Gifts You Never Thought Of, For the Person Who Has Everything

If you’re looking for a unique gift for somebody who’s notoriously difficult to buy for, you need look no farther than the Hammacher Schlemmer catalog. Since 1848, Hammacher Schlemmer has offered fine apparel, electronics, home furnishings, office equipment, and a unique selection of thoughtful gifts for adults and children. And everything they sell comes with a lifetime guarantee of refund or replacement.

Hammacher Schlemmer first opened in New York City, in midtown Manhattan, 13 years before the Civil War began. In the early 19th century, the store quickly gained a firm reputation for offering high-quality builders’ hardware not available anywhere else. William Schlemmer began selling tools in front of his uncle’s hardware store when he was 12 years old, and rose through the company’s ranks to buy out his uncle’s interest in 1867, along with the help of Alfred Hammacher. The store was one of the first in the United States to install electric lighting, and was among the initial subscribers in the first telephone directory of New York City. The store’s first catalog, published in 1881, as a bound hardcover book.

The company moved to its present location on East 57th Street in 1926, where it offered the public twelve floors of household furnishings, personal items, and the first electrical appliances available to consumers. During the 1930s and 40s, the store introduced the first pop-up toaster, electric razor, steam iron, pencil sharpener, electric can opener, and automatic coffee maker. Other notable "firsts" included the first microwave, telephone answering machine, and cordless telephone. Hundreds of items introduced to the public by Hammacher Schlemmer that seemed unusual and quirky at the time of their introduction are now commonplace in every American household.

Today, the museum-like Hammacher Schlemmer store in Manhattan has every-thing from genuine Turkish bathrobes and heated electric towel stands to TV wristwatches and personal DVD players. Robotic vacuums are from $200, and a seven-person conference bike is $18,000. A remote control golf ball can help you play a wicked prank on your favorite golfer, and the CD/DVD Title Printer ($129.95) lets you print titles directly onto discs for a permanent studio-produced appearance. The world’s most portable musical keyboard, the Roll-Up Keyboard, has 49 soft rubber keys attached to a flexible neoprene pad like the ones used in wetsuits. If you’ve been longing to listen to your collection of vinyl LPs, scratches and all, you’ll want to buy an authentic classic turntable for playing authentic classic vinyl.

If you’re still at a loss for that perfect gift for the friend or loved one who has everything and you really want to blow them away with your originality, you can get them something that nobody else in their neighborhood—maybe even their city—will be getting for Christmas. The Levitating Hover Scooter carries a hefty price tag of $16999.95, but isn’t it worth any price for your loved one to float around on a personal transportation device that’s hailed by the New York Times as a "miniature flying saucer with handlebars?" It takes only minutes to learn to ride the scooter, and the throttle and clutch are mounted on the handlebar for precise maneuvering while you skim along levitating inches above the ground on a cushion of air.

If you don’t think the hover scooter is quite what you’re looking for, then perhaps you should pull out all the stops. Hammacher Schlemmer is the only place on earth you can buy a special edition, life-size, fully animatronic remote-controlled version of Robby, the robot from the classic 1956 film Forbidden Planet. Standing seven feet tall, Robby is created from the same blueprints, molds, and templates used to create the original costume, and is made by renowned artist Fred Barton, the man commissioned to restore the original robot after its sale to a Southern California prop museum in 1970. Every mechanism is handmade of the finest materials, and this version is remote-controlled. You’ll be glad to have a lifetime guarantee on this gift, because it’ll cost you $49,999.95.

Hammacher Schlemmer has served customers’ needs in ways that no other store can, for over 150 years. Their product offerings have stood the test of time, changing as necessary to keep up with an ever-evolving world. But from the very beginning, their focus was on high quality, durability, and excellent customer service—and those things have never changed.