History According to Sears

I have found in my collecting that not all history comes from text books or documentaries. In fact, if one wants to get a real idea of the impact of a subject on everyday Americans, there is really no better place to look than pop culture. And in pop culture, there is really no better place to look than at toys. And for toys there is really no better place to look than...The Big Toy Box at Sears!

In the 1950's and 1960's Sears had a near monopoly on kids' imaginations with the Christmas catalog. I can remember pouring through the pages and dreaming of the wonderful things Santa might bring. Fortunately, due to the folks at Classic Toy Sodiers, Inc, I can do it again! A few years back they published all of the Sears Christmas catalogs (1951-1969) in one book!

I was glancing through my copy the other day, and an idea came to me; could I tell when America got serious about the space program by looking at the toys offered in these catalogs? Sure, why not? I've writen college papers on worse premises...So let's take a look, shall we?

1958

1959

1960

1962

1962

1964

1966

1967

1968

1969

So there you have it. In the interest of full disclosure, I admit that I left out some duplicates and even some toys that weren't quite as interesting. That being said, it looks like the huge uptick I expected in 1958 due to Sputnik didn't really happen, but by 1961 to 1962, the space race was in full swing! I guess things took longer to ramp up back then. Another observation is that our toys ROCKED. Give me these over video games any day!

Until next time, fly 'em fast and high!