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You can learn to play an instrument at home, and once you do, your social life will improve, you’ll earn more money, and you’ll look like a young debutante in a low-cut dress… Continue reading Music-Making by Mail
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
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!”
The pet most kids wanted for Christmas in 1959 was a collie, and you can thank the TV show “Lassie” for that. But ordering one from a catalog? Continue reading Lassie by mail
Christmas wrap, that is. And Christmas cards. And stocking stuffers… Continue reading That wraps up another Christmas
Who doesn’t love the idea of getting the latest tech as a holiday gift? And yet… Continue reading The Trouble with Tech
I hadn’t realized Sears sold fruitcakes at Christmas as late as 1992… Continue reading Where are the fruitcakes of yesteryear?
Unlike girls, boys did have lots of career options in 1961. But they did face death. Continue reading Christmas 1961: One for the Boys
If there were any doubt about how strongly gender roles and expectations were once ingrained in American lives, this 1961 White’s Christmas catalog should remove all doubt. Continue reading Girls’ Gifts: Gender Definitions for 1961
In 1976, the year of America’s bicentennial, Neiman-Marcus hit a perfect note for their his and hers gift – real live Buffalos. Continue reading His and Hers, Hides and Furs
