Legend of Zelda Pose-able Stamps (from 1989)

[arch_8ngel | 1,597]

Last spring, I found my stamp of Link while cleaning up at my parents' house, and auctioned it off in the last days of NintendoAge.

Recently, in helping my mom prep for a move, I found the stamp for Stalfo.

I would love to find the original buyer and help them keep the set together, so if you're reading this, let me know! (though Stalfo, is unfortunately in parts and not as well preserved as Link was)

 

Otherwise -- has anyone else ever seen these stamps before?

The original set had Link, Stalfo, Goriya, along with a sword, shield, and boomerang stamps.

They came with a little notepad of paper and were intended for making "flip books".

My sister had a similar set of Muppet Babies (had Kermit, Piggy, and Gonzo, I think) -- so I would assume the same company that licensed these from Nintendo and Jim Henson, probably did at least a couple other themes, as well.

No idea where we bought them -- they seem like the kind of thing you might find in Michael's nowadays, but they weren't around in my area in the late 80's, so maybe they came from Roses?

[ZeldaFreak | 3,600]

Huh, that's interesting. First I've ever heard of them.

[arch_8ngel | 1,597]

27 minutes ago, ZeldaFreak said:

Huh, that's interesting. First I've ever heard of them.

Yeah, nobody had seen them before, either, when I posted this one for auction on NintendoAge.

Really wish I'd had the full set together at the time -- but the Goriya and the items seem lost forever at this point (having thoroughly cleared out drawers and cabinets helping my mom pack for a move)

If the buyer of the Link stamp doesn't turn up in the conversation, I'll get the Stalfo posted for auction soon.

[GPX | 1,369]

I initially thought the title was misspelled with “pose-able stamps” and read “post-able stamps”. After seeing the actual details, I now realise it is “pose-able” after all!

That’s a very neat little piece of gadget. I’d be interested to see how much something like this can fetch in today’s market of craziness. 

[JamesRobot | 5,798]

I remember when you posted it on NA.  So cool.  Such an original idea.  

[arch_8ngel | 1,597]

15 hours ago, GPX said:

I initially thought the title was misspelled with “pose-able stamps” and read “post-able stamps”. After seeing the actual details, I now realise it is “pose-able” after all!

That’s a very neat little piece of gadget. I’d be interested to see how much something like this can fetch in today’s market of craziness. 

Stand-alone, the stamp for Link went for $55, I think, doing an on-site auction on NA.

I had the end of the auction badly timed, though :P, so hard to know what the actual ceiling might be.

But I guess that might imply a complete set of them could attract $100+ (wouldn't imagine that Stalfo or Goriya would be as desirable, individually as Link, and the sword, shield, and boomerang are static stamps)

 

A neat project might be to scan in a set of these and use a modern die-cutter to fabricate replicas on better quality stamp-rubber. (these are VERY "firm" with age)

 

 

What is most incredible to me is that nobody else had ever seen them before. I guess there is the possibility it had some kind of limited release, but at the time (late 80's) this sort of thing was pretty mass-market (like coloring books, or those little color-forms vinyl sticker sets).

Obviously not as popular/common as Topps cards, at the time.  (though the thing I miss most about the Topps cards was that in the 80's the scratch off sections ACTUALLY WORKED -- I scratched a couple off back in 2005 when I bought a factory box of them for $8, and the scratch off material didn't function correctly at all)

[GPX | 1,369]

57 minutes ago, arch_8ngel said:

Stand-alone, the stamp for Link went for $55, I think, doing an on-site auction on NA.

I had the end of the auction badly timed, though :P, so hard to know what the actual ceiling might be.

But I guess that might imply a complete set of them could attract $100+ (wouldn't imagine that Stalfo or Goriya would be as desirable, individually as Link, and the sword, shield, and boomerang are static stamps)

 

A neat project might be to scan in a set of these and use a modern die-cutter to fabricate replicas on better quality stamp-rubber. (these are VERY "firm" with age)

 

 

What is most incredible to me is that nobody else had ever seen them before. I guess there is the possibility it had some kind of limited release, but at the time (late 80's) this sort of thing was pretty mass-market (like coloring books, or those little color-forms vinyl sticker sets).

Obviously not as popular/common as Topps cards, at the time.  (though the thing I miss most about the Topps cards was that in the 80's the scratch off sections ACTUALLY WORKED -- I scratched a couple off back in 2005 when I bought a factory box of them for $8, and the scratch off material didn't function correctly at all)

I was a gamer since the late 80s and I don’t recall seeing this particular type of stamp. Granted I joined the Nintendo scene in the early 90s and was more into the games rather than the merchandises. 

I think something like this back then would likely have been mass produced. Possibly linked with a deal with certain other companies eg. McDonalds? It’s also possible that the scarcity may be due to likely wear/damage and the majority may have been thrown in the bin?

[RH | 4,903]

Where did you live at the time.  I guess there's a small chance that a stamp company bought the license and did a test market in your area.  Maybe they didn't sell well enough.  Who knows, really.

[arch_8ngel | 1,597]

2 hours ago, GPX said:

I think something like this back then would likely have been mass produced. Possibly linked with a deal with certain other companies eg. McDonalds? It’s also possible that the scarcity may be due to likely wear/damage and the majority may have been thrown in the bin?

I'm > 90% sure it was NOT any kind of happy meal toy.  My sister and I had the full sets of all of those back then, as well. (my dad was a doctor, and he'd get kid's happy meals for lunch to collect the toys to be able to give to kids that had office visits)

 

No idea what company actually produced these, just that they AT LEAST made the Legend of Zelda set and the Muppet Babies set.

Both sets had 3 pose-able characters and 3 static objects, and a generic "flip book" to stamp them in.

And both were fairly major licenses to acquire -- by 1989, that was PEAK NES/Mario/Zelda, and same for Jim Henson Studios/Muppets.

 

Only other thing I clearly remember about them was that they came in a blister pack (vacuum-form plastic packed against card).

 

 

The "scarcity" wasn't what surprised me so much as NOBODY else on the site having seen them before.  Usually, even for the really obscure stuff, somebody else had seen it!

 

Edited August 23, 2020 by arch_8ngel

[arch_8ngel | 1,597]

2 hours ago, RH said:

Where did you live at the time.  I guess there's a small chance that a stamp company bought the license and did a test market in your area.  Maybe they didn't sell well enough.  Who knows, really.

Wouldn't have thought Augusta GA was a big test market, but who knows

But I think there is a chance they were distributed through Roses (along with a few other oddball toys of the era like the Willow movie toys and Legions of Power).

Might have easily also been through Toys R Us.

Those are really the only two options, though, aside from Kay Bee Toys since I don't think we even had Walmart yet, at that time, let alone Target or a specialty arts and crafts store like Michaels.

[RH | 4,903]

Well, I love the New Leaf/Game Factory carts because the small city of Columbia, SC didn't seem like any place that should have been a test market for anything game related, but heh, I'm the lucky winner around here that remembered growing up with them. Seriously, Columbia is small and there's nothing special about it. Maybe it was tested there at Toys R Us and possibly 2-3 other locations across the US.