Sterling Lindner was formed in 1950 as a division of Allied Department Stores of New York. Located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, Sterling Lindner was a single unit full line department store well known for their spectacular Christmas Tree which soared nearly 5 stories high and could be seen from any sales area within the store. 1966 was Sterling Lindner's next to last Christmas selling season. Overwhelmed by low profits and stiff competition from Higbee's, Halle's and the May Company, Sterling Lindner closed its doors forever on September 21, 1968. Ironically the closing of Sterling Lindner would turn out to be one of the key factors that would help accelerate the demise of downtown Cleveland shopping.

ABOVE LEFT: Horikawa Fighting Robot as shown in toy section the 1966 Sterling Lindner Catalog. As Sterling Lindner was a single store under the Allied umbrella, it is highly likely that the inserted toy section of this catalog would have been shared by other Allied Divisions that year. Through such stores as Stern's, Jordan Marsh, Garfinkle's, Block's, Mabley & Carew, Donaldson's, Pomeroy's, and Maas Brothers the robot would have gained broad exposure. • ABOVE RIGHT: Christmas 1966 Catalog cover. • BELOW LEFT: High fashion meets whimsy was the recurring theme throughout the 1966 Sterling Lindner catalog. • BELOW RIGHT: The famed Sterling Lindner Christmas tree. Just beyond the tree were the entrances to Santaland and Toyland.
BELOW: Founded in 1877, the Dey Brothers Department Store of Syracuse, New York, was known for fashionable, high-quality merchandise. By 1968 Dey Brothers had supplemented the downtown flagship with two suburban locations, Shoppingtown and Fairmont Fair. Part of the Allied Department Store group, Dey Brother's shared in the buying power of the parent corporation along with such prestigious stores as Stern's (New York and New Jersey), Block's (Indianapolis), Sterling-Lindner (Cleveland), Mabley & Carew (Cincinnati), and Garfinkle's (Washington DC). Dey Brother's along with all the stores in the Allied group were acquired by Campeau in the late 1986. Faring poorly after the merger Dey's closed in 1993.


ABOVE LEFT: Dey Brothers 1968 Christmas Catalog cover • ABOVE RIGHT, TOP: The second version of Horikawa's Fighting Robot was selected for the 1968 catalog. Note plastic shoes, often incorrectly identified as not appearing on Horikawa Robots until the 1970s. Price point was an uusual $4.00 even, batteries were offered individually for 30 cents each. • ABOVE RIGHT CENTER, BOTTOM: Dey Brothers 1960s logo featured a crown, jaunty script logo was used in throughout the 1950s. • BELOW: A bustling and well-decorated downtown Syracuse in December 1963.


RETURN TO THE HORIKAWA FIGHTING ROBOT (FIRST VERSION)
RETURN TO THE HORIKAWA FIGHTING ROBOT (EARLY SECOND VERSION)
RETURN TO THE HORIKAWA FIGHTING ROBOT (SECOND VERSION)