Cool Ads of Yesteryear #1

Here's a cool ad I saw in Batman #128, cover dated December 1959. Imagine getting one of these under your Christmas tree next to your Radio Flyer wagon and Red Rider BB gun! The Boeing 707 had made its maiden flight just two years earlier, on Dec. 20, 1957. Pan American Airlines was the first carrier to usher in the Jet Age with this beauty, just about a year before this comic's street date on Oct. 26, 1958.

This was one cutting edge toy.

The tag line at left is a hoot, and of course, I doubt most kids putting this on their wish list knew quite how to interpret that "scale" miles per hour claim. More goodies from the ad:

So life-like that it even SOUNDS like a real jet! ... Simply attach the U-Control Line as we show you to the left wing. Then suspend the model from this control line, and begin slowly to swing it through the air. Before your astonished eyes, you will see one of the most thrilling aerodynamic sights of your entire life! ... CHECK THESE INCREDIBLE FEATURES! All plastic!

The coupon says to send $1 plus 25 cents for postage and handling to "FLYING JET, Dept. 4A, Box 300, Forest Hills 75, N.Y." I wonder what's there now? (Oops: I just realized the fine print names this as a DC-8 ... not its competitor Boeing. I feel sheepish.)