TVTA is retiring

Posted on April 5, 2021 by The Vintage Toy Advertiser

Greetings vintage mates.

It is with a degree of sadness yet a positivity for the future of my blogging endeavours that I am announcing the retirement of The Vintage Toy Advertiser. At the least it will be a hiatus or very long holiday.

Since 2011 my aim for the site was to create an online resource and archive showcasing vintage advertising and catalogue images spanning the subject of toys, movies, comics, video games, food & drink and much more!

Ten years on – I think I’ve largely done as much as I can and want to do for the time being regarding this. The decision has been made easier by my dissatisfaction with the WordPress drive of switching to blocks. As a paying customer I am no longer willing to part with money for a service which does not meet the needs of TVTA.

My archive (4.5K advert and catalogue images + hundreds of toy images from my own collection + hundreds of comic book and magazine covers) was always meant to be added to and enhanced. Having to edit with blocks is unwieldy and time-consuming to maintain the good standards of my work, and it seems there are far too many hoops to have to jump through just to publish even a simple post these days… when blogging should be easy, quick, and fit for everyone’s purpose?

Another issue is that I will soon reach my current plan limit for image space, requiring me to upgrade to the next and more expensive plan with additional features I do not need. Maybe WP could consider offering one-off extra image space packages for blogs which are picture heavy? I doubt that. As much as I’ve always loved WP, they never seem to listen.

So, onto the future…

I will be launching a new site soon. Likely on WP still, but without the costs I’ve been incurring. The site will be simple. Focussed on writing, art projects, and with the occasional feature on vintage books and comics.

As such, The Vintage Toy Advertiser will no longer be updated, and will be left in the capable paws of TVTA office cat extraordinaire Wooof to curate while he idly munches his way through cat biscuits and re-watches all those VHS films we never returned to Blockbusters.

As for my dear vintage mates here… I intend to very much keep in touch, and I would like to give a HUGE, huge, huge, massive, storming, magnificent, mammoth, mega-big thanks to everyone who has been a part of TVTA over these past ten years. The interaction, inspiration, encouragement, fun and laughs, likes, comments, reblogs, shares and links has quite simply made my days 😊

It’s April, and April is my big TVTA blog anniversary – 10 years old this month! And now a retirement to add to it. Sometimes these things work this way.

I’ll leave you with a quick gallery of a few of my favourite archived images over the years (too many to choose from!!), and I’ll be sure to post the link soon for my new site once it’s up and running.

Adios you lovelies, see you on the other side! 😎

Ford, editor TVTA

: Abba dolls by Matchbox. 1978. Denmark.

: Barbie, Ken and Midge Wardrobe Booklet, yellow version, 1962.

: Star Wars on the cover of the 1983 Airfix catalogue. France.

: Denmark. 1990. Image supplied by Jaltesorenson.

: 1988. UK.

: Raleigh Super Burner. 1983. France.

: The Six Million Dollar Man. Kenner. 1976.

: US. The further adventures of Evel Knievel. Superman. 1976.

: UK. Ideal catalogue page. 1972

: Charlie’s Angels dolls by Raynal. 1977.

: Toy Story 3 page 1 of a 4 page chirashi.

: Wonder Woman Japanese chirashi. 2017.

: Japan. Beetlejuice Chirashi poster.

: Mattel Barbie DC Playline heroes. 2003.

: 2000 AD Sci-Fi Special 1996.

: Doctor Who Monthly N°78. 1983.

: Donkey Kong. France. 1983.

: Dungeons and Dragons Welcome to Basic Training. 1986. US.

: Lego. 1976. Denmark.

: Playmobil space. Denmark. 1981.

: Star Wars. 1978. France.

: Star Wars Weekly Empire Strikes Back. Leia Pin Up. 1980. UK.

: Brazil. Peninha. 1987.

: Panini Football World Cup 78. France. 1978.

: Energized Spider-Man. 1978. US.

: Denmark. Anders And & Co. 1987.

: 1988. Kinder Surprise. Denmark.

: Matchbox various die cast. 1970s. France.

: Corgi Fair Play catalogue. 1980. France.

: Mousetrap. UK. 1972.

: My Little Pony. France. Pif Gadget. 1983.

: The Transformers. 1989. Denmark.

: Sea Monkeys. US. Ghostly Tales. 1982.

: Shrunken Head Apple Sculpture. 1976 print advert. US.

: Star Trek Role Playing Game. US. Starlog. 1985.

: Superman vs Muhammad Ali. US. 1978.

As always, thanks for looking 🙂

The Pandemic and I (11) – an odyssey: living with the virus, plus finding stuff down the back of the sofa and behind the TV…

Posted on June 2, 2020 by The Vintage Toy Advertiser

Odyssey 7 comic shop advert. 1987. UK.

Report – 2 June, 2020

Déconfinement

Today in France, 2 June, many of the remaining restrictions and social distancing measures are being lifted – known as déconfinement.

Here, the same as in many other countries, we will have to learn to live with Covid-19 as we go about our daily business as normally as possible in the most un-normal circumstances.

For many of us it will mean wearing a mask in a situation as mundane as entering a shop (many of us already are). Attending work, social, and study gatherings in limited numbers. Observing stricter hygiene measures than we are used to.

I’m in no rush to head to a restaurant, cinema, beach, park, or a busy shopping mall just yet – but I am looking forward to extending my social interaction with as much protection as I can get (mask, hand gels, respecting distances, avoiding large crowds, washing hands, not touching my face).

For me, it does mean a certain few treats:

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In praise of trees

Posted on May 30, 2020 by The Vintage Toy Advertiser

“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.

Enjoy 🌲🌳🍀🍂🍃🌿🌱🌱🌱

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Office Cat Tales: the back of the sofa and behind the fridge

Posted on January 22, 2020 by The Vintage Toy Advertiser

Collage. Cat brooch from a late 1970s UK toy vending machine.

“O woe, bleak January, bringer of lean times to our editing house. Your wintry rap upon the door of our office does chill our fingers, paws and bones to the bit. The Vintage Toy Advertiser archives… ah, too grim a place to visit upon days such as these… with its hibernating vampires dangling from rafters, and frozen monsters awakening to thaw their claws and teeth in corners where sit our old photocopier and broken down time machines covered in dust. Hark! No post! No post! Our deliveries for new ads and catalogues held up by raging battles above rooftops, between dragons and banshees and mercenary raptor-bots. Grim times for office cats and editors, indeed!”

“What an exciting story,” said Wooof. “Please tell more!”

“Crivens, cat!” I retorted. “This is no tale, this is but a reality! We have no ads nor catalogues to scan… I fear our vintage readers will go hungry this winter. As shall we!”

“Tooting scarpers!” said the cat. “There’s no need to paint such a stark picture. Do you want me to search down the back of the sofa and behind the fridge and such places? There are always a few stray ads to be found.”

“Good thinking,” said I. “I’ll go warm up the scanner.”

“Meow!”

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