1973 Catalogue
1973 was the year Big Jim began moving beyond his original sports identity. In the United States, Big Josh joined Big Jim and Big Jack, while new adventure sets such as Jungle Adventure pushed the range toward exploration and action.
Big Jim Collector’s Catalog
This compact Big Jim Collector’s Catalog was printed as part of a double-sided Mattel booklet, with Wheels & Wings promoted from the opposite cover. It is a good example of how Mattel grouped several boys’ toy lines into a single promotional piece.
Big Jim in the Mail-Order Catalogues
In 1973, Big Jim was already appearing prominently in North American mail-order catalogues. These pages from Eaton’s in Canada and Sears in the United States show how department stores presented the growing range directly to families during the Christmas shopping season.
Colour printing was not yet used throughout these large catalogues, so many toys appeared in black-and-white pages combining photographs, retouched images and illustration. The result is very different from Mattel’s colourful advertising: products are densely grouped together, numbered and accompanied by detailed descriptions and prices.
Real heroes always live great adventures.
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