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The Catalog Blog

Cool things from 20th-century American Catalogs

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Category: The Great Outdoors

“All Speeds from 1 to 25 Miles per Hour”
Posted on April 18, 2019

Sears Roebuck, 1909
“All Speeds from 1 to 25 Miles per Hour”

Once upon a time, Sears was so ambitious they built their own automobile: the “Sears Motor Buggy” Continue reading “All Speeds from 1 to 25 Miles per Hour”

Victory for Locavores
Posted on April 1, 2019April 1, 2019

Vaughan's Seed Company, 1944
Victory for Locavores

Such a deal for spring! Eleven healthy vegetable seed packets and a basic growing guide for only a buck.=.. Continue reading Victory for Locavores

“Makes every boy who owns one happy.”
Posted on March 18, 2019April 2, 2019

Spear and Company, 1903
“Makes every boy who owns one happy.”

The back cover of this ca. 1903 Spear & Company catalog is rather sweet, in both copy and illustrations. The tyke is happy, and so is the copywriter: “Nine people out of ten when they look at this picture will think of days when wagon coasting…. Continue reading “Makes every boy who owns one happy.”

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

(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

The seedlings of a new century
Posted on January 1, 2019December 31, 2018

Everitt Seeds, 1900
The seedlings of a new century

To start the new year, a catalog from the very start of a new century – January 1900 Continue reading The seedlings of a new century

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

“Rear View Mirrors Prevent Many Serious Accidents”
Posted on November 22, 2018November 21, 2018

Western Auto , 1925
“Rear View Mirrors Prevent Many Serious Accidents”

A reminder for those of us traveling by car this holiday – be sure your car comes with a rear view mirror and a horn… Continue reading “Rear View Mirrors Prevent Many Serious Accidents”

Putt Putt Vroom Vroom
Posted on October 8, 2018October 7, 2018

Montgomery Ward, 1965
Putt Putt Vroom Vroom

What I don’t know about motorcycles could fill volumes. but I know what I like, and I like what I see here… Continue reading Putt Putt Vroom Vroom

More Western, Less Auto
Posted on August 27, 2018August 26, 2018

Western Auto, 1984
More Western, Less Auto

Western Auto stores were celebrating three quarters of a century in 1984 and feeling expansive. Barely half the pages in this catalog featured car parts…. Continue reading More Western, Less Auto

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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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