One of the greatest finds of my internet snooping career is the archive of sales brochures at the Winnebago company site going back to 1969. Talk about a long gaze into the psyche of America. The allure of life on the open road is the allure of the frontier—freedom from neighbors, rent, materialism, stagnation, regulation. The motor home was the family’s answer to the younger generation’s embrace of vanning and motorcycling in the 1970s. It still is the answer, to some. “We’ve got a home that keeps us dry,” they say, “but we’re still on the move, still exploring.”
I’ve included all the major illustrations from the ’69 brochure, including the beautiful cross-section. The full PDF is here. Starting in 1970, illustrations are largely abandoned in favor of photos. Notice how all walks of life are included in the larger Winnebago family: retirees, couples with and without kids, sportsmen, swingers, golfers. A commitment to individualism and a roving spirit are all that’s needed.
Warning: I’ll probably be posting my favorite pages from every brochure up until at least 1980.
2 Warps to Neptune 
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