The Shadow’s Christmas toys

This blog entry will be posted at 10 a.m. (Eastern) on Christmas morning. At that exact moment, some of you will be sitting by the tree playing with your new toys. No matter how old you are, you know you will be playing with toys. And at that same moment some others of you may be still in your soft, comfortable bed sleeping, dreaming those dreams of which only pulp fans dream. Or sleeping off last night’s excess of egg nog. Light on the egg… heavy on the nog. You knew you’d regret it tomorrow, and tomorrow’s here.

So let’s talk about Christmas toys. Not just any toys, but toys advertised in The Shadow Magazine. Yes, The Shadow Christmas toys. Take a look at this ad that was originally in the Jan. 15, 1941, issue. (If you click on it, it’ll get bigger.) Even back then, it was all about merchandising.

Now, merchandising is a fact of life in today’s world; it is something taken for granted by just about everyone. When Hollywood releases a new blockbuster, there are a myriad of merchandise released that are linked to the movie. We’re not just talking about Batman lunch boxes, here. There are Batman watches, Batman napkins, Batman pillows… and the list goes on ad infinitum.

Even back for Christmas 1940, The Shadow wasn’t immune to the mania for merchandising. Let’s take a look at the ad and see what we kids could buy so that we could become just like The Shadow. Available in stores, or available by mail.

This year you can wear The Shadow Hat and Cape and melt into the shadows. You can hide your face in The Shadow Mask. You can disguise yourself as a Chinaman, porter, or ranger. Write letters in invisible ink or in code on your own Shadow Stationery. Strap on The Shadow Official Holster Set, use the keen Shadow Tecto-Lite, which you can hide in the palm of your hand. Write in the dark with the Pencil Lite just as The Shadow makes his notes. And play The Shadow Game — the finest fun.

Let’s take a quick look at that Pencil Lite. Pretty bulky, but then remember it had to hold a battery. And back in those days, there was no such thing as a “button battery” or an LED light. No sirree, it was an actual AA battery and a flashlight bulb. But cumbersome as it might be, it still looks cool to my eyes. Write in the dark. I could pull the covers over my head and write secret messages… and Mom would never know! And only 50 cents to boot! Keep in mind that was at 1940 prices. Today, adjusting for inflation, that would run $8.50. But I still want one, and would happily pay $8.50 to get one today.

The Shadow Mask? Meh. The ad claims it will “fool even your closest friends.” How did they know my friends were such a gullible bunch? The real question is, will it fool my mom? No, I don’t think so. I’ll pass on this one, even though it only cost a dime and I’m sure was worth every penny.

The Shadow Tecto-Lite looks pretty cool, even though I can’t figure out exactly what it is. It seems to be a flashlight shaped like a box, with the light on the front of the box. “Hide it in the palm of your hand.” Okay, I’m sold. If it glows in the dark and you can hide it in your hand, you can put it on my Christmas list.

But wait, there’s more!

The Shadow Big Little Books would not have interested me as a kid in 1940. Now, as an adult in 2015, I’d love to get some of these in brand-spanking new condition. They’re real collectors’ items. But if I were a 1940 youngster, I think I’d want something I could play with, not a book. If they had only made it glow in the dark, they would have had me. Oh well.

The Shadow Holster Set. It cost a buck. A whole buck. That’s a lot of money back in 1940. But as a kid, I would have wanted this bad enough to break my piggy bank. Just look at what’s inside. You get The Shadow mask that could be purchased separately for 10 cents. That’s not the big draw, but look at what else you get. A gun and a holster and a belt. A gun like The Shadow has! A .45 calibre automatic just like The Shadow’s. Okay, looking closer at the picture, it looks more like a small revolver, not a giant automatic. But let’s not get too picky, here. And handcuffs! I just know I’m gonna need those for all those crooks that hang around the local street corners. And a flashlight! (A flashlight-shaped flashlight, this time.) And The Shadow’s whistle! Wait… say, what, now? The Shadow’s whistle? I didn’t know The Shadow had a whistle. Well, I guess he does, now. And I want it! Can I have this holster set, Mom? Please? Look… it’s got a belt. That’s clothing, Mom! You’ll be buying me clothes for Christmas!

And then there’s the Official Shadow Stationery and Envelopes. I’m not sure about this one. It’s cheap enough at only 20 cents but what would I do with it. Wait! I could write secret messages in the dark using my Pencil Lite or my Tecto-Lite or the flashlight that came in my Holster Set. And it would be on the official Shadow stationery. Not very secret, that… but Okay, I’m sold. Count me in.

The Shadow Board Game. An actual game you can play with your friends. That does sound pretty fun, doesn’t it? I think I would have bought one, even if I had to shovel snow off sidewalks for a month. And today in 2015, these things are real collectors’ items. They must not have sold too many of them, originally, because not too many have survived. Today they are valued at $1,000, which is a far cry from what they originally sold for.

The ‘must have’ item

The final item in the ad is the Shadow Official Hat and Cape. Yes, it’s expensive at a whole dollar, but this is the “must have” item in the whole ad. If you could only pick one, this is the one to pick. With this, you could actually become The Shadow. Dissolve into the shadows, just like the master of the night, himself. Can I get it, Mom? Can I? Can I? Please? It’s the Official hat and cape. Official!

If I were a kid in 1940 who ran across this Christmas ad, I would have spent literally hours of my life laying on my stomach examining the pictures in detail. Reading every word of the description, over and over and over. Dreams running through my mind of all the things I could do, if only I had these. There would have been ardent pleas to my folks. Can I please have this for Christmas? It’s all I want. I promise I’ll be good!

But wait. There’s another Shadow merchandise ad that I wanted to show you. This one was found in the Sept. 1, 1939, issue. A whole year earlier, when they didn’t have as much cool stuff. You can en-biggen the picture for a more detailed view. Just click on the picture.

Examining this ad shows us that they were selling basically the same stuff as the following year’s ad demonstrated. But wait! There’s one item that I didn’t see on the Christmas ad. The Shadow Disguise Set. Wow! Take a look at this “swell kit” (their words). Six different face pastes. Fake mustaches! Fake beards! Fake sideburns! If I had this, no one would recognize me. I could fool my parents. Fool my friends. I could sneak into the theater, and no one would know!

You know, I suppose this makeup kit might not be politically correct in today’s world and today’s sensitivities. This makeup kit would probably offend just about every minority out there. I guess 1939 was a whole world away from today. It was just an innocent toy back then.

This disguise set had a lot more than just makeup, though. You also got invisible ink. Yes! I love invisible ink! The Shadow uses it in almost every pulp story. And then there’s fingerprint ink. Just think what I could do with that. Fingerprint my sister! Then I’ll know when she’s been messing with my stuff. There’s also identification record sheets, and best of all… The Shadow code book! You know, any self-respecting kid of 1939 loved secret codes. And now the secret of all secrets: The Shadow’s code book itself!

The new ‘must have’ item

Okay, I changed my mind. This is the “must have” item. Yeah, the official hat and cape have been bumped down a notch on my list. And at the top, now, is The Shadow Disguise Set. Forget waiting until Christmas. I’m buying it now! Not sure how I’m going to scrape up a whole buck, though. I’ll do chores for neighbors. Run errands. Paint fences. Clean gutters. Mow lawns. Whatever it takes.

And then, I’m sending in the coupon and the dollar… and wait. And wait. And wait. Arrrggghhh! The waiting is going to kill me. But eventually the postman will deliver my package. And I’ll disguise myself so that no one will know me. I will become the master of disguise! And master of codes.

Ah, the dreams of youngsters back in the heyday of the pulps. Those dreams knew no bounds. You were a crime fighter. You battled the underworld. Masterminds of evil trembled at the mere mention of your name. You stood for justice… for honesty… for right.

And that’s still down there inside you. You never completely grew up, did you? The dream lives. That’s pulp!