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The Catalog Blog

Cool things from 20th-century American Catalogs

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Category: Gifts and Gizmos

The hot new Christmas Gift for 1958: Velcro!
Posted on November 23, 2017November 23, 2017

Sears Christmas Wishbook, 1958
The hot new Christmas Gift for 1958: Velcro!

In 1958, Velcro was brand-new, space-age technology imported from England. The ideal place to use it? Down the front of a man's jacket! At least that's what Sears did for Christmas. Continue reading The hot new Christmas Gift for 1958: Velcro!

How to Be Alone and Like It
Posted on November 20, 2017November 19, 2017

Meredith's of Evanston, 1959
How to Be Alone and Like It

For many people, the holidays are a lonely time. Separated from family, isolated from friends. What better way to deal with the holiday blues…than a good game of solitaire! Continue reading How to Be Alone and Like It

Present at the birth of the personal computer revolution
Posted on November 2, 2017November 2, 2017

Tandy Computers, 1978
Present at the birth of the personal computer revolution

From the Tandy Computer Catalog, 1978. Before the Apple Stores, there were Radio Shack Computer Centers. And before that, there was this catalog of computer hardware sold by Tandy… Continue reading Present at the birth of the personal computer revolution

S-l-o-w-l-y a Pale Hand Emerges
Posted on October 30, 2017October 23, 2017

Spencer Gifts, 1959
S-l-o-w-l-y a Pale Hand Emerges

Spencer Gifts! Mainstay of malls. After 70 years, Spencer’s still offers the frivolous and the faddish, whereever shopping malls still draw visitors. God, how I loved Spencer Gifts stores and catalogs when I was a certain age. The Mood Rings! The Day-Glow Posters! The Black Lights… Continue reading S-l-o-w-l-y a Pale Hand Emerges

Into the Pit!
Posted on October 5, 2017October 22, 2017

HES Software, 1984
Into the Pit!

Is there an irony in using a printed catalog to promote computer games? From the 21st-century viewpoint, certainly yes. In 1984 Human Engineeered Software climbed to a peak from which there was nowhere to go but down…. Continue reading Into the Pit!

The roots of Multi Level Marketing
Posted on October 2, 2017October 22, 2017

Lee Manufacturing, 1912
The roots of Multi Level Marketing

Long before Avon, before Mary Kay, before Tupperware, before Herbalife, before a hundred other companies, there were multi-level marketing pioneers like Lee Manufacturing… Continue reading The roots of Multi Level Marketing

How to Shoot Video, 1984-style
Posted on August 28, 2017October 22, 2017

Montgomery-Ward, 1984
How to Shoot Video, 1984-style

A new iPhone is being announced in a few weeks. It may cost close to $1000. A lot of money? Consider how much your iPhone does. Then consider just the function of video recording as it existed in 1984… Continue reading How to Shoot Video, 1984-style

Become a Goddess of Time for $35.95
Posted on July 31, 2017October 22, 2017

Zales, 1957
Become a Goddess of Time for $35.95

Watch this space. A collection of Christmas gift timepieces for him or her. $1 a week would buy you the the Bulova Goddess of Time model, and $2 weekly would pay for a Hamilton Pacer, a seriously space-age design… Continue reading Become a Goddess of Time for $35.95

Sunken Treasure…Found by J. Peterman
Posted on June 29, 2017June 29, 2017

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Sunken Treasure…Found by J. Peterman

“The things you see here lay at the bottom of the South China Sea for 235 years.” The J. Peterman Company catalogs were as unusual as the products… Continue reading Sunken Treasure…Found by J. Peterman

Give Dad a Tie for Father’s Day
Posted on June 8, 2017June 8, 2017

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Give Dad a Tie for Father’s Day

B. Altman & Co, 1948: Was there ever a 20th-century gift more associated with fathers than a tie? Continue reading Give Dad a Tie for Father’s Day

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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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