Vintage Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Photos

Link: http://www1.macys.com/campaign/parade/parade.jsp

With it celebrating its 82nd anniversary, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has a rich history dating back to 1924 (though the first year it was called the Macy's Christmas Day Parade). Here is an advertisement from November 27, 1924:

(found via nycvp)

In 1927 the first balloons appeared in the parade. Tony Sarg designs the first Felix the Cat, the Dragon, Elephant, and a Toy Soldier helium filled balloons.

(1929 balloon) Below is an old photo of Felix the Cat and a couple other characters from 1932/33:

(above photos via a fabulous collection found by the swapatorium)

Below is is a photo of designer Tony Sarg with one of his creations in 1933:

(found via nha.org) Here are a couple balloon pics from 1938, including the 120' Sea Serpent, Clown with 68' Nose, and Uncle Sam:

Vintage photos above found via ziegfeldgirl

(1940 Superman balloon)

(1959 Popeye balloon)

Kermit the Frog made his debut in 1977:

(found via wikia)

Forager House has illustration work by Tony Sarg for sale.