1966 Newspaper Clippings
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Note: This article was composed when I was simply gathering evidence for the archive, far before I'd began proper research or committed facts to page. I've left it generally as is, as it is an excellent reflection of my mindset as well as our ground up approach to information on the site, wherein we let the evidence lead us to the conclusion rather than lead the evidence to our conclusion.
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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Sales! Sales, sales, sales!
Albany Democrat Herald, April 27th, 1966. Check out this deep discount—one of the lowest recorded prices for the 905 Doll Set:
Berwyn Life, November 23rd, 1966. The 001 Gear and 002 Motor Sets are also on sale:
The Daily Progress, October 26th, 1966. This one is cool as it shows the exact stock numbers of each set. You don't see many of these in newspapers with a lot of LEGO in succession:
The Lexington Herald, May 20th, 1966. Check out Dollar-Day's deal. I've not yet confirmed what set these "Starter Sets" are:
The Patriot News, November 6th, 1966. Speaking of unknown sets being discounted (later identified as the 695 Bulk Assortment Set, keep in mind this article was composed during the evidence collection period of the archive's development, there had not yet been a proper investigative article for each individual set):
Wayne County Journal Banner, November 24th, 1966. The sales continue, remember these same sets were also half off last year:
The Daily Breeze, March 23rd, 1966. More sales! Interesting that the "exclusive" canister sets(Sears and JCPenney) are being sold from the wholesale dealer Zody's. Very rare piece counts are present again:
Honolulu Star Bulletin, August 24th, 1966. The sales have even reached places like Hawaii, the usual markups are gone:
Democrat and Chronicle, December 26th, 1966. Another very common clearance of the 605 Wheel Toy:
The Capital Times, February 21st, 1966. Wanna see the markdowns on the supplemental packs?
Fort Lauderdale News, December 18th, 1966. It goes lower:
The News Tribune, December 22nd, 1966. But you haven't seen the worst of it. Check out this discount on the 717 Junior Constructor:
Deseret News, November 17th, 1966. Last one, I swear:
JG-TC Journal Gazette and Times Courier, November 14th, 1966. Corroborates late 1966 release of the Oxydol LEGO Sampler:
The Times Herald, November 6th, 1966. Yet another appearance of this 1961 image. It haunts me, but surely this is its last appearance, right?
The Washington Daily News, November 17th, 1966. An entire lineup of sets at this particular toy store, a mixture of old and new sets. I'd like to contest the "long-lasting motor" part, but that's a conversation for another day:
Edmonton Journal, February 1st, 1966. One of the coolest clippings we've gotten so far: an image of two LEGO sets being awarded to contest winners. One thing to note is that it has the older Lego System logo, which could mean these contests were a way for Samsonite to expel these unsold educational sets.
Fort Collins Coloradoan, October 19th, 1966. This clipping shows the impact of Samsonite's Loveland plant on the community, it's unfortunate knowing what we do now:
The Oregonian, November 30th, 1966. This one is part of a larger article with a company called Northern Specialty Co. Several members of their companies speak, this one is from Sid Rosen. It's notable for quoting sales figures for LEGO for this wholesaler, though it is impossible to confirm these numbers.
National Post, November 19th, 1966. Here Samsonite's LEGO packaging, presumably the new for 1965 style, wins a silver award in a corrugated packaging competition sponsored by the Packaging Association of Canada. I included this one as it cites a company that was previously unknown to be working with Samsonite's LEGO division: CIP Containers Ltd in London. I was unable to find any existing information, patents, trademarks, or other mentions of this company in newspapers. It is unknown what exactly their contribution was, it any association existed at all:
Le Devoir, January 24th, 1966. This article announces Allan Knight's(the manager for Samsonite of Canada mentioned in 1961) appointment to be the company's first president. Interesting that Samsonite will not release sales figures at this time, when before they've provided it themselves both before and after. No spoilers, but keep these in mind:
National Post, January 15th, 1966. This is the exact same article but in English:
Fort Collins Coloradoan, September 21st, 1966. The fulfillment of the addition to the 1965 Loveland Plant. It provides a lot of useful numbers for later:
Further additions to the collection:
