#TBT: Hot items from Sports Illustrated's 1954 Christmas gift guide
The gift guide has long been a staple of magazines, spawning from the age old question of "what the hell should I buy this person?" For this Throwback Thursday, our own Andy Gray dug into the SI Vault (which you should absolutely be following on Twitter, by the way) and uncovered this gift guide published in the magazine from the 1954. As you'll see, getting gifts in 1954 really sucked:
Authentic Lederhosen
Richard Meek/SI
1954 cost: $22.50
2014 cost (accounting for inflation): $199.00
You could actually probably pull this off pretty convincingly in Williamsburg.
Handcrafted Chair
Richard Meek/SI
1954 cost: $17-$35
2014 cost (accounting for inflation): $150.00-$310.00
These chairs were apparently made by a snowshoe company and look equal parts unfashionable and uncomfortable. In 1954, people apparently looked at snowshoes and thought "this design would make for a great chair."
Aluminum Horse Thing
Richard Meek/SI
1954 cost: $26.50
2014 cost (accounting for inflation): $235.00
In 1954, SI apparently decided to instigate family fights by suggesting people give their loved ones a large-ish (30" by 15") horse thing as a present. I can already picture a disappointed woman smiling emptily while thinking "What the hell am I suppose to do with this?"
Cabin Lamp
Richard Meek/SI
1954 cost: $19.50
2014 cost (accounting for inflation): $173.00
If you were alive in 1954 and didn't own a cabin lamp that with inflation would cost almost $175, then you were probably some loser that I would never want to hang out with at the soda shop with.
Snowproof reindeer-hide muk-luks
Richard Meek/SI
1954 cost: $10.95
2014 cost (accounting for inflation): $97.00
These are actually a pretty good deal.
Leather Fanny Pack
Richard Meek/SI
1954 cost: $10
2014 cost (accounting for inflation): $87.00
Easily the most fashion forward item that was sold in the gift guide. If you were rocking a fanny pack in 1954, you were three decades ahead of fashion trends and probably awesome. This thing looks big enough to fit an entire canister of lead-based paint!
Naughty Duck Doorstop
Richard Meek/SI
1954 cost: $9.50
2014 cost (accounting for inflation): $84.00
You have to be some kind of psychopath to pay $9.50 for a doorstop in 2014, much less 1954. To be clear, I didn't look at this duck and decide it looked naughty. The description reads exactly as "Naughty Duck." It should be noted that this item apparently also had an alter-ego called Nice Duck, which I can only assume was created for people who want piece of mind about the demeanor of their doorstop. I can only assume that the company that made these was the Google of the 1950s.
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