S&H Green Stamps
What's It Wednesdays
Do you remember S&H Green Stamps? Some of you may and some might not have any idea...
This 1959 ad from our collection, features "Mrs. John R. McEvoy, Andover Mass. homemaker." Eileen McEvoy, and four of seven children, are pictured in the living room of their Abbot St. home. According to the caption, Tyler and John are playing Parchessi and David and Mary Ellen are reading. The other children in the family, are Elizabeth Jane, Bartley and Walter Joseph.
Mrs. McEvoy is quoted saying, "I know that I'm dollars ahead whenever I shop at Elm Farm Food Stores and other fine stores that give S&H Green Stamps. First, I'm dollars ahead because prices are low at these stores. And I'm dollars ahead again when I redeem S&H Green Stamps for all those wonderful gifts."
S&H Green Stamps, or otherwise known as Sperry & Hutchinson Stamps, were a part of many families' lives. They were trading stamps, just one type of the many kinds popular in the US from the 1930’s through the 60’s.
Thomas Sperry and Shelley Byron Hutchinson, founded the company in 1896. The New York Times described S&H Green Stamps as "the first independent trading stamp company to distribute stamps and books to merchants." Basically, it was a loyalty incentive program where shoppers who paid cash, received trading stamps. The number of stamps was determined by the value of a shopper’s purchase. The stamps could then be pasted into redemption books and redeemed for any number of things including toys, jewelry, kitchenware, and china.
Many children were given the family chore of licking and sticking the stamps to fill up the booklet pages. For some children, reading redemption catalog “wish books” was as popular as reading the Sears’ or Montgomery Ward’s holiday catalogs.
Trading stamps, and S&H Green Stamps in particular, were most popular during the 1960’s. By then, S&H had 800 redemption centers nationwide. During a period in the 60’s Sperry & Hutchinson was printing more stamps than the US Postal Service.
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