Livin’ the Dream with Green Stamps: A 1975 Catalog

Remember The Brady Bunch episode where the kids try to cash in their Green Stamps? The boys want a boat and the girls want a sewing machine. The Solomon-like Mr. Brady decides to settle the dispute by having the kids build a house of cards – the team that knocks the house of cards down is SOL.

I remember those stamps all too well. They were immensely popular during the 60s and 70s. In fact, the S&H catalog was the largest publication in the U.S. and produced three times more stamps than the U.S. Post Office! But then, as early as 1980, green stamps were over.

Green Stamps

 

 

Green Stamps

Fill in all the squares with your stamps and get a pearl necklace for mother!

 

Little known fact: The inspiration for the names “Starsky and Hutch” came from S&H green stamps (Sperry and Hutchinson)….. just thought you needed to know.

I can’t help but wonder if green stamps could ever have a place in our debt oriented society. Everyone puts things on plastic – it’s all about instant gratification, rather than saving up for something as mundane as a toaster or bath towel.

Anyway, I’ve got an old green stamp catalog from 1975 and thought I’d share it with you for posterity’s sake. I imagine a lot of you reading this don’t even know what a green stamp is – so, consider this a lesson in 1970s history. Let the learning begin!

Green Stamps

Fill up a book and get a set of glasses!  I suppose now you can just by a box of glasses at Wal-Mart on the cheap and not blink an eye.  Back then, things like this were an “expense”, and it made sense to save up for them with stamps.

 

Green Stamps

I don’t know about you, but I’m sold on the “Javit Crystal Young Love Goblet Set”.

 

green stamp book (3)

With green stamps you get all your tobacco accessories and swank for men.  Is it me, or does this guy look stoned?

 

Green Stamps

The hot pink goes well with the wood paneling, don’t you think?  I’m especially fond of the hamper with the “luxuriously upholstered top”.

 

Green Stamps

I think it was a government mandate that all bathtubs have those “appliques” because I never knew a tub without one.

As for the Health-O-Meter, no idea what that’s about.

 

green stamps

For the curious – that red contraption was the Schick Freedom Machine.  I imagine the selling point was that you didn’t have to be tethered to the hair drier.

 

green stamp book (8)

Totally had Whatzit.  It was sort of like Legos or Tinker Toys, but like shards of stained glass.

 

green stamp book (22)

Judging by the box, the paint-by-numbers oil paint set looks just another excuse for sweet, sweet lovemaking.  This was the Seventies after all – what else would you expect?  As for the Dip Film Kit, I am scratching my head – anybody remember what the hell this was?

 

green stamp book (7)  I’d love to make a sexual pun on “soft goods” here, but I can’t think of any right now.  Give me a minute.

 

green stamp book (21)

I’m so captivated by this woman’s pants, that I can’t concentrate on these ugly polyester window treatments.  It’s probably for the best.

 

green stamp book (16)

An “electric watch”?  Here, take my money!

 

green stamp book (4)

A color TV for 150 books!  Yowch.  I think I’ll take that pathetic “Cricket Stool” instead.

 

green stamp book (17)

 

green stamp book (25)  For more of this, I highly recommend Strange and Terrible Fitness Products from the 1970s

 

green stamp book (11)

It looks like, in a few short minutes, this couple’s about to be spreading a lot more than grass seed.

 

Green Stamps

I’m all about the “Spice Excitement Design”… but this woman is kinda giving me the creeps.  Perhaps we’ll end here.  Please drop a Green Stamp memory in the comment section!

Would you like to support Flashbak?

Please consider making a donation to our site. We don't want to rely on ads to bring you the best of visual culture. You can also support us by signing up to our Mailing List. And you can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. For great art and culture delivered to your door, visit our shop.