Fisher Price Toy Catalogs

Hey Everyone,

Sorry for the long break.  Life has been crazy for a while now, but things seem to have slowed down for the moment, so thought I'd toss up a quick post to let you all know that I am still here, I have not given up on this blog and I'm thankful to all of you who have stuck with me through my severe writing drought.  I am amazed at how many hits my blog gets every month, even when I'm not posting.  Thanks guys!  You rock!

I also have good news: over the past non-writing months, I managed to acquire both the 1989 and 1990 Fisher Price Toy Fair Catalogs.  These are the 'dealer catalogs' that This Old Toy periodically refers to in its Precious Places listings. 

The 1989 catalog has 10 pages of Precious Places including the gorgeous 2 page spread everyone loves.

The 1990 catalog has only 5 pages of Precious Places, but two of those pages are the County Fair Sets, so that makes it worth owning in my book.

There is some stuff in them that my Precious Places obsessed self finds interesting.  I'll try to post about it soon, but in the mean time, if any of you are interested in getting your hands on your own copy, I recommend eBay.  They come up at regular intervals, and it just so happens that they are both currently listed for sale.  Just go to eBay and search for "Fisher Price Catalog" and they should come up.

Do any of you have the Toy Fair Catalogs?  If so, what is your favorite page?  Anything that you find intriguing?  Let me know!

Most Wanted List Revisited

Last December I published my Precious Places Most Wanted List that detailed the five sets that are rare to the point that I thought they might be non-existent.  Since I wrote that post, I've gotten more information, so I thought it was time to revisit the list.

5) The Pretty Penny Wishing Well - Aqua Well with Pink Roof

 

Current Status: More rare than pink well with aqua roof, but definitely findable
Since writing my first list, two or three aqua wells with pink roofs have turned up on eBay including one that had a pink watering can.  (I still have yet to see a purple ladle though.)

4) Wendy and Her Ice Cream Cart with Aqua Wheels

Photo courtesy of eBay seller kcaparso22

Current Status: The picture says it all, this set is out there!  
Unfortunately my eBay app failed to remind me to bid at the end of this auction, so I missed the chance to actually own this set.  Grrrr..... But it is nice to know that it does indeed exist.

3) The Mother and Baby Pony in Pink 

 

Current Status: Still unsighted.  No further information available.

2) The Dining Room

Current Status: Still unsighted, but...

I've had one particular commenter give me good reason to hope that this set may yet turn up.

Anonymous commenter on 7-7-11 said:

"... about the dinning room set. i remeber my dad taking me to zellers in canada. i had the choice of the dinning room set or the purple bedroom set. i chose the bedroom! however knowing what i know now i woulda chose the dinning set lol!"

This is the first information I've gotten from anyone who remembers seeing the set in a store.  It's a promising sign, don't you think?

1) All the County Fair Sets

Current Status: Still unsighted by me, but...
Had a recent conversation with another collector who told me that about twelve years ago there was a Ferris Wheel prototype set for sale on eBay.  She didn't remember much about it except that it was definitely listed as a prototype (the seller said she got it from a friend who worked for Fisher Price) and that it sold for hundreds of dollars (no surprise there).

I also got information from an anonymous commenter on 8-4-11:
"I got news for those of you interested- I have spent the last hour on the phone with fisher-price and they said the county fair sets WERE sold to the public!! Only for a limited time and they are not sure how many but they ARE out there!! Also none of the precious places sets had more than 26,000 made and there are 4 sets that I have not found on any lists but that fisher price told me exist and were sold but in a smaller amount. They are number 5192 combo scene, 5179 special furniture, 5210 special kit and 6563 sign- that was all the info they had and they said they were promotional items. Also the dining room was also mass produced so those of you looking don't give up!!"

All this gives me just a glimmer of hope that whether prototype or mass-produced set, I may yet find one or (can I dare to dream) two of the County Fair sets to call my own.

(PS. If the winning bidder of the Ferris Wheel prototype set is out there, please contact me!  I'd love to know more about it.  You can reach me here: PreciousPlacesCollector@gmail.com)

The Sets That Never Were

Lately I've had several questions and comments about the County Fair Sets, so I thought I'd write a post compiling what little information I have about the non-production of these sets.

First of all, if you haven't read it yet, you should check out my post Introducing: The County Fair Sets.  There you'll find the photos and complete descriptions of the sets from the 1990 Fisher Price ToyFair Catalog.  Those two little pages are the best and most complete information that I have.  Moving beyond that though...

Most of you probably have already read the descriptions of the different County Fair sets on ThisOldToy.com.  There they put so well what we already know, "The Ferris Wheel is also the most heart breaking of all the Precious Places sets because it was never mass produced nor sold to the public."  I can't say how you might feel, but I know my heart is broken.

Thus far we have established that 1) The County Fair sets were fabulously fantastically awesome and 2) They were never mass produced.  So, what happened?

Unfortunately, there isn't much information you can find on the internet that specifically mentions the Precious Places sets themselves.  However, a couple things were going on with the Fisher Price company in 1990 that may have affected the production of these sets. 

The Fisher-Price company (and toy companies across the board) were facing increased pressure from consumer advocacy groups to increase the safety of their toys.  Evidence of this can be seen by the fact that in 1991 the Fisher Price Little People line was changed from the classic cylinder shape to the bigger 'chunky' style figure.  Could it be that Precious Places (the County Fair sets included) were another victim of the 'potential choking hazard' movement?

Another factor may have been the restructuring of the company that occurred in 1990-1991 at which point Fisher-Price Inc. became independent of the Quaker Oats Company.  The focus of the company narrowed from toys in general to infant and preschool products.  Perhaps the Precious Places sets were deemed 'too old' for their new marketing focus.  Of course, this is totally speculation on my part, but it seems possible.

I know it's not much, but these are the only possible reasons that I've been able to find for why production of Precious Places didn't continue past 1990 and why the County Fair sets were never mass produced.  If anyone has any other ideas or information, please feel free to leave me a message in the comments section of this post.

Precious Places Most Wanted List

Here is my top 5 list of Precious Places sets I still need for my collection:

5) The Pretty Penny Wishing Well - Aqua Well with Pink Roof

Okay, so I know it's rather greedy of me, but even though I have a complete Wishing Well set (pink wishing well with aqua roof), I still want the variation with the aqua well and pink roof.  I haven't seen it on eBay recently, but I think I saw it once a long time ago, maybe...  Hopefully it will come up again soon so I can be sure it does truly exist.

4) Wendy and Her Ice Cream Cart with Aqua Wheels

In my attempt to get every Precious Places piece in every color, one particular figure has been the most difficult to find, and that is Wendy and her Ice Cream Cart with aqua wheels.  The particular cart I'm looking for is featured prominently on Wendy's personality card, but does it ever appear on eBay?  No, it does not.  Why not?  This may be one of the great mysteries of the universe.  Hmmmm...

3) The Mother and Baby Pony in Pink 

I've got a complete Mother and Baby Pony set with a white baby pony, but I cannot for the life of me seem to locate the pink baby pony.  She's on the front of the Mother and Baby Pony box and ThisOldToy lists her as a variation, but I haven't seen her.  Have you?

2) The Dining Room 

I agree with ThisOldToy where they say this set is so rare that they've never seen any of the parts to the set.  Where oh where art thou, my elusive Dining Room furniture set?

1) All the County Fair Sets

Now I know these were never put into mass production, but there must have been at least one prototype made of each set since they took pictures of them.  What research I've done indicates that there were probably several prototypes at some point.  Where are the prototypes now and how can I get one?  I haven't been able to make much progress in getting answers to those questions.

If you have any of these sets, please contact me.  I would be more than happy to buy them from you.  And even if you don't want to sell them, please still contact me so that I at least know they exist!!!

Introducing: The County Fair Sets

I've always wondered what the Precious Places County Fair sets looked like and a few times I attempted to find the catalog with their pictures, but I was never successful... until now!

I am happy to announce that due to the kindness of Scott over at Fisher Price Little People World, I now have pictures of the County Fair sets. And here they are:




Here's what the three text boxes say from top to bottom:

NEW - 5235
Magic Melody Ferris Wheel (TV)
The highlight of any County Fair is a ride on the Ferris Wheel, and this one is very special! Help Lauren board with your magnetic key. Wind up the music box, and with a turn of the key the wheel turns, music plays and the colored lights twinkle. Between the cars, dainty birds swing on their perches. Includes magnetic key, a friend named Lauren, flags, flower, and a snack bar. Requires two size AA batteries (not included). 5 yrs. and up.
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Ea. in box, 12 7/8"l x 14 1/4"h x 7 3/4"d. 6 pcs. per 16.5 lb. shipper.
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NEW - 5220
Mini Places Assortment (TV)
Two favorite attractions - a Fun and Games Arcade and Miss Precious Places Pageant - add to the excitement of the County Fair! Join Katie in the Arcade which includes a popcorn stand, ball toss and cotton candy stand, prizes and cotton candy sticks. Key makes popcorn "pop"! The Miss Precious Places Pageant comes complete with moving stage curtain, elevator, podium, spotlights, camera, bouquet and sash. The key activates the elevator and opens the curtain. Each includes a magnetic key and figure. 5 yrs. and up.
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Ea. in a box, 8 3/4"l x 7 1/2"h x 4"d. One 4-pc. asst. (1 of 5221 Fun and Games Arcade; 3 of 5222 Miss Precious Places Pageant per 3.5 lb. shipper.
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NEW - 5230 Deluxe Midway Assortment (TV)
Three exciting attractions make up the County Fair midway. Assortment includes Kissing Sweetheart Swan Ride (see figures turn and hear them kiss as key moves swan boat through the "tunnel of love"), Tea Party Tree-house (key operates elevator), and Dancing Pony Merry-Go-Round (key moves ponies up, down and around). Each includes magnetic key and figure. 5 yrs. and up.
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Ea. in box, 8 3/4"l x 9 1/2"h x 4 7/8"d. One 6-pc. asst. (2 ea. of 5525 Tea Party Tree-house, 5231 Kissing Sweetheart Swan Ride & 5232 Dancing Pony Merry-Go-Round) per 5.7 lb. shipper.
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Me here again. I think one of the really cool things about these sets is that it doesn't look like they recycled many of the pieces from previous sets. You will recognize a few of the figure molds, but other than that, the majority of the parts are brand new. Wow! I wish I could buy them.

How about you? Do they look like you imagined they would? If you could have just one, which one would you get? (I'm thinking Ferris Wheel, but I also think the Fun and Games Arcade with its "popping popcorn" is terribly cute!) Please leave comments! I want to know if anyone else out there is as excited about this as I am. I was dancing around my living room last night when I found the pictures in my inbox, and yes, my husband rolled his eyes, but you know what, I don't care a bit!