The Nostalgia Merchant/Summary

Logo descriptions by Matt Williams, Nicholas Aczel, & Cameron McCaffrey Logo captures by Eric S. and V of Doom

Background: The Nostalgia Merchant is a home entertainment company founded in 1976 by record producer Snuff Garrett. From early-to-mid 1980s, it was a division of Media Home Entertainment. It specializes in selling videos of vintage films and television programs, which can be purchased on their website.

1st Logo (1979-1987)

The Nostalgia Merchant (1980's)The Nostalgia Merchant (1980s, B&W)The Nostalgia Merchant (1980, Filmed Variant)

Logo: We see four red-bordered screens of clips from old movies playing. In the center, a red-bordered purple square, consisting of a silhouette of a boy sitting and holding a flag (his dog is sitting behind him) against a cloudy sky with the Nostalgia Merchant logo at the top (with a pale purple rectangle) and "presents" below, begins to zoom in.

Variants: •Sometimes a still logo is shown. •On some occasions, another still logo is seen filmed in a grainy 16mm Film-O-Vision style. A B&W variant exists.

FX/SFX: The zoom-in.

Music/Sounds: A synth piano tune that sounds like a soundtrack to an old silent film.

Music/Sounds Variants: •The filmed variants are silent. •Some videotapes have a warbling synth theme that increases in pitch with very high "pinging" sounds.

Availability: Rare.

Scare Factor: None for the synth-piano and still variants, medium for the version with the "pinging" sounds- they can get pretty high.

2nd Logo (1980-1987)

The Nostalgia Merchant VHS LogoThe Nostalgia Merchant (1987)

Logo: On a space background with white, red, and orange stars, we see an object zooming towards the center of the screen from the top. It rotates into the middle to reveal that it is the "Nostalgia Merchant" logo, a yellow circle with a large light blue square overlapping it, all of this being covered by a white border. Inside the yellow circle is the black word "ThE" in a font somewhat resembling the Freehand591 BT font, and "NOSTALGIA MERCHANT" in red with a black outline in a font that resembles the Comicraft fonts "That's All Folks" and "Too Much Cappucino." Below, the byline:

A Division of MEDIA HOME ENTERTAINMENT, INC. A Heron International Company

fades-in.

Variants: •Until 1984, "A Heron International Company" wasn't seen under Media's byline. •Sometimes, on 1986-87 releases, a still variant is seen on a black background, and "A Division of MEDIA HOME ENTERTAINMENT, INC." would be replaced by "DISTRIBUTED BY FOX HILLS VIDEO A Division of Heron Communications, Inc.".

FX/SFX: The logo zooming towards the center and the words fading in.

Cheesy Factor: The stars kinda look like Christmas ornaments.

Music/Sounds: A very memorable and well-done orchestral piece that fits the logo very nicely.

Availability: Rather hard to find, as Nostalgia Merchant tapes have been out of print for a while now. Your best bets would be either eBay or old mom-and-pop video stores.

Scare Factor: Low. The logo might surprise the first time you see it, but it's harmless.