Still, every now and then, I discover something new. Well, the item shown here cannot really be called 'new' as it is more than forty years old. But it was unknown in collector circles until now.
It is called Panda electric clock (パンダ電気時計).
It was released by Nintendo in 1972, one year after they had introduced the first of these clocks.
Up until now it was believed that these five clocks released in 1971 were all Nintendo ever made. That is, until this sixth clock popped up recently in an online auction. Time to update the history books
[Update 2024: a seventh has been discovered. Even more to update, details here!]
Although the clock looks a bit toy-like, this is a serious time-keeper that runs on 100 volts mains power.
The Panda electric clock is identical to the other Nintendo clocks, except for the illustration on the faceplate.
It is no surprise that Nintendo used panda's to decorate this clock, as Japan went panda crazy in 1972.
Nintendo made sure to cash in on this hype by releasing a number of panda themed items. Besides the clock, these included a board game set and a block building set. Read more about this panda story in this previous post.
Although the front of the box of the clock shows a picture of a real panda, the faceplate depicts two cute cartoon pandas.
This series of clocks is called E-clock, as shown on the front of the clock.
An overview of the whole series of clocks can be found in this blog post.
Although the clock looks a bit toy-like, this is a serious time-keeper that runs on 100 volts mains power.
The Panda electric clock is identical to the other Nintendo clocks, except for the illustration on the faceplate.
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| Nintendo Panda E-clock (1972) |
It is no surprise that Nintendo used panda's to decorate this clock, as Japan went panda crazy in 1972.
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| Three panda themed Nintendo items from 1972 |
Nintendo made sure to cash in on this hype by releasing a number of panda themed items. Besides the clock, these included a board game set and a block building set. Read more about this panda story in this previous post.
Although the front of the box of the clock shows a picture of a real panda, the faceplate depicts two cute cartoon pandas.
This series of clocks is called E-clock, as shown on the front of the clock.
An overview of the whole series of clocks can be found in this blog post.
I dunno, but in a few of the pics, the hands are positioned in such a way that the boy panda looks like he's squirting his friend with a trick flower! (The hands look like two jets of water coming out of the flower.)
ReplyDeleteI guess it's all in the eye of the beholder... :-)
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