To me, the ad triggered (no pun intended) thoughts of a simpler time, when kids could live out their western gun fantasies without causing fear and panic throughout their neighborhood.
On that post, I remarked how my brothers and I all had toy guns as kids, and that there were photos of my older brother Ken and me from the late 1950s/early 60s posing with our toy six shooters.
Well, I dug up the photos. They're from Christmas 1960, which means that Ken was a few days away from being three years old, and I was a couple months short of two years old. Here’s a ’split screen’ photo of us. I love the look of unbridled glee on Ken’s face.
Although I’m not wearing a holster (maybe I was going to tuck my pistols in my cuffs), I did get one for Christmas along with my guns. It was visible in the uncropped photo of Ken. The holster was sitting in its open box on the coffee table to the left of him. You can clearly see the name Hubley on it.
The box lid looked like this.
Toy guns were big business back then. Hubley produced entire catalogs of guns and holster sets. Here’s a cover and page from two catalogs.
Anyway, it was a different time that’s for sure.
Just for fun, I took a look at the collection of Harry Volk clip art from the 1950s where I work, in the Art Department of a Cleveland printing company. Sure enough, there were plenty of illustrations showing pistol-packing preteens.
Here are a few of those stock illustrations.
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| 1955 |
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| 1956 |
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| 1956 |
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| 1958 |
I guess that means that Ken and I were just your average, well-armed American kids.
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UPDATE (Oct. 4, 2019)I received an email yesterday from a regular reader, who is about my age, who has contributed some great content to the blog over the last few years. Attached was photo (below) of himself as a rootin' tootin' toddler, with cowboy hat, boots, guns, holster – and diaper! "Got you beat!" was his comment. I think he does!
You guys were adorable!
ReplyDeleteAll American boys living the all American dream......Back when these toys were designed in America.Built in America at toy factories that our neighbors worked at.And were sold to the aforementioned all American boy......But then along came the late 60's and little Johnnie turned into a peace loving hippie who smoked dope....Little Johnnie then turned into a draft card burning draft dodger who then fled the country because he didn't want to defend the freedom that he enjoyed so much.Little Johnnie then started hedge funds that really messed America up!Little Johnnie's kids had it worse then he did as later on the hippie pacifists had the Pledge of Allegiance removed from being read in schools.Etc,etc,etc....Kids now don't know how good it was in the old days as all they do is play video games and are overweight from not exercising and getting out of the house like little Johnnie used to do and play in the neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Ken's a Texan now, so he probably wears the real thing!
ReplyDeleteI agree, its sad to see the effect of the sixties on this great country.The sixties is when they started to remove common sense from the population so that some one in the government can tell you what is right and what is wrong.
ReplyDeleteYour pants look too new to be hand-me-downs, they must be grow-in-to!
ReplyDeleteYIPPIE-KY-YO-KY-AY, Y'ALL!
ReplyDelete