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The Catalog Blog

Cool things from 20th-century American Catalogs

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Category: 1970s

“Gifts of Perfect Taste”
Posted on December 18, 2020

Swiss Colony, 1975
“Gifts of Perfect Taste”

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”

Professional Pride
Posted on March 17, 2020March 17, 2020

S. D. Myres Saddle Company, 1972
Professional Pride

There are times to show off; times to take pride in your work and your tools. Even for cowboys and peace officers. Continue reading Professional Pride

Space: The Final Hobby Frontier
Posted on January 28, 2020January 29, 2020

Estes Model Rockets, 1972
Space: The Final Hobby Frontier

Starting in the 1960s, boys could pursue a hobby which seemed exactly in tune with the Space Age – model rocketry. Continue reading Space: The Final Hobby Frontier

Sweeping away the Decade
Posted on December 24, 2019

Neiman-Marcus, 1979
Sweeping away the Decade

Chim Chimney Chim Chim Cheroo! In their quest for the best – or certainly the most novel – Christmas gifts, Neiman-Marcus ended the decade of the 1970s by offering up a pair of chimney sweeps. Continue reading Sweeping away the Decade

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!

Toy Stories
Posted on July 16, 2019July 15, 2019

Top Value Stamps, 1973
Toy Stories

Do you think just maybe the “Toy Story” movie folks may have found a little inspiration here, huh? There’s some nightmare fodder in that pair. Continue reading Toy Stories

The Golden Ages of Hollywood
Posted on May 13, 2019

Films, Incorporated, 1977
The Golden Ages of Hollywood

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

The Solid State of Sears
Posted on May 9, 2019

Sears Roebuck, 1978
The Solid State of Sears

In 1978, Sears’ business was still in a solid state, selling “solid state” watches Continue reading The Solid State of Sears

Scuba Diving and other Watersports
Posted on April 25, 2019

Montgomery Ward, 1972
Scuba Diving and other Watersports

These two guys look like evil henchmen prepping to do battle with Sean Connery’s James Bond. Continue reading Scuba Diving and other Watersports

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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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