Here’s a sampling of what your money would buy 75 years ago today, on October 12, 1939. This ad for a store named “Economy Boys” appeared in the Milwaukee Journal.

Two radios for the home were shown. The least expensive was a four-tube Tiny Teletone for $5.44. An Admiral five-tube superhet “with television connection” was available for $10.95. Both of these radios had bakelite cases. For the car, a Troubado auto radio was available for $17.45. It had six pushbutton presets, and could also be manually tuned. A better image of this car radio can be found at RadioMuseum.org.

Radios were but a small part of what Economy Boys had for sale. Tires for your car started at $4.33, batteries started at $2.49, and spark plugs were 22 cents. Two gallons of motor oil were 88 cents. A bicycle cost $17.44. GE light bulbs were a dime. If you were willing to settle for “Elram” bulbs, they could be had for 7-1/2 cents each.

Economy Boys also seemed to have everything for the hunter. Rifles started at $4.69, and shotguns started at $6.66. Shotgun shells were 67 cents for a box of 25, and .22 cartridges were 16-2/3 cents for a box of 50.