Transfer Window

Nostalgia is big business for my generation, The Baby Boomers. 

The seeking out through protracted internet searches or rummaging about in charity shops and auction salerooms for the toys, games and pastimes of our childhoods does attract a considerable amount of what we feel is our rightfully disposable income. 

In reality, how many of us have tracked down that long lost and favourite item with which we wiled away many hours of an idyllic younger life only to be dismayed at the prices being demanded for what was a pocket money outlay. 

Nevertheless, our hearts win out over common sense and financial prudency and the deal is invariably done. 

In most cases, when the thing arrives, a strong emotion is one of disappointment.  

We then realise that it was not the toy or game in isolation that is so compelling but a combination of the original circumstances and emotions of the time that contributed to the fond recollections of childish play. 

There is an abundance of the high volume production items from my youth on the market such as classic boxed games, action figures, franchise type figurines, bikes, skateboards, Sony Walkmans' and early video consuls but less so more specialised toys, some of which have proven to be perishable as the years have passed. 

I was therefore very happy to come across a website run by an individual or like minded souls. The meticulous detail of information and content of the web pages can only be the work of the world’s greatest enthusiasts, collectors and authority on a particular toy from my own childhood. 

Under the acronym of SPLAT this group are The Society for the Preservation of Letraset Action Transfers. 

Those of my age will be very familiar with Letraset and in particular their extensive range of rub down transfers. 

In their better known form these comprised sheets of letters in alphabetic order covering just about every available font and size. We used them to label just about everything that needed to be personalised. I even used a larger font on the crossbar of my racing bike which, when protected with an enamel based varnish, looked just like the markings on a Pro’s bike on the Tour de France. 

The rub down letters were alright to some extent but the best Letraset products were the themed transfer books and dioramas. 

Known by a variety of different names including rub-on and rub off these dry based transfers were an original invention by Letraset in 1959 although much imitated by other companies subsequently. 

The principle is for Images printed on a carrier layer of paper to be transferred onto another chosen surface by applying pressure using, commonly, a pencil or other stylus type instrument. The image is held in place on the carrier layer by a wax based adhesive that is freed by the rubbing motion and a further adhesive film on the image grips the recipient surface to complete the operation. 

Care was essential so as not to rub down multiple images in one go and spoil the whole point of forming your own picture. 

Letraset brought out, in my era of the 1960’s and 1970’s, editions of transfers on historical, cultural and popular subjects and I regularly bought these on my weekly visits to the local toy shop or stationers. 

Booklets with a narrative and detailed backgrounds were a great source of entertainment and even for some educational value. Larger fold out scenes depicting a famous battle or event could be populated with the emphasis on authenticity or in a completely random manner. Using and mixing up different themed sheets of transfers could  see a Spitfire swooping low over the gates of Troy which had just been opened to allow Henry the Eighth to drag in an American Civil War cannon. 

Unfortunately the transfers were prone to damage during the rub down process, often splitting or only partially adhering or would rapidly dry out and become useless. 

I can still recall many of the images depicted using Letraset and thanks to the bods at SPLAT there is a chance that successive generations will also be able to experience the joy of rub down transfers, that is unless my peer group snap them all up first in the spirit of shameless nostalgia.