Tag Archives: 1970’s

One of the hardest things to find in good condition are vintage textiles. They could be curtains, sheets, blankets, and yes, even beach towels. You have to remember when these things were made they were nothing special to folks back then. It’s only now we look back at them and admire the imagery and design. Many of these towels were actually travel souvenirs. Folks wanted something to remind themselves of where they had visited. It’s really amazing what some of these beach towels go for now! Here is a large sampling of towels I came across cruising the internet (please excuse the graininess, images are printed on Terry cloth so not a crisp image)… 

I love the vibe of these beach towels!

They really try to capture the sub culture of that time.

Hey Ho Daddy-O!

Here’s an unhappy bongo player! How is this possible?

Mel and I just picked up the following two. They are NOS (New Old Stock) from Australia. No tags or artists name.

Some of the artists you might come across if you search for vintage beach towels are the following: Phillis Morgan, Landau, Anticio, Peter Max, Gilmour, Cannon, Londraville, Ralph Hulett, Vernon, Lady Galt, Vera Neumann and sooo many others. Some went by their full name, while others went by their last name.

This one must have been produced during all the US space missions!

Great vibrant colors on this one!

There’s a super creepy “Peeping Tom” in the background.

 Some of the more common beach towel manufacterers that produced these vibrant towels were as follows: Royal Terry, Terry Treasure of CA, St.Mary, NEMS, Cannon, Dryfast and many more.

I dig this one, Love the Peek-A-Boo!!!

Riding a dolphin! Lucky!

Is that her locker combination?…Nope, her measurements!

Obviously, bathing beauties were a very common theme.

This is one classic beach towel! Based on the TV series “Laugh In”, this bikini babe is surrounded by sayings from the show-very cool!

Take me to your leader!

Great one for Valentines Day!

These are fun looking. Who wouldn’t want to shake your tail feathers?

There were some really cool fish scenes on the beach towels.

This would be fantastic as wallpaper.

This is a really fun image.

Love it!

There really is no shortage of pinup women towels.

I never catch anything fishing, this would be a whopper of a tale!

Here’s a cute Mermaid.

This one is very vibrant.

This looks like a real classic pinup image.

I love the “Daddy-O” shorts guy!

The loss of innocence.

He looks like a real lady killer.

I think this fella is walking on sunshine!

These are some cool cats!

I’m not sure if this is the ESSO cat.

This was the ESSO oil mascot.

This little fella has the right idea!

As you might have guessed, this one is the one to get. There are two other beetle towel styles I have seen, but this is my favorite. It seems anything Beatles has crazy value attached to it. I like the Beatles, but I am more of a Rolling Stones Man!

All these towels are just a small sampling of what’s out there. It’s cool how expressive these towels are and how well they capture the era. These terry cloth dreams would be a great addition to anyone who collects items from this time period.