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A long, long time ago, when you wanted to make a phone call you couldn’t dial the telephone number yourself. Actually, you haven’t really “dialed” a number in ages either Continue reading Hello, Central? Give me Mr. Stromberg or Mr. Carlson!
National Cloak and Suit, Fall/Winter 1913-1914 Once upon a time – say, over 100 years ago, groups like PETA didn’t exist and fashionable women wore furs. These two ladies look like influencers from a “Downton Abbey” episode – svelte and chic. The artist who drew them and the printer who printed these color pages did … Continue reading Going a Bit Too Fur…
Some things never change. Grass grows. Grass must be cut. Continue reading Yard Work
Some designs are timeless. Some designs are of a moment. And sometimes that moment passes quickly. This ceiling fan, for example. Continue reading Not Your Biggest Fan
It’s a safe bet that most of us spend a lot more time indoors in dry, air-conditioned comfort than our ancestors ever did. Continue reading Outdoor Lives
J. Peterman: Booty Spoils & Plunder, 1995 Do you need any of this stuff? A jacket, a chair, a set of…basket-things. I doubt it. But read the copy – Go ahead, zoom in, I'll wait. Now. You still may not need it, but do want any of this? Aren't you at least a bit curious? … Continue reading Word Magic
All sufficiently old catalogs are textbooks – time capsules of a cultural fragment, frozen at moment in time. Some catalogs try to BE textbooks. Continue reading The Golden Ages of Hollywood
In 1978, Sears’ business was still in a solid state, selling “solid state” watches Continue reading The Solid State of Sears
Spencer Gifts, 1954 “What shall we get Aunt Gladys? A square foot of Texas… a burro.. or a shoe rack?” Spencer Gifts, long the ubiquitous merchant of weird gifts in malls across the country (such malls as still remain, anyway) once purveyed their gifts via catalogs like this 1954 edition. On the front cover, for … Continue reading “It’s just what I wanted!”
A gallery of all the most popular musical instruments from the 1920s…some of which are still popular today… Continue reading Sweet Sounds for Spring
