>> it was a mere pamphlet
Yea true, but back in the day, RS would only supply to company accounts - Farnell too, as I remember. Maplin would send you 1 resistor, 2 ceramic caps and if you could afford it, a matched pair of OC71s!
'Maplin Electronic Supplies, Rayleigh, Essex', burned on my memory.
Another good company gone bad. Very bad.