Skip to content
{"Bottom bar":{"textstyle":"static","textpositionstatic":"bottom","textautohide":true,"textpositionmarginstatic":0,"textpositiondynamic":"bottomleft","textpositionmarginleft":24,"textpositionmarginright":24,"textpositionmargintop":24,"textpositionmarginbottom":24,"texteffect":"slide","texteffecteasing":"easeOutCubic","texteffectduration":600,"texteffectslidedirection":"left","texteffectslidedistance":30,"texteffectdelay":500,"texteffectseparate":false,"texteffect1":"slide","texteffectslidedirection1":"right","texteffectslidedistance1":120,"texteffecteasing1":"easeOutCubic","texteffectduration1":600,"texteffectdelay1":1000,"texteffect2":"slide","texteffectslidedirection2":"right","texteffectslidedistance2":120,"texteffecteasing2":"easeOutCubic","texteffectduration2":600,"texteffectdelay2":1500,"textcss":"display:block; padding:12px; text-align:left;","textbgcss":"display:block; position:absolute; top:0px; left:0px; width:100%; height:100%; background-color:#333333; opacity:0.6; filter:alpha(opacity=60);","titlecss":"display:block; position:relative; font:bold 14px Georgia,serif,Arial; color:#fff;","descriptioncss":"display:block; position:relative; font:12px Georgia,serif,Arial; color:#fff; margin-top:8px;","buttoncss":"display:block; position:relative; margin-top:8px;","texteffectresponsive":true,"texteffectresponsivesize":640,"titlecssresponsive":"font-size:12px;","descriptioncssresponsive":"display:none !important;","buttoncssresponsive":"","addgooglefonts":false,"googlefonts":"","textleftrightpercentforstatic":40},"None":{"textstyle":"none","textpositionstatic":"bottom","textautohide":true,"textpositionmarginstatic":0,"textpositiondynamic":"bottomleft","textpositionmarginleft":24,"textpositionmarginright":24,"textpositionmargintop":24,"textpositionmarginbottom":24,"texteffect":"slide","texteffecteasing":"easeOutCubic","texteffectduration":600,"texteffectslidedirection":"left","texteffectslidedistance":30,"texteffectdelay":500,"texteffectseparate":false,"texteffect1":"slide","texteffectslidedirection1":"right","texteffectslidedistance1":120,"texteffecteasing1":"easeOutCubic","texteffectduration1":600,"texteffectdelay1":1000,"texteffect2":"slide","texteffectslidedirection2":"right","texteffectslidedistance2":120,"texteffecteasing2":"easeOutCubic","texteffectduration2":600,"texteffectdelay2":1500,"textcss":"display:block; padding:12px; text-align:left;","textbgcss":"display:block; position:absolute; top:0px; left:0px; width:100%; height:100%; background-color:#333333; opacity:0.6; filter:alpha(opacity=60);","titlecss":"display:block; position:relative; font:bold 14px Georgia,serif,Arial; color:#fff;","descriptioncss":"display:block; position:relative; font:12px Georgia,serif,Arial; color:#fff; margin-top:8px;","buttoncss":"display:block; position:relative; margin-top:8px;","texteffectresponsive":true,"texteffectresponsivesize":640,"titlecssresponsive":"font-size:12px;","descriptioncssresponsive":"display:none !important;","buttoncssresponsive":"","addgooglefonts":false,"googlefonts":"","textleftrightpercentforstatic":40}}
  • cb-header-14
  • cb-header-13
  • cb-header-12
  • cb-header-11
  • cb-header-10
  • cb-header-09
  • cb-header-08
  • cb-header-07
  • cb-header-06
  • cb-header-05
  • cb-header-04
  • cb-header-03
  • cb-header-02
  • cb-header-01
  • cb-header-14
  • cb-header-13
  • cb-header-12
  • cb-header-11
  • cb-header-10
  • cb-header-09
  • cb-header-08
  • cb-header-07
  • cb-header-06
  • cb-header-05
  • cb-header-04
  • cb-header-03
  • cb-header-02
  • cb-header-01
Responsive WordPress Image Slider Plugin

The Catalog Blog

Cool things from 20th-century American Catalogs

  • Hers
  • His
  • Kids
  • Around the House
  • Tools of the Trades
  • The Great Outdoors
  • Higher Tech
  • Gifts & Gizmos
  • The Wish Book
  • 1900s
  • 1910s
  • 1920s
  • 1930s
  • 1940s
  • 1950s
  • 1960s
  • 1970s
  • 1980s
  • 1990s

Category: 1900s

Virus got you? Sears ships you the cure.
Posted on March 23, 2020March 23, 2020

Sears Roebuck, 1903
Virus got you? Sears ships you the cure.

Starting to develop a worrisome cough? What you need, Sir or Madame, is Dr. Hammond’s Tar Expectorant. It cures influenza and dozens of other ailments with equal efficacy… Continue reading Virus got you? Sears ships you the cure.

Turn of the (19th) Century Toys
Posted on December 17, 2019December 16, 2019

Sears Roebuck, 1899
Turn of the (19th) Century Toys

What was Christmas shopping like 120 years ago, sometime between Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carol, the Wish Book, and the zillion gadgets that we augment our lives with these days? Continue reading Turn of the (19th) Century Toys

High Class Low Down Toilets
Posted on October 22, 2019October 22, 2019

Chicago House Wrecking Company, 1904
High Class Low Down Toilets

Excuse me, low down closets. Water Closets. Such a misleading term. A water closet should be where you store your Dasani bottles. Continue reading High Class Low Down Toilets

“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”

Spring and Summer Hats, in Assorted Colors
Posted on March 21, 2019April 2, 2019

Chicago Mail Order Millinery Company, 1900
Spring and Summer Hats, in Assorted Colors

This early postcard-sized specialty catalog is charming on multiple levels. You can enjoy just how extraordinarily fancy ladies’ hats could be at the dawn of the 21st century – just how many variations and hat accessories there were. Or… Continue reading Spring and Summer Hats, in Assorted Colors

“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.”

“Where the Big Catalogue is Printed”
Posted on February 21, 2019

Sears, 1908
“Where the Big Catalogue is Printed”

Rather that show you a page from a catalog, this time we have pictures of catalogs being created…back in 1906. Continue reading “Where the Big Catalogue is Printed”

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

The End of the Line
Posted on October 22, 2018October 22, 2018

Sears Tombstones, 1906
The End of the Line

For many of its 125 years, Sears had you covered from cradle to grave. As proof: tombstones for that final act. Continue reading The End of the Line

Screen Doors & Nothing More.
Posted on June 7, 2018

Dallas Screen, 1905
Screen Doors & Nothing More.

Some catalogs are huge productions: thousands of pages, plenty of color, tremendous variety. Some catalogs are not. They are simply serviceable, solid, and sturdy. If your product is screen doors and windows… Continue reading Screen Doors & Nothing More.

Posts navigation

Page 1 Page 2 Next page

Menu

  • Hers
  • His
  • Kids
  • Around the House
  • Tools of the Trades
  • The Great Outdoors
  • Higher Tech
  • Gifts & Gizmos
  • The Wish Book

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.

The Catalog Blog: Original Content Copyright 2023