Surveying the Gen X landscape and the origins of geek
It’s real, and it’s spectacular. The copyright date is 1978 by Tolkien Enterprises, and the manufacturer is Royal Family by Cannon, which I’m pretty sure refers to the American textile company Cannon Mills (1888 – 2003).
The comforter (twin sized) doesn’t appear in the 1979 LOTR/Tolkien Enterprises catalog, and this is the first time I’ve seen one, so there can’t be too many floating around.
On the first page of the 1981 TSR catalog, you’ll find the D&D Basic and Expert Sets, core role-playing products you’d expect to be front and center. In 1983, the toys come first. It looks like the action figure line wasn’t ready when the catalog went to press, because only the bendable monster and “adventure figures” (PVC) are seen here.
SPI games make an appearance on page seven because TSR acquired SPI’s trademarks in 1982/1983, as I mentioned here. Three of the computer games listed on the facing page are available at the Internet Archive: Dungeon!, Dawn Patrol, and Theseus and the Minotaur—(thanks for the heads up, Dungeons & Dragons: A Documentary). I’ve never seen or heard of Ordeal of Magic and Alien Conquest. Does anyone know if they were ever released?
Happy New Year, by the way.
2 Warps to Neptune 