Collecting Free Gifts pre 1990s

[philcom55]

Incidentally, I just looked at the issues of Diana that coincided with Sparky's launch to see if they included any nice photogravure adverts. Given that Sparky was supposedly aimed at boys and girls I was surprised to discover that it wasn't mentioned at all (though there was an advert for a free gift that was given away in Judy at the same time).

- Phil Rushton

[alanultron5]

Phil! I know that the Dandy and Beano carried the `Pink Fliers` that advertised Sparky- but they didn't mention it in the comic itself as I have the 1965 Beano the Flier came in! I reckon the girls comics must have carried similar `fliers`

Have you or Steve Z got any gift bags Phil? Phil Comics mentioned their importance in some cases - e.g a 1960 `Dandy Twister` can only be identified if you have the bag!

[philcom55]

I'm afraid I haven't kept any of the bags Alan; at the time I never thought to. The funny thing is that, now, the very mention of them brings back a rush of nostalgia which is - if anything - even more potent than viewing the actual gifts they contained. In the same way I have fond memories of shaking a box of Corn Flakes to bring greaseproof envelopes filled with spacemen, submarines and red indians to the surface!

- Phil R.

[matrix]

One boys and girls comic that did get a full page advert in a girls comic, was 'Whizzer and Chips', (only in black and white though) these scans showing free gifts as well, are from Princess Tina.

[alanultron5]

Those are good photos Matrix-gosh! I must find some way of getting photo's into this thread!

Yes! the bags! Obviously most people threw them away-but they are worth getting if you can. Sometimes it's the only way a gift can be identified. Some comic free gifts themselves carried no identifying logo's and the only way -sometimes=- of identification is via the bags. Saying this though, sometimes the bags would just say "With the Compliments of the Editor" so they could be from any comic!

[Hen Broon]

Hi,I have most Sparky Comic free gifts,have attached a few pics with original envelopes hope you like,if there are any others you would like a pic of let me know which ones.
Cheers

[matrix]

That's a nice 'Sparky' collection, Hen Broon, do you have the comics as well?

Another boys, and girls comic, that was advertised in a girls comic, was 'Giggle'. These scans show the nos 1, 2, 3, with free gifts, the following week there was also a double page ad. These are from 'Princess' comic.

[Phoenix]

One rarity with gifts are the bags they sometimes come in! I have such with `Target Tiddley- Winks` the `Biff-Balloon` and `Super Tooter`. Has anyone else got similar bags?

I was very pleased to get this item on eBay a couple of months ago because it is the last giveaway from The Big Five. It was given in The Rover (Oct. 9 1971), and was advertised there as The Sure-Shot Shooter. The rubber bands have more or less perished, as you would expect. A similar item with the same name was given away in issue 1 of The Wizard [picture version] (Feb. 14 1970). I wouldn't be surprised if they were leftovers in a new envelope. The advert is from the previous week's issue of The Rover. Apologies for the shadows on the top picture, but the gun obviously let light into my scanner.

[Lew Stringer]

Yes, that looks exactly like the gun that was given away in Wizard No.1. I remember it very clearly. It came with multi-coloured elastic bands, so the Rover version must have used spares, as you said.

[Hen Broon]

Thanks Matrix.
Pics of the comics that the free gifts were given in.

[Hen Broon]

Hope this helps

[Digifiend]

That Rover logo is almost identical to one used by The Topper at the same time!

[Phoenix]

Hope this helps

It certainly does, Hen, because it supports my assumption about the leftovers. However, I must point out that in my previous post I did get the leftovers issue the wrong way round, despite always having been fully aware that the gift in The Wizard preceded the one in The Rover, and despite the fact that the dates I gave for the two gifts were staring me in the face in my own post. I must thank Lew for sensitively pointing my mistake out to me in his follow-up post by actually appearing to agree with me, yet knowing full well that his phrase the Rover version must have used spares, as you said would have caused me to say I didn't say that at all, and therefore to reread my post.

I could have acquired that Sure-Shot Shooter at the time. I remember looking at the first issue of The Wizard in a newsagent's in Bolton the week it came out. I think I'd gone to watch a midweek night match at Burnden Park. I wasn't impressed by it, nor the match, come to think of it. It had nothing to do with the fact that it cost 6d for its 32 pages when The Rover was only 5d for the same number of pages. It was the fact that there was so little content, which didn't make it value for the money. I read it cover to cover standing up in the shop in fifteen minutes tops. That week's issue of The Rover, being text-based, will have taken me over an hour longer. The real clincher though was the disappointingly trivial first (obviously) instalment of Cool Kragg - The Team Maker, because it was essentially repeating the first episode of Baldy Hogan - The Brains Of The Team, which originally appeared as a text serial in Adventure. I knew that instalment well and I just couldn't get involved in the picture version. It didn't help either that the artist hadn't drawn in any background to speak of.

[stevezodiac]

Here is the Dandy with the free Thunderbang that was featured in the intro to the Just Dandy documentary.

[Phoenix]

Here is the Dandy with the free Thunderbang that was featured in the intro to the Just Dandy documentary.

Thomsons certainly got some mileage out of that gift, Steve, I'm sure you'll agree. My first acquaintance with it was in 1953, when it was given away, as the Big Crack Bang, with the first issue of The Topper. Like many boys at the time, I liked to startle people with it, anybody really, other children, unwary pedestrians, women shopping in Lancaster market etc. It didn't last that long though. I wouldn't mistreat free gifts like that now!