Tuesday 14 December 2010

The Laminated Book of Dreams

Sometimes life drifts past so quickly you don't notice when institutions pass from being "cutting edge" to become a nostalgia fest - perhaps it's a sign of getting old?

I can remember when the concept of looking through a very large book of lovely things and then going into a retail shop and having those lovely things appear through a serving hatch as if by magic was almost science fiction. Obviously the lovely things didn't look quite as wonderful when you got them home but that used to happen in a lot of areas of life.


It came as a surprise to find last week that Mr Anthony Voz has scanned the entire 1985 Spring/Summer Argos Catalogue and it has made the transition into historical nostalgia. It was also a big surprise to find just how many of my brain cells have been filled up with details of the lovely items for the last 25 years when they could have been defragged and put to more creative use.

I made a beeline for the photography and computer pages which I found I knew virtually by heart. I'd be interested to hear which pages YOU go straight for? (There are 5 index pages jam packed with stuff starting here).

 Or perhaps you aren't quite as excited as me about the whole thing or quite so far up the autism scale?


14 comments:

Dave said...

I had a Spectrum, and a ZX81. Happy days.

Rog said...

Dave: I thought you were going to plump for the lingerie pages!

Dave said...

Are there lingerie pages in an Argos catalogue?

I've led a sheltered life.

Rosie said...

I'll have the Pentax SLR for 189 pounds, thank you.

Rog said...

Dave: You thought they were all in the Freemans Catalogue...

Rosie: They still fetch £60 on ebay which isn't bad after 25 years.

Z said...

We bought a Commodore 64 for the children for Christmas in 1985. Not from Argos though. I hate huge catalogues.

Sarah said...

What's Argos?

Dave said...

Argos (Greek: Ἄργος) is a city in Greece, in the Peloponnese.

In Greek mythology, Argus Panoptes (Ἄργος Πανόπτης) or Argos, guardian of the heifer-nymph Io and son of Arestor, was a primordial giant whose epithet "Panoptes" ("all-seeing"), led to his being described with multiple, often one hundred, eyes.

I hope this helps

Rog said...

Z: Huge Catalogues were good for cutting out and pasting before the invention of ctrl-x and ctrl-v. I was a Commodore Vic fan.

Sarah: It's the source of all catalogues and little tint pens and has replaced the Church in modern society.

Dave: You'll be telling us the Poundland existed in Byzantia next.

broken biro said...

Commodore 64, me. Playing 'tennis' with two cursors and a volatile full stop... why did the fun have to end? What a shame these 'personal computer' things never quite took off.

Word verification: Judder. Thankyou. 8-)

Macy said...

I used to think Argos was internet shopping for poor people.

Apparently even Argos is online these days though, which sort of destroys its USP.

Geoff said...

I bought a pair of earrings in Elizabeth Duke at Argos in 1982. We split up the next day.

Keith said...

I can't find the page for blow-up dolls. Very disappointing.

Rog said...

Broken: ah you've reminded me of my commodore Vic spreadsheet which sold 1 copy. Ahead of its time...

Macy; it's actually quite a long way up Market now. From Poundland.

Geoff: you and Elizabeth Duke? I thought she was a figment

Keith: inflation was out of control back then