Sylvania Receiving Tubes w/Green Stamps
April 1963 Radio-Electronics

April 1963 Radio-Electronics [Table of Contents] Wax nostalgic about and learn from the history of early electronics. See articles from Radio-Electronics, published 1930-1988. All copyrights hereby acknowledged.

Back in the early 1960's when this advertisement for Sylvania vacuum tubes appeared in Radio−Electronics magazine, a sure sign that pressures of competition was getting serious was when retailers offered S&H Green Stamps. Collecting stamps of all sorts were in vogue at the time because they could be redeemed for anything from a pencil and pen set to kitchen appliances and bicycles. My parents, who both were heavy smokers (and each died at age 51 from smoking-related diseases), collected stamps from Raleigh and Belair cigarettes. My grandfather, father, his brothers, and I collected postal stamps. Stamp collecting, except for rare varieties, is pretty much a dead hobby anymore. You can buy sheets of some new, unused U.S. postage stamps on eBay for less than face value, so that makes them a great deal for using on your snail mail (they are still good for postage).

Sylvania Receiving Tubes

Only Sylvania receiving tubes give you these 2 big bonuses:

Life-Boost* Cathode ... a big bonus in tube quality

S&H Green Stamps ... with the Service 'n Save Plan

Life-Boost* Cathode ... a big bonus in tube quality

Sylvania's exclusive Life-Boost* Cathode is putting new life into tubes - and sales. This latest evidence of Sylvania leadership in tube technology offers benefits you can really sell: it virtually eliminates performance slump, a major cause of profit-stealing callbacks. Besides stability, it produces significantly better tube life and uniformity. More than 90 types already have Life-Boost, with more on the way ... and it's being heavily promoted in national magazines and by mail.

Here's another big reason to go with Sylvania. S&H Green Stamps, exclusive with participating Sylvania Distributors, are given free to dealers with the purchase of Sylvania receiving tubes. They add up fast, especially when they're combined with stamps from the grocer and other merchants who give S&H Green Stamps. And the family can select gifts from a 144-page S&H Catalog full of everything from home furnishings to furs.

Go with Sylvania - to Profit!

Slyvania

Subsidiary of

General Telephone & Electronics

*Trademark

Green Stamps

Green Stamps were a type of loyalty program that was popular in the United States from the late 1800s through the mid-1980s. The program was created by the Sperry & Hutchinson Company (S&H) in 1896, as a way to incentivize customers to purchase products from participating merchants.

The first Green Stamps were actually blue, but they were later changed to green to make them easier to recognize. They were distributed by S&H through various channels, including direct mail, newspaper inserts, and in-store promotions. Customers would receive a certain number of stamps with each purchase, based on the dollar amount spent.

The stamps themselves were small, perforated pieces of paper with a gummed back. Customers would collect the stamps and then paste them into books, which could be redeemed for merchandise from the S&H catalog. The catalog featured a wide range of items, from household goods to jewelry and toys.

Over time, Green Stamps became more and more popular, and S&H expanded its program to include more merchants and more ways to earn stamps. In the 1960s, the company even began offering Green Stamps credit cards, which allowed customers to earn stamps on all of their purchases, not just those made at participating merchants.

At its peak in the 1960s, the Green Stamps program was a cultural phenomenon, with millions of Americans collecting and redeeming stamps. The program was so popular that it even inspired a hit song, "Green Stamps," by Eddie Cochran.

However, by the 1970s, the popularity of Green Stamps began to decline. Inflation made the stamps less valuable, and the rise of other loyalty programs, such as frequent flyer miles and credit card rewards, made Green Stamps less relevant. In 1981, S&H filed for bankruptcy, and the Green Stamps program officially came to an end.

Today, Green Stamps are remembered as a nostalgic relic of a bygone era, a time when collecting and redeeming stamps was a popular pastime for American families. While the program may be gone, its legacy lives on, as many people still remember the thrill of filling up a Green Stamps book and redeeming it for a coveted item from the catalog.

Posted March 2, 2023