Back around 1970 or '71, I saw a WADE YOGI BEAR in the window of a shop called STANLEY'S STORES. It still bore the pre-decimal price of 1/11d, so it's possible it was 1969, but what's a year or two over a 45 year period? Anyway, long story short, I bought it, and that's the very one you see in the above photo. Yup, still got it after all this time.
In fact, I've now got three Yogis, as I bought another two of them on eBay a couple of years or so apart. It's usually listed as 'rare', but there's always loads of them on sale anytime I look, so I'd take that with a pinch of salt. Apparently, its catalogue price is around £80 (unboxed), but I got my second one for £25. The third one I did pay £80 for, but it had the box.
A few years ago, I decided I wanted the other two in the set - HUCK and Mr. JINKS - so I acquired them at a very nice price. I'm so chuffed with them, I thought I'd share them with you here. I've shown Yogi on his own before, but this is the first time with his two pals. These figures first came out around 1962 or '63, so regard any hugely differing years of origin you read as widely inaccurate. (Some uninformed sellers date them from the '50s.)
I had my original box for a couple of years after buying the item, but the corners had split after awhile and I'd repaired them with Sellotape. Huge mistake. The tape gradually yellowed and then shrank, and when I tried to remove it, I damaged the box and so discarded it. I recall it from the last year in my old house and the first year in my new one, which is strange for my memories of something to be equally divided between homes. You can imagine how happy I was to eventually replace it.
Anyway, too much verbosity for two photos, so I'll shut up now. Enjoy the view of Yogi and his chums.
6 comments:
Charming! I loved this kind of stuff when I stumble across it at Flea Markets and such. I don't collect it though, I might if I had such a neat personal connection. I've been watching vintage Batman TV lately and it brings to mind a plate my grandmother had which featured Batman and Robin as they appear in the animated titles of that show. My siblings and I vied to get to use that one when we went there, which was quite often. When my grandmother passed, I wanted that plate but it was long gone into the mists of time. But I still remember.
Rip Off
That's a shame about the plate, Rip. I hope you discover its twin one day soon (for a reasonable price), and are reunited with such a cool reminder of your grandmother and your youth. Memories somehow seem closer and clearer when there's a tangible reminder of them.
Kid, if the corners of the box were split you should have repaired them with some glue. Will you be featuring any Christmas songs this year or will we have to look on YouTube ourselves ?
Wouldn't have worked, CJ. It was only the paper covering the box that held the corners together, so the edges of each corner didn't connect in such a way that would've given glue any purchase. Besides, back then, glues also discoloured over time, and there wasn't the range of options there is now.
Haven't decided on whether to feature Christmas songs yet.
Pearl glue, that's what you wanna use to stick it.
Nah, DSE, that's for furniture and would show up on paper or card. Besides, like I said, the edges of the box didn't meet in such a way that allowed enough contact for one edge to stick to the other. The box lid was card covered with paper which folded over inside the lid, and it was the paper stuck to the card which held it together. What I should have done was put the tape inside the lid where it wouldn't have been seen, but hey - I was only around 12 or 13 at the time.
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