1965 Newspaper Clippings
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Note: These newspaper articles were prepared when the archive was still in its infancy. I had not yet compiled the Gallery or even noticed My Biggest Misconception yet. The first part of this article reflects why exactly I had missed vital information in order to correct such, as I'd only been searching "lego samsonite" at the time, which I didn't realize until later was a fundamentally flawed approach. I also had several important markers right in front of me that I handwaved away. I've left the original part of the article largely unedited.
Also note this is not nearly all the newspaper clippings we have onsite. The rest can be accessed via the Gallery.
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1965 suffers a shear drop in results, under half the number of hits as 1964. It never recovers. Granted, these numbers include a small percentage of unrelated results, but it is definitely indicative of some sort of a market shift. 1965 features the new 001 Gears Set and 002 Motor Set, the biggest advancement since the LEGO wheel in 1963, yet it isn't reflected nearly as well in the advertising. This could have several explanations.
And coming back to this article several months later, I now know why there was such a big drop in results. Remember how 1965+ sets have Samsonite's name much smaller than 1961-65 sets? If you search "lego samsonite", guess which adverts pop up. It's the 1961-65 sets, obviously. Hence why the majority of the newspaper adverts here are bound to the earlier era, hence why there was a drop in the results. The new for 1965 ads largely missed the Samsonite name, likely a partial consequence of the shrinking of Samsonite's name/association with their LEGO products.
The Boston Globe, December 5th, 1965. With America joining the Vietnam War earlier in the year, Samsonite put out this "Peace" ad in several papers and magazines, echoing popular anti-war sentiments. Remember this for later. For now, note the open box 725 Town Plan, as the gas pumps and Esso sign are present, but since this is an ad it is not necessarily indicative as to whether the photo of this 725 was taken in 1965:
Lansing State Journal, December 17th, 1965. This is a committee commending Samsonite presumably for the ad above, unconfirmed:
The Orlando Sentinel, December 12th, 1965. This article confirms a 1965 existence of the 042 Jumbo Brick Pull Toy, though no other newspaper ads show it throughout 1965 or 1966 so I'm unsure as to whether it was actually on shelves in late 1965(we've since confirm 1965 via Correcting My Biggest Misconception). It's also interesting Samsonite possibly could've been conducting their own playtests, though it may just be a setup for the column's joke:
The Guardian Journal, November 18th, 1965. Seems this store had all 1961-1965 sets at normal price still. Notice that instead of LEGO System, it is now the LEGO Building Toy:
The Herald, November 11th, 1965. Trouble in paradise, however, for some other toy stores. Check out these sales, even the 1:87 cars are marked down:
York News Times, September 14th, 1969. Here's another sale, half off:
Calgary Herald, November 11th, 1965. Despite the deals across the US, Canada wasn't getting a break:
Leader Telegram, November 30th, 1965. Almost tradition at this point, this 1961 image is still making rounds:
All that is well and good, but this year I saw something that legitimately confused me. I'd never seen this 905 Doll Set variant before.
Check out these two images. The first is from The Gazette, March 25th, 1965:
The next is from The Saginaw News, September 6th, 1965.
Very odd! A 905 Doll set with an odd cardboard "cap", deliberately only around the words "Doll Set". Hm. Let's not draw any conclusions, as these two have the same image, this could be simply for the ad. If only we had another image...
Well, except for this one from The Cleveland Press, April 14th, 1965:
Unfortunately, I think they're all using the same image, which doesn't lend well to supporting this variant's existence in the wild. However, based on the wording, as well as having noticed that the Doll Set was the most marked down set of 1966, it's reasonable to assume that the 905 Doll Set's sales were incredibly low and Samsonite band-aided it with a capsule(obscuring the large "Doll Set") to widen the market. We can explore that more here: The Unknown 905 Doll Set Variant.
National Post, December 25th, 1965. I set this next one aside in case I need it for reference later:
The Daily News Journal, April 9th, 1965. This one is incredibly important, as it is a very nice look at what Samsonite was given in 1964 and their prospects for 1965. Also note that LEGO was being distributed out of a plant in Detroit before its closure in 1963. Also check out that line towards the end about Loveland, "...which will allow for expansion". Foreshadowing?:
I've since omitted clippings related to LEGO city displays—all can be found in LEGO Cities in North America.
As mentioned at the beginning of the article, I missed a plethora of adverts from this season in particular due to how 1965+ sets were marketed. See what I mean, none of the below clippings refer to Samsonite:
