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The Catalog Blog

Cool things from 20th-century American Catalogs

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A-door-able Christmas Decorations
Posted on December 10, 2019December 10, 2019

Sears Roebuck, 1965
A-door-able Christmas Decorations

Holiday decoration have been in an arms race in for decades now. The early years of the outdoor decoration derby were charmingly simple. And plastic. Continue reading A-door-able Christmas Decorations

Duds for Dad
Posted on December 3, 2019December 3, 2019

Sears Roebuck, 1955
Duds for Dad

Give Him a Collection of Cliches for Christmas! Continue reading Duds for Dad

A Brave New World of your own… for $80,000
Posted on November 26, 2019

Neiman-Marcus, 1973
A Brave New World of your own… for $80,000

Was “Information Overload” a thing in 1973? Neiman-Marcus thought so, and commissioned a retreat that you could escape into… Continue reading A Brave New World of your own… for $80,000

Holy Superhero Crossover, Batman!
Posted on November 19, 2019November 19, 2019

Montgomery Ward, 1975
Holy Superhero Crossover, Batman!

Christmas 1975: Montgomery Ward releases a set of action figures and a crossover plot to go with it, hoping parents would buy all eight dolls for the holidays…plus the Batcave, Batmobile, and Jokermobile. Continue reading Holy Superhero Crossover, Batman!

Blues For Men. (And the occasional gray and brown)
Posted on November 12, 2019November 11, 2019

Chicago Mail Order Company, 1936
Blues For Men. (And the occasional gray and brown)

Photos from the 1930s are all black & white. Men’s actual clothes from the era weren’t much livelier. Continue reading Blues For Men. (And the occasional gray and brown)

Fashion in (almost) living color
Posted on November 5, 2019

Chicago Mail Order Company, 1936
Fashion in (almost) living color

If you watch enough old 1930s movies, you can be forgiven for thinking the world once existed only in black and white. So it’s startling to see these 1936 fashions in a riot of colors. Continue reading Fashion in (almost) living color

G is for Giant
Posted on October 29, 2019

LGB Model Trains, 1990
G is for Giant

Model trains come in different sizes or gauges, from the minuscule Z-gauge to the mighty G-gauge. G might may well stand for “Giant”. These are some big model trains. Continue reading G is for Giant

High Class Low Down Toilets
Posted on October 22, 2019October 22, 2019

Chicago House Wrecking Company, 1904
High Class Low Down Toilets

Excuse me, low down closets. Water Closets. Such a misleading term. A water closet should be where you store your Dasani bottles. Continue reading High Class Low Down Toilets

“And what are you supposed to be?”
Posted on October 15, 2019October 14, 2019

Collegeville / Woolworth, 1967
“And what are you supposed to be?”

Collegeville (Woolworth), 1967 All I’m sayin’ is that cosplay was once a lot simpler. Halloween costumes from the late 1960s were typically a plastic mask, a glorified pair of pajamas, and maybe a wig. That’s if you were lucky and your mom took you to Woolworth’s, where you could purchase an off-model Bugs Bunny. If … Continue reading “And what are you supposed to be?”

Apparently it IS Rocket Science
Posted on October 8, 2019

Lafayette Electronics, 1951
Apparently it IS Rocket Science

I just love this 1951 catalog cover. Who cares what’s inside — if you’re going to put a spaceship on the cover with scientists inside the Mission Control controlling the launch with clipboards, I’ve already bought into it. Continue reading Apparently it IS Rocket Science

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We're celebrating all the abundance and excitement found in vintage 20th century American catalogs: the exotic, the fashionable, the surprising, the latest, the coolest, the cheapest, the oddest, the choices.

Not just Sears and Montgomery Wards, You could buy anything from a catalog in the 20th century: from a box of raisins to a house, from a computer to a car, from a billy club to an inflatable brassiere. The old-time printed catalogues which arrived in the mailbox showed the 20th-century American Consumer just how to consume.

The Catalog Blog: Original Content Copyright 2019