Monster Magazine Ads

Man, I remember seeing advertisements like these in the Johnson Smith Co. catalog that would come to our house as a kid.  Not sure what triggered our house being on that mailing list, but who cares?  It brightened many a day of my youth.  I think it was also the time I realized that price usually was an indicator of quality.  Like Real X-Ray glasses to see a person's actual skeleton (as a boy, I was hoping to modify that setting and wear them to school).  But then you see $2.99 and realize you're being had.  But in a fun way...as the curiosity factor alone was worth the price.  And the waiting was actually part of the charm, as most of this stuff said "Please allow 4 to 6 weeks for delivery," and damn if that stuff didn't ALWAYS take six weeks.  It was literally long enough for you to forget you even ordered it.  Which would then add a surprise element to the entire experience.  

Click here to see more.

Thanks, Mike!  These were great.

The Johnson Smith Catalog

The bible of my youth...

Image source.

Johnson Smith's Catalog

I can remember as a kid looking forward to getting the Johnson Smith's Catalog in the mail. Tons of neat things like practical jokes of gum that turns your mouth black, mustard bottles with a yellow string that squirts out five inches faking a mustard attack, faux vomit and dog poo, tiny cameras that actually worked....and rubber butchered off hands. The hand was probably my first major purchase in my life. I'd love to have heard how I asked my mother if I could buy it, and her reply. But she let me and I remember waiting forever for it to arrive. This is the weird part - I can remember seeing the mailman walking up to the front door with a small brown package. This totally means I was watching him like a dog from the window. I heard the screendoor open and close so it was absolutely a package for our address.


It was my rubber butchered off hand. Wrapped in a BROWN PAPER BAG. That was actually how it was shipped. In a lunch bag. A small paper lunch bag.

This morning, someone dropped a catalog on my desk because it had Halloween items on the cover. Yep, Johnson Smith's catalog is still around.

Here's their site.