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The Catalog Blog

Cool things from 20th-century American Catalogs

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Yard Work
Posted on June 4, 2019June 3, 2019

Charles Williams, 1928
Yard Work

Some things never change. Grass grows. Grass must be cut. Continue reading Yard Work

Not Your Biggest Fan
Posted on May 28, 2019May 27, 2019

Sears, 1993
Not Your Biggest Fan

Some designs are timeless. Some designs are of a moment. And sometimes that moment passes quickly. This ceiling fan, for example. Continue reading Not Your Biggest Fan

Outdoor Lives
Posted on May 21, 2019May 20, 2019

Sears, 1911
Outdoor Lives

It’s a safe bet that most of us spend a lot more time indoors in dry, air-conditioned comfort than our ancestors ever did. Continue reading Outdoor Lives

Word Magic
Posted on May 16, 2019May 16, 2019

J. Peterman, 1995
Word Magic

J. Peterman: Booty Spoils & Plunder, 1995 Do you need any of this stuff? A jacket, a chair, a set of…basket-things. I doubt it. But read the copy – Go ahead, zoom in, I'll wait. Now. You still may not need it, but do want any of this? Aren't you at least a bit curious? … Continue reading Word Magic

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

“It’s just what I wanted!”
Posted on May 6, 2019May 5, 2019

Spencer Gifts, 1954
“It’s just what I wanted!”

Spencer Gifts, 1954 “What shall we get Aunt Gladys? A square foot of Texas… a burro.. or a shoe rack?” Spencer Gifts, long the ubiquitous merchant of weird gifts in malls across the country (such malls as still remain, anyway) once purveyed their gifts via catalogs like this 1954 edition. On the front cover, for … Continue reading “It’s just what I wanted!”

Sweet Sounds for Spring
Posted on April 29, 2019April 29, 2019

Charles William Stores, 1925
Sweet Sounds for Spring

A gallery of all the most popular musical instruments from the 1920s…some of which are still popular today… Continue reading Sweet Sounds for Spring

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

A Toast to Toasters
Posted on April 22, 2019

Montgomery Ward, 1951
A Toast to Toasters

You wouldn’t remember this, but once upon a time banks used to give you a toaster when you opened a new bank account. Why a toaster? Well, why not? Continue reading A Toast to Toasters

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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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