Merry Christmas
Oh man, I spilled hot cocoa on my computer. Luckily I paid for cocoa insurance; people laughed at the time, but NOW who's laughing? Anyway, it is Christmas Day, I don't know if anybody told you. But it is! And to celebrate, I am sharing a few vintage photos from days of yore.
Let's start with this unsettling image (from December, 1960) of a terrifying Santa Claus holding a boy who desperately wants to be handed back to mother. Santa's beard is yellow from nicotine and dribbled bourbon. "Quit squirming, kid!". Does the boy have bells on his shoes? Maybe that way mom always knows where he is. As do the cartoon mice.
Next, it's Christmas morning, 1961. A lucky boy has heaps of presents to open, why he is almost as spoiled as I was! He's opening something called a "Sketch-O-Matic".
Here's one:
And you can get an idea of how it worked, though I confess that I don't get it entirely.
Next, it's the same boy, three years later (1964). He looks about the same, but hey, date stamps don't lie. Maybe his mom let him drink gin to keep him small? Anyway, once again he has heaps and heaps of presents, and good ones too. He and mom seem to be examining a cool toy car, perhaps it needed batteries. In the foreground, an ARMY HELICOPTER. Nice. I looked to see if I could find this exact model on the internet, but had no luck. There is also a quality "Buddy L" horse truck. And more! What a lucky guy.
I hope all of you have a warm and wonderful day!
5 comments:
Major-
Some nice presents, indeed - and a lovely Zenith B&W TV - suspect it's from the early 60's.
Merry Xmas to all - and especially Melissa-!
Thanks, Major.
I saw the first photo and ran from the room screaming! Well, not really. But in my mind, I did. What deranged adult thought this Santa mask would look jolly and friendly to a little kid? The kid is imploring, "Save me, Mommy! SAVE ME!"
2) The loot behind the kid ripping apart his Sketch-O-Matic includes: "5 Children's Card Games" and a "Watercolor Paint Set (No. 64, or No. 641?)". I'm guessing at least one of those other presents is a coloring book.
3) Hmm, the Sketch-O-Matic looks like a less accurate Etch-A-Sketch. Seems like if you moved that little lever just a tiny bit it would a line many times longer.
4) Oh. It looks like the lever, and the yellow plate, slides left and right. While, just the lever moves up and down. That "Skip Line" feature sounds really handy. The Etch-A-Sketch doesn't have that capability.
5) Hmm, I don't think this is the same kid. For one thing, he seems younger in the '64 photo than he does in the '61 photo. Not even gin can do that! They do look very similar, but this must be the first kid's little brother? I also think that's the helicopter that he and Mom are messing with. Oooh! He also got a set of Lincoln Logs! The book under the tree says something like "Rabid Babies"... or something similar. There's also a Zenith TV behind Mom. I bet it's a color set.
Nanook, is there a way to tell if a TV is B&W while it's turned off? I guessed 'color' because in 1964, many families got their first color set. (Like we did.)
Thanks for the vintage Christmas photos, Major. Now I'll have visions of creepy Santas dancing in my head.
I shall focus on the third pic since:
1. The Santa frightens me
2. JB summed up the Sketch-O-Matic pretty well. I will add that Major's research on the topic is what sets GDB apart from lessor blogs and cigarette commercials.
Now, as far as the third oic goes, I agree with JB that Mom and kid are putting batteries in that helicopter. I bet that thing was loud! Dad probably hid those batteries soon after this pic was taken.
I also notice that an army man is shooting a horse over by the cabin. That's not nice on any day, but especially Christmas! Hopefully he just used blanks. Still pretty mean, though...
Merry Christmas everyone!
@ JB-
You can't really tell if a television 'tube' is B&W or color when turned off. That set appears to be from around 1961 - and the simplicity of those controls indicate a B&W set. And even if the set should be from 1964, that would be a bit early for a rectangular color picture tube. 1965 was the year both CBS and ABC went "full color" - at least in prime time - and is when the big push for color TV really began.
I love the smell of dribbled bourbon on Santa's nicotine-stained beard in the morning.
That Santa would be great in a Christmas horror/slasher movie. Thanks, Major.
Merry Christmas to All!
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