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The Catalog Blog

Cool things from 20th-century American Catalogs

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Category: Kids

“As Seen on TV!”
Posted on November 29, 2018November 29, 2018

National Bella Hess, 1961
“As Seen on TV!”

Sears had no lock on Christmas catalogs that children would covet. Here’s a couple of thin-paper pages from 1961 with toys that any mid-century video-besotted-kid would want. Continue reading “As Seen on TV!”

“Why Your Son Should Be an American Boy Scout”
Posted on November 19, 2018November 18, 2018

Bella Hess, 1911
“Why Your Son Should Be an American Boy Scout”

It’s 1911: the Boy Scouts had been in existence in America for barely a year. Continue reading “Why Your Son Should Be an American Boy Scout”

Just like what Dad Wears
Posted on November 5, 2018November 5, 2018

Sears, 1950
Just like what Dad Wears

Welcome to Boysville – Mid-century Sears modern. Continue reading Just like what Dad Wears

Diff’rent Strokes: Goodbye, Sears
Posted on October 15, 2018October 15, 2018

Sears Roebuck, 1993
Diff’rent Strokes: Goodbye, Sears

Today, once-mighty Sears Roebuck declared bankruptcy. Times change. Like these boys’ outfits. Continue reading Diff’rent Strokes: Goodbye, Sears

High Technology in Education – 1918 style
Posted on September 3, 2018September 2, 2018

Victor Records, 1918
High Technology in Education – 1918 style

Schools can fall prone to gadget envy just like the rest of us. In 1918 this must have involved buying Victrola record players and finding ways to use 78rpm records in educational situations. Continue reading High Technology in Education – 1918 style

“Ives Toys make Happy Boys”
Posted on August 2, 2018August 1, 2018

Ives Toys, 1912
“Ives Toys make Happy Boys”

I had a train set as a boy, which mostly just went round and round once you snapped the track together. It needed considerable imagination and lying flat on the floor with your eyes as close to the tracks as possible to bring it to life…. Continue reading “Ives Toys make Happy Boys”

“Add to the Summer Joy of Bathing”
Posted on July 12, 2018

Montgomery Ward, 1922
“Add to the Summer Joy of Bathing”

Montgomery Ward & Co, 1922 The start of the roaring ’20s’ and swimsuits were still modest – for the men as well as women. Although not quite as fully covering as swimwear from a decade before (arms and legs are starting to show) they still cover more than they reveal. Look at the “hero” outfit … Continue reading “Add to the Summer Joy of Bathing”

Caution – Boys at Play
Posted on May 31, 2018May 31, 2018

Charles Williams Stores, 1928
Caution – Boys at Play

Here’s a charming page from the late 1920s Charles Williams catalog –  an era when boys could legitimately go off to play wearing a costume and not get beaten to a pulp by the other neighborhood kids. Continue reading Caution – Boys at Play

Take me out to the Sandlot
Posted on May 28, 2018

Butler Brothers Wholesale, 1935
Take me out to the Sandlot

As a sport, baseball in the 1930s was a national obsession in a way that was probably unmatched in America’s history. And everything you needed to play the Great American Pastime could be found on this oversized double-page spread. Continue reading Take me out to the Sandlot

Fisher-Price Females and Lego Lads
Posted on May 7, 2018May 7, 2018

J C Penney, 1968
Fisher-Price Females and Lego Lads

We’re dipping once more into the 1968 JC Penney catalog, this time to see what the groovy kids were wearing in the late 1960s. Dennis the Menace here seems to be dressed in Lego colors… Continue reading Fisher-Price Females and Lego Lads

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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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