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The Brown Fence and Wire Company, 1941: This page is eye-catching as much for the date as for the subject matter. It’s early 1941 and this moment, over half of American farms still didn’t have electricity…. Continue reading This Black Leather Team Harness will handle any farm job
Need the sound of a cow for your next silent movie? A fly? A dog? A horse? How about an interurban train whistle or a baby’s cry? All available in this 1920’s Whittle Music catalog… Continue reading The Sounds of Silents
Spors Book of Bargains, 1939: They didn’t call it the Great Depression for nothing. You leaf through a catalog like this one and you can feel the hunger and the desperation that the Spors Company promised to address… Continue reading The Beauty of Selling
W.S. Darley Police Equipment catalog, 1961: The Darley catalog enthusiastically, even lovingly, described the different clubs, handcuffs, straight jackets, body bags, lie detectors, guns, badges, and other law enforcement tools. Zoom in to read the copy, and we’ll come back to other pages in the future… Continue reading Delivers a stunning blow without crushing or fracturing the skull
For our next trick, the Heaney Magic Company, 1924. Have no illusions – even Magicians consulted catalogs in the 20th century. Here the audience members’ three chosen cards are impaled at sword-point. Continue reading Catalog of Secrets
Regalia Manufacturing, Fair Supplies, ca. 1931. Somehow, I don’t think the county fair is quite what it used to be. Too bad. The Regalia company put out an impressive, slightly oversized catalog with dozens of ways to promote your fair – posters, pennants, roadside signs, license plate toppers, and the delightful spare-tire cover pictured here… Continue reading Meet Me at the Fair…
This woman seems to be in touch with an alien spacecraft from the 1950s, unless… Continue reading Mars Needs Women?
Step back 130+ years ago and catalogs were just becoming a widespread business tool (and not quite yet a household staple). Here’s one of the really early ones… Continue reading First Steps
Hammacher Schlemmer proudly points out they’ve been around since 1848, started printing catalogs in 1881, and are still going strong with them. But you won’t find this item in their current catalogs. Continue reading The Hammacher Schlemmer Chest Handle
Rexall Drugs, 1928 / This catalog was produced to convince drugstore owners to stock these 14 caret gold fountain pens. Continue reading A Gold Pen – a “Dandy Seller”
