Catalogs

[renor27]

As I have been finding just what period between 1918 and 1941 I enjoy and deciding just what my look shall be. One the best things I have found to pin this down is mail order Catalogues. One of the few places to get a good look @ men's clothing. So they become resource material for me.
I have decided to settle on the mid 1920's and there for do not need my catalogues from the 1930s to early 1940s.
All catalogues ( a lot of sears and wards some others ) have been taken a part put in plastic page protectors and binders. I Would like to trade my 30's and early 40's catalogues for clothing or camping catalogues from the 1920's.
Any one else use catalogues to help them understand the era?
David

 

[scotrace]

You can put a 'wanted to trade' post in classifieds. Cool idea!

 

[Flivver]

I've been collecting mail order catalogs since I was a kid. Sears, Montgomery Ward and Charles Williams Stores are my favorites.

I have found, over the years, that as my interests in vintage artifacts expanded, my catalogs were always there to provide a useful reference.

And if you want a comprehensive insight into just how people lived in a given year, there's no better way to start your research than with a catalog. I'll often pick one at random and page through it cover to cover as a good evening's entertainment.

 

[kpreed]

I have for a long, long time collected these. Here is my newest, a 1949 Sears and I really love it.

 

[kpreed]

I guess it is time for another from my stack. This from Sears, Fall-Winter 1943-44. Nothing shows what average people could get, I think more then a catalog. I really enjoy these.

 

[Bill Taylor]

One thing that should be taken into consideration when looking at Monkey Wards or Sears, Roebuck and Co catalogs is they would not necessarily be the latest in fashion, but would be very conservative in a fashion sense. The target market was largely rural United States and to some extent poorer people who were looking for a good value for the price. That can be evidenced by the amount of 20's and 30's catalog space devoted to farm equipment, horse collars, saddles, etc. and aftermarket equipment to repair a Ford Model T or Model A.(especially in Monkey Wards catalogs). Monkey Wards was by far the larger company (may have been the largest retailer in the world at that time). Although later bad management certainly took care of that!

It was always exciting to get a notice (usually by telegram) that your packages from Monkey Wards had arrived and was awaiting pickup at the train depot. Off topic, but also of some excitement in rural small town America during the Golden Era was the arrival of the Jewel T Man, the Watkins Man and the Fuller Brush Man. Those organizations used a sort of small throwaway catalog and I doubt if any have survived. They drove countless miles over unpaved rural roads selling their wares (rather successfully, I understand - and nearly everyone bought at least something from them). In my hometown, they avoided our house and my Mother and went to my Dad's law office instead, since he was a much easier mark. In retrospect, it is amazing to me that they always knew the name(s) of their customers in every small town and on every farm. They used little informational handwritten cards, which always included the names of the children in the household.

Bill

 

[pennyseranade]

Catalogs are a wealth of information from hairsyles to accessories, oh yeah, and clothes too. I have a few catalogs from the late 30s and early 40s. Oh to be able to place an order from there lol.