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Lyrics from an old rock song….and it also fits this 2-page spread from the middle of the 1958 Standard Equipment catalog. Continue reading Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign
What the heck ARE Sugarplums, anyway? I guess I always assumed they were some early 19th-century delicacy now long behind us, but no. Oh wait – look at the TOYS! Continue reading Sugarplums Danced
Other children may have had visions of Sugarplums. I had dreams of Dobosh Tortes, and Summer Sausages the size of Yule logs. Continue reading “Gifts of Perfect Taste”
Neiman-Marcus, 1959 NM’s Christmas catalogs are celebrated for their outlandish “His and Her” offerings and their “fantasy gifts.” Their first such stunt appeared in this 1959 holiday catalog. Stanley Marcus had been overseeing company Christmas catalogs since the 1920s, but in 1950s the mystique of larger-than-life Texas was growing in the public eye. How to … Continue reading The First Christmas Fantasy
Here we leap way into the catalogues of Christmas Past, long past. 1882, to be specific.
Continue reading Stories of Christmases Long, Long Ago
Many Americans are infatuated by all things British. The reverse can also be true…Which is why Harrods, the famous London department store, once mounted an exhibition of imported American products. What was intriguingly, luxuriously American? Continue reading Those Exotic Americans
The Catalog Blog is on a brief summer hiatus. Continue reading Summer Break
When art directors attack – you end up with things like this… Continue reading Attack of the Clones
That sure ain’t Elvis, but it IS the microphone colloquially known as the Elvis Mike – the Shure 55S. Continue reading Of Mikes and Men
Berry Seed Company, 1930 Seed catalogs have been a staple of American catalogs since as long as catalogs have been around. This depression-era example is aimed squarely at the working farmer. While there are a few pages of roses and flowers, this catalog is really focussed on cash crops. With a name like “Berry Seed”, … Continue reading Berry’s berries, melons, clover, and…
