Vintage 1960s “Adults at Play” Decal 😜 — NOS Baxter Lane Co. Mid‑Century Americana

Adults at Play? 😜 Vintage 1960s Decal, Baxter Lane Co., NOS

Size: 4" x 3" ~ Little to no wear.

😜 It's laid out just like a road sign, CAUTION across the top and ADULTS AT PLAY underneath, and that's the whole gag. Everybody who ever drove through a neighborhood knew the CHILDREN AT PLAY signs, and somebody decided the grown-ups deserved a warning of their own. This is a 1960s water-transfer decal from Baxter Lane Co. of Amarillo, Texas, New Old Stock and still in its original wax-paper envelope, with no wear.

🚗 Where One of These Went

In the '50s and '60s a novelty decal was about the cheapest way there was to show off your sense of humor. They went on the back window of the car, the garage door, the camper or the wall of the rec room, right where the neighbors would see them. A grown-up's party room with CAUTION ADULTS AT PLAY on the door says plenty about the decade.

🖨️ Baxter Lane Co. of Amarillo

Baxter Lane Co. was Luther Baxter Lane's printing and postcard business in Amarillo, founded May 1, 1958 and dissolved April 29, 1988. The company worked the Panhandle souvenir trade, with picture postcards, comic cards and travel decals. Its cards still turn up in library collections. The Texas Medical Center Library's Texas Healthcare Facilities Postcard Collection has Amarillo hospital views like Northwest Texas Hospital, dated 1960, with "Distr. Baxter Lane Co." printed on the back.

📬 The Envelope Dates It

Nothing on it carries a year, but the envelope gives the company's return address as Box 175, Amarillo, Texas 79105. ZIP codes didn't exist until July 1, 1963, so this one was printed in 1963 or later, which puts it right in the '60s.

💧 Directions Included

The back of the envelope still has the original instructions. For a window, you clean the glass, soak the decal in water for 20 to 30 seconds, press it face down on the inside and work out the bubbles with a roller, a squeegee or a soft cloth, then slide the paper off and let it dry for a day. For a suitcase or anything you can't see through, it goes on face up instead. It even warns you not to use water that's too cold. Most of these got stuck on a window the day they came home, and the envelope went in the trash, so it's fun to have one with its directions still in hand.

The supply is finite - once these last Baxter Lane Adults at Play decals are gone, they'll be very difficult to acquire.