This will be my last post before Christmas, so before we get into it let me just wish all of my readers that celebrate it a very merry, healthy, and safe one. I hope Santa is good to you!
Today's post is just something quick I observed while going through the 1959 Sears Christmas catalog a while back and that is that apparently every little boy and girl at that time was obsessed with cowboys. I could see if Sears had a few pages of the clothing and accessories, but it was more like a dozen or so...and just when I thought there couldn't possibly be more in the same catalog, it started up again several more pages in.
I guess it shouldn't be surprising considering the prevalence of Westerns that existed on TV at the time -- Gunsmoke, Bonanza, and Wanted: Dead Or Alive, not to mention the popularity of Roy Rogers and The Lone Ranger. But it's funny just the same to see so many pages from one catalog devoted to the phenomenon...and only a couple of pages showing alternate dress-up clothes such as a jet fighter pilot and servicemen.
And the toy guns!!! Could you imagine all of this fake weaponry being sold today? Out of curiosity, I did a search on Amazon for toy guns and saw mostly space-related and Nerf pistols.
It was a simpler time to be sure...and sure makes a better choice than a kid aspiring to be a rap star or a Kardashian. So here's a round-up of cowboy and cowgirl related merchandise, from the 1959 Sears Christmas catalog. Giddy-up!
Even the littlest Western fans were not left out.
Gotta be honest -- all of these toy guns and holsters look the same to me. Amazing to think that so many varieties of them existed, based on so many TV shows and characters.
As a Steve McQueen fan, I love that there was a toy replica of bounty hunter Josh Randall's weapon of choice, his trusty Mare's Leg.
Could you imagine giving a toddler today a rapid-fire toy machine gun?
Look at that -- some variety! Superman, a jet fighter, and a baton twirler. Could we finally be done with the Western th--
Nope, I spoke too soon. And we have a bridal dress for a little girl, which seems downright creepy.
Merry Christmas!
