posted on February 7, 2020 by The Vintage Toy Advertiser

Brumm catalogue. 1983. Italy.

Brumm is an Italian toy manufacturer formed in the early 1970s. The company specialises in miniature plastic and die cast vehicles from a bygone age.

TVTA is pleased to present selected images and the full scans from the Brumm 1983 catalogue, featuring some wonderful artwork and photographs of models available at the time such as Ferrari, Bugatti, Mercedes, and Alfa Romeo.

Team Brumm. Pit stop play set.

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’46-’93, comic book art and covers

Posted on February 3, 2020 by The Vintage Toy Advertiser

Good evening, vintage mates…

and good evening, Dr. Manhattan…

In this instalment, we showcase 1940s and 1960s covers for French comic Lisette; a fistful of DC war story comics including three excellent Weird War Tales covers; a 1979 Look-In magazine; some MAD from 1993; and one of the greatest graphic novels ever created – DC’s Watchmen.

Featuring artwork by Roger Bussemey, R.J. Sornas, Neal Adams, Russ Heath, James Warhola, Joe Kubert, Ross Andru, Romeo Tanghal, Dave Gibbons, and others.

Thanks for looking 🙂