I was watching an interview with Jerry Seinfeld and he mentioned a book called “Quintessence,” so I borrowed a copy through inter-library loan. It was written by Betty Cornfeld and Owen Edwards (whom I assume is gay) and published in 1983. Edwards writes: “this is a book about … things that offer more to us than we specifically ask of them and to which we respond more strongly than is easily explained.”

What follows is their list of 65 quintessential things from over forty years ago … it’s interesting to see which ones are still around:

The Ace Comb
The American Express Card
Barnum’s Animal Crackers (recipe has changed since my youth, now awful)
Bass Weejun Loafers
Bayer Aspirin
The Brown Paper Bag
Budweiser Beer
Camel Cigarettes
Campbell’s Tomato Soup (1200 mg of salt, 20 g added sugar per can)
Cartier Santos Watch
The Checker Cab
The Cigarette Hawk Speedboat
Coca-Cola (in glass bottle)
Coppertone Suntan Lotion
Crayola Crayons (big box no longer has built-in sharpener)
Dom Perignon Champagne
El Bubble Bubblegum Cigar (now made by Tootsie Roll, another “quintessential” candy one could argue)
The English Bull Terrier
The Faber Mongol #2 Pencil (made in Mexico now)
Fox's U-Bet Chocolate Syrup (never heard of it)
Frederick's of Hollywood Lingerie (multiple Chapter 11 bankruptcies)
The Frisbee Flying Saucer
The Ghurka Express Bag No. 2 ($2,695)
The Goodyear Blimp
Green Giant Peas (no longer available in a can?)
The Hamilton Beach Model 936 Drink Mixer (pdf of old user manual)
The Harley-Davidson ElectraGlide Motorcycle ($27,000)
Heinz Ketchup (in glass bottle) (squeeze bottle a great leap forward)
The Hershey's Chocolate Kiss (awful chocolate, but I agree the foil packaging with tail is genius)
Honey Bear (hard to find example with nipple on head)
Ivory Soap
Jockey Briefs (purely a boxer briefs man now)
Johnson's Baby Powder (discontinued, $9 billion lawsuit settlement (cancer))
Keds High-top Sneakers (not Converse?)
Kleenex Tissues
The L.L. Bean Maine Hunting Boot (only good if lined)
Lacoste Polo Shirt (early status symbol, later overtaken by Liftshitz polo pony)
LePage's Mucilage (looks like it’s no longer made)
Levi's Jeans
The Louisville Slugger Bat (good thing for home defense)
M&M's Chocolate Candies (peanut-filled was a good brand extension, peanut butter was pushing it)
The Märklin Electric HO Gauge Model Trains (expensive hobby for adults only)
The Martini (60 ml gin and 10 ml dry vermouth)
The Milk-Bone Dog Biscuit
Monopoly Board Game (awful game when you think about it)
The Mont Blanc Diplomat Pen (does anyone use a fountain pen now?)
Nathan's Famous Hot Dog (never had one)
Ohio Blue Tip Matches (now owned by Diamond?)
Oil Can
The Oreo Cookie (authors lament advent of “Double Stuf” which ruins the Oreo’s quintessence, they say)
The Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich (rarely had one of these as a kid, considered a great luxury junk food)
The Polaroid SX-70 Camera (sold out of course)
Ray-Ban Sunglasses (Aviator Classic the pair they mean)
Silly Putty (played with as a kid, great stuff, esp. the smell)
The Slinky (played with as a kid)
The Spalding Rubber Ball (looks like Spalding no longer makes these)
Steiff Teddy Bears (the ancient Steiff teddy bears in my life were too valuable to play with and therefore useless to me)
The Steinway Piano
The Stetson Hat
The Swiss Army Knife (Victorinox sole manufacturer now?)
Timex Mercury 20521 Watch (the 20521 is no longer made, but I’ve linked to the Marlin, which is a re-issue that appeals to vintage lovers)
Tupperware Containers (not a fan of plastic food storage except for the lids)
The Volkswagen Beetle Car (we had one when I was a kid)
Wedgwood Plain White Bone China (plain white a little boring, but they have a point)
The Zippo Lighter (I collect Zippo Armor lighters, love them)

Christopher Lehman-Haupt’s review in the New York Times, Nov. 24, 1983

Unfortunate typo of the author’s name on the cover page … Cornfeld not “Cornfield”

27 Remaining Car Models You Can Get with Stick Shift

Added on May 8, 2024 by C. Maoxian.

Aston Martin Valour $1,500,000
Porsche 911 $117,000
Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing $96,000
BMW M4 $80,275
Lotus Emira $77,100
BMW M3 $76,995
Porsche 718 $69,950
BMW M2 $64,195
Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing $62,890
Toyota GR Supra $47,535
Nissan Z $44,110
Toyota GR Corolla $37,595
Hyundai Elantra N $34,850
Volkswagen Golf $34,000
Subaru WRX $33,855
Ford Mustang $33,000
Acura Integra $32,995
Chevrolet Camaro $32,495
Subaru BRZ $31,315
Toyota GR86 $30,395
Mazda MX-5 Miata $30,170
Mini Hardtop and Convertible $29,945
Honda Civic $26,000
Mazda 3 $25,355
Volkswagen Jetta $22,660
Kia Forte $21,145
Nissan Versa $17,820

Filtering by Tag: lists

See also: