JC Penneys Department Store Catalogs

JC Penney 1969 Wishbook Detail

JC Penneys has somehow survived the test of time as a department store and still offers retail goods and services as of 2024. Growing up in somewhat rural Tennessee, I wasn't aware of JC Penneys until I moved to a larger city that had an anchor store at a local mall. It appears to have been much like my local Sears store with a limited toy section that would expand during Christmas. As with Sears and other department sores, JC Penneys would ship a yearly catalog to shoppers if requested (basically if you made a purchase at any time you were on the mailing list). These catalogs would include ads in a mix of color and black-and-white.

JC Penneys 1968 Christmas Catalog

Page 399 features this nice, full-color all-MMM ad with prototype Firebolt (Silver/Gray instead of Red/Orange). Also, it seems that the Talking Command Console first appeared as a JC Penneys exclusive a year before it was made available in the Mattel 1969 Spring Catalog to other retailers.  "Talking Command Station." I think this may have been the catalog I saw very early in my collecting that led me to believe that there was a Talking Space Station (note the text is directly above an image of the Space Station, plus the use of "Station" in the name. Penneys 1969 Christmas Catalog Cover

JC Penneys 1969 "Walk With Us Down Christmas Street..."

JC Penneys seemed to be truly inspired to sell the MMM line through it's catalog. The full page ad contains order numbers for nearly every figure, vehicle and accessory available in 1969. The Lunar Base Command Set ($23.95) and Space Mission Team ($6.44) are prominently featured. The ad reads: "Join Matt Mason and His Team of Space Specialists for Exciting Space Ventures"

JC Penneys 1970 "The Christmas Place"

In 1970, JC Penneys introduces the Star Seeker, the XRG-1, Talking Major Matt Mason (with the option of buying him as a set with the XRG-1) and Scorpio. The ad is much reduced from 1969. Here's the cover.

 

 

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