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Category: 1940s

Pipe Dreams and Dream Pipes
Posted on February 25, 2019February 24, 2019

Ivan Ries Smokers' Supplies, 1948
Pipe Dreams and Dream Pipes

Some of these were the kind of pipes that My Three Sons would have bought their father, because Father Knows Best about things like smoking… Continue reading Pipe Dreams and Dream Pipes

Mad Skils
Posted on February 11, 2019

SkilTools, 1947
Mad Skils

Unabashedly and unashamedly industrial, this 1947 catalog. Aimed at men who get things done. Continue reading Mad Skils

Presto – You’re a Recording Star!
Posted on October 11, 2018

Presto Recording Corp, 1940
Presto – You’re a Recording Star!

You could be forgiven for thinking this looks like a mad scientist’s industrial-strength DJ mixing console. You wouldn’t be far off… Continue reading Presto – You’re a Recording Star!

What the Modern Bride was Wearing
Posted on October 1, 2018

Chicago Mail Order, 1941
What the Modern Bride was Wearing

Chicago Mail Order, 1941 An outfit for “Today’s Bride” of 1941, virtually as streamlined as any 1941 warplane. Because the bride was practical, the wedding gown was two-piece — ditch the coat and wear the sleeveless gown alone to dances. Because “all eyes (are) on your figure as you walk down the aisle” everything is … Continue reading What the Modern Bride was Wearing

Learn to Dance! Learn to Hypnotize!
Posted on August 16, 2018August 15, 2018

Johnson-Smith Novelty, 1940
Learn to Dance! Learn to Hypnotize!

There’s a really interesting juxtaposition on these two adjacent pages. On the left, men and women can learn to dance. On the right, you could try hypnotizing people and convincing them to foxtrot… Continue reading Learn to Dance! Learn to Hypnotize!

Electric or Spring-wound, the Life of the Party
Posted on June 18, 2018June 18, 2018

Montgomery Ward, 1947
Electric or Spring-wound, the Life of the Party

You can be forgiven for not recognizing the main item pictured on this page of the 1947 Montgomery Ward Midsummer catalog. What looks like the spawn of a waffle maker crossed with a flying saucer is actually… Continue reading Electric or Spring-wound, the Life of the Party

One of their Greatest Fans
Posted on May 18, 2018

Emerson Electric, 1946
One of their Greatest Fans

Emerson Electric Fans, 1946 Summer’s around the corner, and in parts of the country temperature records are already being set. Of course, we can manage, thanks to thermostatically-controlled air conditioning in every building and car. But Air Conditioning, especially in homes, wasn’t a major product until well after World War II. For the first half … Continue reading One of their Greatest Fans

Middle age spreads with Ranch style dressings
Posted on April 26, 2018April 26, 2018

Garlinghouse Homes, 1949
Middle age spreads with Ranch style dressings

These house plans pictured scream postwar suburbia – late ’40s / early 1950s. “Suburban living will be at its finest” they promise – sprawling ranch homes. But look closely… Continue reading Middle age spreads with Ranch style dressings

Dressing for an Easter Parade
Posted on March 29, 2018March 29, 2018

Montgomery Wards, 1948
Dressing for an Easter Parade

You have to admit these are some lovely dresses, eminently suitable for walking up Fifth avenue in the Easter Parade, which is what Judy Garland sang in the movie of that name released the same year as this catalog… Continue reading Dressing for an Easter Parade

Introducing the Home Theater
Posted on November 13, 2017March 28, 2018

Montgomery Wards, 1948
Introducing the Home Theater

This Montgomery Wards electronics catalog from 1948 assembles the vital components of a rudimentary home theater system. Just how rudimentary? Continue reading Introducing the Home Theater

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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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