Sears wishbook catalogs from the early 80s

[S1500]

I could look at these all day. Check out the game prices from back then..

 

aww yeah

 

Plenty of discussion to ensue..

[user42]

WOW

You scanned all of those???

Nice work!

[phaxda]

Awesome. For those who want to get straight to the good stuff without scrolling through hideous sweaters:

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wishbook/6992...in/set-1360453/

 

Great stuff!

 

WOW

You scanned all of those???

Nice work!

[S1500]

WOW

You scanned all of those???

Nice work!

 

I didnt' scan em. Dont know how he got all those pages separated nicely. I wonder if he belt sanded the spine.

[+Random Terrain]

Now I don't have to keep hunting for these. Pretty cool.

 

Too bad black construction paper wasn't put behind the pages, though. Wait, it looks like some of them were scanned in with black construction paper behind them.

Edited December 6, 2007 by Random Terrain

[+jeremiahjt]

The '86 catalog has a section for some toys called the Inhumanoids. I had some of these when I was younger and I always wondered what toy line they came from and thanks to you now I know. So thanks a lot for linking these. The video games sections are cool too. I used to look at these every Christmas as a kid. I remember looking at the euro pads and wanting some for my 7800.

[NE146]

We've seen scanned pages here before, but that is quite extensive. I've already found several of the exact pages I used to jizz over when I was 6. Thx for the link

[Atarifever]

I've already found several of the exact pages I used to jizz over when I was 6. Thx for the link

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wishbook/7222...in/set-1360453/

 

Is it this one

[Gregory DG]

Atari and Star Wars. Those were the two things I used to look at in the catalogs. Those were the days...

[doubledown]

I use to have the electronic tabletop bowling game on page 664 from the 1979 Sears catalog. That game was awesome!

[Inky]

I remember Sears had a page with the Atari 8-bit computers, and a pic of Caverns of Mars. I sooo wanted an 8-bit and that game thanks to the ads.

 

And 20+ years later I have it.

 

And it was worth the wait

[ProperRogue]

Anybody catch the ad for the Gemini in the 1983 catalog? I've never had this system , so I can't say for sure , but isn't it playing the wrong type of cart?

 

Other than that , the 1982 Wishbook is like gold for me. That's the year I really remember most.

 

edit: From 85+ , I couldn't find any game systems at all.

Edited December 6, 2007 by ProperRogue

[doubledown]

Anybody catch the ad for the Gemini in the 1983 catalog? I've never had this system , so I can't say for sure , but isn't it playing the wrong type of cart?

 

Other than that , the 1982 Wishbook is like gold for me. That's the year I really remember most.

 

edit: From 85+ , I couldn't find any game systems at all.

 

The Gemini was Coleco's VCS clone and yes the pic is wrong. It shows a ColecoVision cartridge being used with it. Fat chance of getting that to work.

[mbd30]

I could look at these all day. Check out the game prices from back then..

 

aww yeah

 

Plenty of discussion to ensue..

 

VCR's were quite pricey back then!

 

$800 VCR

[Red 5]

Holy crap is this depressing me.

So many toys and games that I completely forgot about.

 

It brings back some great memories but is also depressing about how old I am (and I'm only 36).

 

I can't stop looking through these. Every page is either hysterical or nostalgic.

[nester]

Aww, so many memories. One of my favorate things to do as a kid was go through the catalogues when they came in. That's one of the only ways I ever saw the new video games of the fall. Those cool pictures made me want almost all of them. Of course I'm a little too young for all the Atari ads though. The smell of catalogues is one of the smells I associate the most with Christmas.

[Atarifever]

The O2 always looks really slick in ads.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wishbook/1410...57594058700769/

[darthkur]

VCR's were quite pricey back then!

 

$800 VCR

 

 

That's why I never had one back then. I had to opt for the more economically priced Video Disc Player.

 

Video Disc Player

 

Although the one I got was a less fancy one and, if I remember correctly, cost "only" around $250 or so. Or something like that.

[+else]

They used to make so many cool toys back then.

 

Just try finding a decent slot-car set for your kids now days......

Edited December 6, 2007 by else

[+HatNJ]

Wow I remember too drooling over those electronic goodies

Anyone see the Atari 400 page surprised Sears didn't want their name on that as well

 

Oh those were the days

[Lemmi]

this is the site that was posted here on AA in July of this year

http://www.wishbookweb.com/

 

looks like this person added a few more on the flickr site

[+Allan]

Those are cool. I wish someone would scan all the Electronic Games and Electronic fun magazines.

 

Allan

[Technosis]

I don't quite get why Sears was selling this VCS clone though? I mean they already have their own branded Atari VCS in the same catalogue. Were these even sold nationwide?

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wishbook/3275...57594229749541/

[tiggerthehun]

Thanks for the link - a nice quick distraction from finals! I found an old remote controlled porsche I loved in the '79 Sears catalogue.... and I just found a guy selling one on ebay for .99! Anybody see any Legos?

[SRGilbert]

Oh man, do I love these old catalogs! I was the youngest of 4 kids growing up in the 70's and 80's, and I see so much stuff that we all got over the years. Fortunately for me, I'm a lifelong packrat, so I still have quite a bit of my old junk!

 

This page alone was like a 8 year olds dream come true

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wishbook/6992...in/set-1360453/

 

I wanted one of those Sir Galaxy robots soooooo bad. The day I got one was the happiest day of my life. That was last week by the way! Seriously, I'd wanted one for 28 years and finally won one on Ebay. Not only did I get a great deal on it ($36.50 shipped) but he is absolutely 100% in the box mint condition. Even the remote was still in a little baggy and the battery hatch has the paper hang tag attached. He's really huge too, like over 15" tall, I never saw one in person before and was shocked at how big he is!