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Supergroup catalog from 1982-83 with patches, pins and prints

Patrik.blymeFri, 03/06/2022 - 09:14

Really cool swedish mailorder catalog from 1982-83 with complementary price list. Price catalog with orderform at the end also contains new patches and prints. Fun to see what was offerd at that time and check the prices. I was back at the day one of the many who bught stuff.

Other Collectable

Not for sale or trade

Year: 1982

Bands:

Heavy Metal Chemist on Fri, 03/06/2022 - 23:13

This is seriously one of the best uploads here on TSS. A true piece of metal merchandise history and something for the pin/badge and patch maniac too geek out on 🤘🤓🤘 My eye was directly caught by the Iron Maiden superstrip on photo 6. I have seen this patch with the blue and black border, but apparently, as it looks like, there is a pink border version out there 🔥🔥🔥🤘🥵🤘🔥🔥🔥

Thank you so much for taking the time and effort to show us each page of this Swedish Mailorder catalog 🤘😫🤘 Killer upload!

Patrik.blyme on Sat, 04/06/2022 - 14:56

Thanks bud.. it truly is a cool piece.

Cardboardcity on Sat, 04/06/2022 - 00:28

This is amazing, what a time capsule! There are so many super pieces of vintage merch in here that I have never seen before. Thank you for sharing this killer bit of history!

Patrik.blyme on Sat, 04/06/2022 - 14:57

Thanks man.. enjoy the pics

meaningless

on Sat, 04/06/2022 - 01:08

those were times...damn..., thx for the nice upload!!

Patrik.blyme on Sat, 04/06/2022 - 14:57

Thanks..

Knightwhosayni on Sat, 04/06/2022 - 06:43

Absolutely splendid upload, many thanks for sharing. A jewel for us merch' history nerds!

Patrik.blyme on Sat, 04/06/2022 - 14:58

Hey buddy and thanks

PRISM

on Sun, 05/06/2022 - 21:38

This is seriously mental, infinite flames!

Do you have any more catalogues like these?
And do you know if the items offered here - especially the patches - were official?

Patrik.blyme on Sun, 05/06/2022 - 15:53

No sorry this is the only one i got, but i will from now on be more on the look out for more. At that time I really don't think all of the patches or prints where official.

Heavy Metal Chemist on Sun, 05/06/2022 - 16:05

Do you know something about the 'Firma D. Malone'? If it was a legit company my guess would be they only sold 'official' stuff and not bootlegs. Putting your name on a catalogue selling bootlegs is a bit of a risky business model if you ask me 😂 However, it could be there was less control on such practices back in the day.

PRISM

on Sun, 05/06/2022 - 20:06

I wasn't able to find anything about this company on the web, but as I can't speak Swedish, the depth of my research is limited.
More Info might be out there. In any case, I think it was a legit company, listing an address and telephone number.

I'd agree that selling bootleg patches was likely less dicy back in the day, but during my research into old merch companies I came across lawsuits from the early 80s where this exact practice was punished, so it wasn't the Wild West either.

I checked the pictures again, and I am inclined to say that at least the small patches were official merchandise. There are some in there that are definitely official, as they were offered by mailorders that did not distribute bootlegs. Currently I can confirm this for:

AC/DC "For those Cannon" (ID: SP1507 in the Razamataz Black Book)
Iron Maiden Killer Tour (ID: 600108 in Metalbörse Issue 06/07)

There are also a couple that I so far have given a "likely official" verdict, as I have seen credible anecdotal evidence of their origin. A seasoned collector described the following patches also shown in the Supergroup catalogue as personally bought at shows in or around the year listed:

Rainbow Rising (as a square cut), 1981.
Rush Logo Ministrip (variation with light blue borders), 1979.
Ozzy The Blizzard of Ozz, 1981.
The Stranglers Raven (black border variation), 1982.

These also all roughly fit the timeframe of the catalogue.

So, I'd say there is a good chance that all of the patches were imported from official manufacturers or distributors. Of course, it might be a mix of official and bootleg, but if you already go through the trouble of establishing business relations with official entities to purchase stock for your venture, why risk all of these relations by mixing in bootleg merch.

This is simply my working hypothesis. There might be another factor at play and I'd be glad to hear more insights about this company or the patches shown.