Showcasing 20th century print advertising and pop culture curiosities. Specialities: toys, fashion, comics, movies, vinyl records and art. One of the most comprehensive archives you'll find on the net. Established 2011.
Cover. FAO Schwarz Fall/Winter catalogue. 1974/1975. US
FAO Schwarz was established in 1862 in New York and is one of the oldest toy stores in the world, in a spirit similar to that of the UK’s Hamleys.
FAO Schwarz (FAO = Frederick August Otto) offers children and parents a choice of quality and long-lasting toys, games, hobbies, books and crafts. The company continues to operate to date.
Thanks to a very kind donation by our friend Anna (thank you Anna), TVTA is pleased to acquire a number of vintage FAO Schwarz catalogues spanning the 1960s to early 1980s.
Today we present selected scans from the 1974/75 fall/winter catalogue.
Greetings vintage mates! TVTA is pleased to present an international selection of print advertising featuring toys, games, bicycles and other goodies, as seen in the pages of comics and catalogues between 1977 and 1998.
Ricochet Racers and superhero shields. The Superhero Book Of Goodies. 1977. US.
Lotte / Petra dolls. Anders 20. 1978. Denmark.
The Bridgenorth Stamp Company. Anders 20. 1978. Denmark.
Greetings vintage mates. Presenting, a random selection of jigsaw puzzles direct from the collection of TVTA. The first (below) is Disney’s The Rescuers, produced by Nathan in 1978. The completed 12-piece puzzle measures 108 cm long (approx 42 inches) and runs almost the entire length of my editing desk.
Puzzle-Frise. Bernard et Bianca / The Rescuers. 12 Large Piece Puzzle. 1978. Nathan. France.
Below: an early-school puzzle featuring farm-themed figures and objects, with six images to complete.
Silhouettes. 6 puzzles. 1979. Ravensburger. Made in Spain.
Below: Three Star wars puzzles. The first two are 1978 Kenner original-trilogy puzzles, with the “Luke and Droids” version unopened and still sealed. The third is a Hasbro Episodes I to VI puzzle.
Star Wars Luke and Droids 140 piece Jigsaw Puzzle. 1977. Kenner. US. Star Wars Spave Battle 500 piece Jigsaw Puzzle.1977. Kenner. US.Star Wars Episodes I to VI 500 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle. 2015. Ravensburger. Made in Germany.
Where’s Wally? / Ou est Charlie?
The famous striped jersey and beanie hat-wearing elusive Wally is known as ‘Charlie’ here in France.
Ou Est Charlie? / Where’s Wally? 500 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle from Nathan under license by Ravensburger. A detailed image for those wishing to find Wally… click pic to enlarge.
Below: Disney scenes 500 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle. 2010. Ravensburger. Made in Germany.
Disney scenes 500 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle. 2010. Ravensburger. Made in Germany.
Below: Mr Men and Little Miss 45 piece puzzle.
Mr Men and Little Miss 45 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle. 2010. MB Puzzles. France.
Below: Looney Tunes Dance 48 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle and poster. McDonald’s promotion. 2022. Pirouette Cacahouette. France.
Arrow Games jigsaw puzzles. C1978.
Arrow Games jigsaw puzzles. Arbois toy catalogue. France C1978.
Ray Parker Jr. Ghostbusters theme. 1984. 45 tours West Germany pressing.
Happy New Year vintage mates! May love, joy, light and creativity be yours in 2022!
I spent the Christmas and New Year holiday working, with just two days off in between… luckily one of those days involved going into the nearest city for a spot of shopping, where I stumbled across a cool second-hand comic book store which also sold a selection of vinyl records and CDs. I plan to go back again later and grab some of the albums and CDs they had, but for now here are ten singles I purchased.
Format & Era: 7 inch 45 RPM vinyl. One picture disc. 1970s / 1980s. French and West Germany pressings.
Disc condition: All ten discs minty mint with two having mild surface scratches.
Picture Sleeve Condition: Fair to excellent condition.
My Best Picks: Seeing a Star Wars record always makes me happy to add it to my May The Vinyl Be With Youcollection! I was also pleased to see the novelty Zorro disc with its still-intact cut-out mask. The Elton John picture disc was a nice find too – Empty Garden was Elton’s 1982 tribute song to John Lennon. (edit: just checked out Thompson Twins Doctor!Doctor! on YT and man I forgot what an absolute 80s classic that is, and kind of sums up that era of music, especially the synths.)
Meco. La Guerre Des Etoiles (Star Wars). 1977. 45 tours French pressing.Zorro theme. 1985. 45 tours French pressing.Continue reading →
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five. The Message. 1982.
Greetings vintage mates. Just like in November I struck lucky again at the local monthly flea market, and picked up nine French pressings of vinyl singles released between the late 70s up to 1990.
Total cost: 6 EUR / 6.78 USD / 5.12 GBP.
Condition: All discs minty mint. Picture sleeves fair to excellent condition. Another winning morning I reckon 😎 I was particularly pleased to see the Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five single The Message, The Logical Song by Supertramp, and Fade to Grey by Visage.
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five. The Message (instrumental). 1982.Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five. The Message (lyrics). 1982.Continue reading →
Greetings vintage mates. It’s the first time this year our local monthly flea market has been open during the various lockdown and curfew stages here. This morning I was very pleased to pick up eight French pressings of vinyl singles released between the mid 1970s to mid 1980s – for less than the price of a cup of fresh espresso and a croissant!
The discs are all minty mint, and the picture sleeves are in decent condition. A winning morning I reckon 😎
The Police Walking On The Moon 1979Buggles Video Killed The Radio Star 1979Supertramp Goodbye Stranger 1979Dalida J’attendrai 1976Scorpions Still Loving You 1984Nena 99 Luftballons 1983Spandau Ballet True 1983
“Keep a green tree in your heart and perhaps a singing bird will come.”
Chinese Proverb
The How and Why Wonder Book of Trees. Written by Geoffrey Coe. Illustrated by Cynthia Iliff Koehler and Alvin Koehler. Grosset and Dunlap. New York. 1973.
This was one of the books included in my recent free lot of novels, and is not a novel but The How and Why Wonder Book of Trees, originally published in 1964. My copy is from 1973, and I’m featuring selected images illustrated by Cynthia Iliff Koehler and Alvin Koelher.
The Vintage Toy Advertiser 