Recently I was talking about He-Man toys from the Eighties to a mate and he said 'they're not vintage!'
My mate is in his mid-fifties and to him vintage means the toys he grew up with: Action Man, Dinky, Corgi, Merit, Spears and the like. Certainly not He-Man.
It made me realise that the word vintage is relative and a movable feast. To anyone who played with He-Man toys as a kid and is now in their early Forties - to them He-Man will be vintage. It was the start of any toys for them. I suppose a JR21 Thunderbird 2 would be an antique!
So, what do you think vintage means and is it to do with what we first played with?
Does it actually have any meaning?
Antique means 100 years old or more. Vintage is not as old as Antique and not modern! So, I guess it's open to question.
ReplyDeleteIts indeed a sliding scale. When i found ebay in 1997, 'Vintage' was classed as pre-1970. Nowdays it seems anything more than five years old gets labelled vintage! Its a buzz word which has been adopted by the Generation Z kids to use for anything before they were born! Personally I go with the pre 1970 rule, which suits me fine.
ReplyDeleteBill
Personally, it seems very odd to refer to toys from the 1980s and 1990s as Vintage, but that is how the word is now being used. Especially by younger collectors, who were not even born in the 1960s and 1970s.
ReplyDeleteI got a shock when I found a range of die-cast model cars, which covered vehicles from the 1930s to the 1960s, and they were all described on the box as Vintage Cars. Technically, a Vintage Car is one built between 1919 (when civilian motor car manufacturing resumed following WW1), and the end of 1930. I also have a model from a series called Vintage Muscle - all are of American Muscle Cars from the 1960s.
In the weird world of wine, Vintage just means from a specific year, regardless of age. So you can already buy 2022 Vintage wines.
Vintage clothing is considered to be anything older than 20 years, as with music or style culture, 50's in the 70's, 60's in the 80's and so on
ReplyDeleteI’m with Paul Adams - talking about “vintage” toys from the 80s/90s seems nonsensical to me. But then again, I realize that I’m old, and the term vintage is entirely subjective, I guess in theory, anything that’s out of production for more than a few years could be considered vintage, since it’s a finite commodity currently. I use ca 1980 as a personal cut-off for SF models and toys. Sort of a “Before Star Wars” arbitrary demarcation.
ReplyDeleteIt gets worse. Curious, I had a look to see what now counts as Vintage on-line. Early 21st Century toys are now being described as Vintage, such as a 2004 Barbie doll. Less than 20 years ago.
ReplyDeleteFascinating insights chaps. It seems to be one of those words that suits the occasion. Classier than old its somehow ..... vintage!
ReplyDeleteIt is a meaningless term, in toys, they are all meaningless. If you collect paintings, art, furniture, household effects, cars, or motorcycles there are pretty strict rules - which most people adhere to - as to whether something is Antique, Pioneer, Edwardian, Veteran or Vintage, but in toys they are meaningless. Technically, something should be at least 40-years old to be vintage, 100-years old to be antique, but ours is a hobby full of uneducated fuckwits, who will use any term to bump-up the perceived value (financial or emotional) of their post-modern, mass-produced tat!
ReplyDeleteThanks for all your comments and insights guys. It's a contentious word for sure. I won't even mention retro!
ReplyDeletefleaBay uses 20 years as their benchmark for defining 'vintage'. Miriam-Webster cops out with a lame "dating from the past : OLD
ReplyDelete: OUTMODED, OLD-FASHIONED"
Fascinating Ed. 20 years eh!
DeleteI get a kick out of reading posts in facebook by someone trying to brag about things like their 'old' Hotwheels from the 1990's. So here I am thinking to myself, "Kid you haven't lived long enough to know what 'old' is!" LOL
ReplyDeleteha ha! Like it Ed!
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