Revel in ’70s tech nostalgia with a 1973 Argos catalogue

15 Jun 2015

An Argos catalogue is much like a history book on commercialism, in that by flicking through an old issue you get a glimpse of all the gadgets, gizmos and tech that was on offer at that time, and now old Argos catalogues are all online to view.

Even in its first iteration, the catalogue had 252 pages, and just from scanning the pages you know you want to try tech that is now incredibly obsolete.

Couple sitting in a brown room with shag carpeting? Check. Unnecessary and badly-placed fish tank? Check.

This journalist’s personal favourite is the pocket calculator that cost £45 in 1973, but when accounting for inflation in the proceeding 42 years would cost £531 in today’s money.

Made available on the digital publishing platform Issuu, every Argos catalogue has been uploaded by RetroMash, so it’s probably fair that nostalgic folk and retro nuts should doff their plaid cap in their general direction.

Gigglebit is Siliconrepublic’s daily dose of the funny and fantastic in science and tech, to help start your day on a lighter note – because sometimes the lighter side of STEM should be taken seriously, too.

Retro radio on table image via Shutterstock

Colm Gorey was a senior journalist with Silicon Republic

editorial@siliconrepublic.com