1967 Montreal Expo Model

[Bryin]

I was wondering if anybody else has one of these with the original graphics on the bottle.  It's one of my favorite lamps.  My partner has one without the graphics.  Speak up if ya got one!

[fog rider]

I was there in 1967. I was 9 years old. We drove to Montreal from Toronto, and spent 2 weeks in Quebec. I've got all the old family photos at home.

I distinctly remember visiting the US pavillion several times. I even rode the monorail through the pavillion!

Chances are I might have seen one of these and not even really cared!

Where's my time machine?.........

Jonas Clark-Elliott said:

There is no info known about these, really. When I first saw one on eBay, sans logo, I called it the "Volcano", for obvious reasons. Later, another OGer, Kyle, found one and named it the Apollo. Reason being, the main exhibit of Expo '67's US Pavilion was, or so I'm told, the Apollo capsule, which this lamp resembles in shape and color.

 

This is not the same as the "Psyche-De-Lite" sold to members of the fan club of psychedelic band The Blues Magoos. The Blues Magoos toured with two Imperials, and an illustration shows the band sitting around an Imperial, all holding lamps. One is holding this exact lamp, while the other two are holding the Psyche-De-Lite, which has a much longer, wider cone and has a red base with a gold cap. Notable about the Psyche-De-Lite is that it must have been a great opportunity for marketing, and yet neither the Lava Lite name nor Lava Corp. appears in the ad at all; in fact, it says that they "tour with two giant Psyche-De-Lies." I can only guess the band's promoters or managers paid Lava off handsomely both for getting a custom model and for not calling it Lava Lite; the Blues Magoos were reportedly the first rock band to refer to itself as 'psychedelic', and in the late 60s their management capitalized on that buzzword by shoving the band forward with it, proclaiming just HOW psychedelic they were!

 

As far as I know, only two of these are known, and only one with logo intact. With Expo '67 in Canada, we know Lava-Simplex had a Canadian representative, and I figure this model was made for and sold at the Fair only.

[Jonas Clark-Elliott]

By the way, $9.95 (price of the Psyche-De-Lite) was cheaper than the list price of any other 60s Lava Lite.Not that list prices in catalogs are necessarily what they actually retailed for... List prices started at a dollar more, $10.95, for the Continental, up to $29.95 for the Empress/Regency, Decorator, Century, Executive. (...and $179.50 for the Imperial.)

[Modulo '70]

Cool Thread. I love Expo 67. It's a legend.

[Modulo '70]

Great info as usual Jonas. Very infomative and interesting.

 

AC

Jonas Clark-Elliott said:

By the way, $9.95 (price of the Psyche-De-Lite) was cheaper than the list price of any other 60s Lava Lite.Not that list prices in catalogs are necessarily what they actually retailed for... List prices started at a dollar more, $10.95, for the Continental, up to $29.95 for the Empress/Regency, Decorator, Century, Executive. (...and $179.50 for the Imperial.)

[Bryin]

Why yes, Jonas, it is 11".

Jonas Clark-Elliott said:

In the photo above, the two guys on the right are holding Psyche-De-Lites (note bigger, lighter-colored base & shiny cap) whereas the guy on the left is holding the "apollo" sans logo. No one I know has found a Psyche-De-Lite...yet... WAIT! The ad says it's 11" tall! The bigger copy of that image makes the red bases look taller and wider, but...how tall is yours, Bryin?

 

Kyle has another "apollo", so there must be three. I believe his had the logo but the globe got broken.

[Jonas Clark-Elliott]

Goodness! So I guess the Psyche-De-Lite WAS an Apollo type, with a red base and gold cap. Thanks for the info, Bryin, big help!