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The Catalog Blog

Cool things from 20th-century American Catalogs

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Category: 1930s

Rite of Spring
Posted on March 14, 2019

E. B. Mills Seed House, 1935
Rite of Spring

It’s an annual transition: dull whites and grays of winter are replaced by an explosion of spring colors… Continue reading Rite of Spring

High Fidelity Art Deco
Posted on February 4, 2019February 4, 2019

Montgomery Ward, 1935
High Fidelity Art Deco

Who is this Grecian goddess? Who is her girlfriend? Why is this radio literally on a pedestal, looking like a cross between a Greek Temple and an Art Deco skyscraper? Continue reading High Fidelity Art Deco

(No Longer) Made in America
Posted on January 28, 2019January 27, 2019

Montgomery Ward, 1936
(No Longer) Made in America

On the back page of this 1936 Wards Catalog you find a proud boast of the number of products which were made in America. Half the items in the catalog were made just in the western half of the USA…. Continue reading (No Longer) Made in America

How the other half pooped.
Posted on January 17, 2019

Sears, 1932
How the other half pooped.

In 1930 well over a third of American houses didn’t even have a flush toilet, according to some estimates. Continue reading How the other half pooped.

Past Perfumes, Current Cosmetics
Posted on January 7, 2019January 9, 2019

Sears, 1932
Past Perfumes, Current Cosmetics

These two Sears pages reflect the beauty trends of the moment – the moment in question being 1932. Continue reading Past Perfumes, Current Cosmetics

Simpler Skis and Skates
Posted on December 27, 2018December 26, 2018

Montgomery Ward, 1939
Simpler Skis and Skates

“Hmmmph – kids today! Why, in my day, if you wanted to ski, you went down and ripped pine planks from the sides of a neighbor’s house and nailed them to your feet!”… Continue reading Simpler Skis and Skates

Depression Expression
Posted on December 3, 2018

Sears, 1932
Depression Expression

Would you really “make the kiddies happy” showing up in a “heavily waxed” Santa mask? I think this is just one step away from a scary clown. Continue reading Depression Expression

Black Friday Starts Now
Posted on November 26, 2018November 25, 2018

Eastman Kodak, 1937
Black Friday Starts Now

This Kodak flyer from 1937 is the opening trickle of a subsequent flood of future Black Friday madness. Continue reading Black Friday Starts Now

Highest Fidelity. Lowest Prices.
Posted on November 1, 2018

Spear & Company, 1932
Highest Fidelity. Lowest Prices.

What happened here? The pages from this 1932 Spear catalog are absolutely accurate – they really ARE selling a $175 top-of-the-line phonograph for 30 bucks… Continue reading Highest Fidelity. Lowest Prices.

“City Comfort for the Country”
Posted on September 10, 2018September 2, 2018

Spear & Company, 1932
“City Comfort for the Country”

How rural was America in the 1930s? This rural: so many farmhouses didn’t yet have real plumbing… Continue reading “City Comfort for the Country”

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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.

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