Historic Catalogs
After nearly 20 years making custom tents with his company, AAA Tent & Awning, in the early 1960s, Jack Kirkham, Sr. began manufacturing and selling a production line of tents based on his original "Skyliner" Springbar design. Click on any of the thumbnails below for an enlarged view of pages from some of our early catalogs. The cover and page illustrations are Jack's own artwork.
1962
In 1962 the Springbar design was unveiled. The original concept had the frame on the inside of the tent. It was a vast improvement over other cabin tent designs of the day.
1964
The 1964 catalog showcased Jack, Sr.'s illustrations to a greater extent. The example page depicts the 1964 "Vacationer" tent in an idyllic mountain camp. This tent, at 10' x 13'6" is the ancestor of one of the best selling Springbar models of all time, the modern Family Camper.
1965
By mid-decade, the Springbar design was taking off and many tent models were in production. The largest of these was the "Duplex", a large 10' x 17' tent with two rooms and double doors. This was the largest Springbar production model ever made.
1968
The 1968 cover again features the popular "Duplex," but a change was in the wind … on page 6, the first external frame Springbar tent — the backpacking "Supr-Lyt" model — is featured. In subsequent years, the external frame concept quickly spread to all other Springbar models. The external frame made an already simple-to-set-up tent even better.
