Catalogs: The Mail-Order Collectible by Linda Rosenkrantz on Creators.com

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Catalogs: The Mail-Order Collectible

We all know Benjamin Franklin was responsible for a wide range of inventions and accomplishments, from the lightning rod to bifocal eyeglasses, but few are aware that he is also credited with introducing one of the boons and banes of modern life — the mail-order catalogue.

The year was 1744, and in the succeeding generation and a half, the catalogue of general merchandise would play a major role in making the latest appliances, tools, toys, clothing and other items accessible to people living in the most remote areas of the country. Today, in addition to their being an extremely useful tool for collectors in dating and identifying objects, vintage catalogs — usually profusely illustrated — have become a collectible category of their own.

Among the early mail-order pioneers were two sporting goods firms, Laacke & Joys of Wisconsin and the Orvis Co. of Vermont. By the end of the Civil War, there had been a great expansion so that the public at large could purchase machinery and medicines, sewing machines and skillets, violins and vises, without leaving their homes. The E. C. Allen Co. was selling a wide variety of household and novelty merchandise by mail in the 1870s and Aaron Montgomery Ward entered the picture in 1873.

The timing couldn't have been better, since the Homestead Act of 1863 had fueled westward expansion, followed by the growth of the railroads, and the lowering of postal rates for mail-order publications to a penny a pound. The next decade saw Macy's issuing a 127-page catalogue, followed around 1890 by two of the towering giants in the field, Spiegel and Sears, Roebuck and Co.

Sears, in fact, became synonymous with the word catalogue and played a major role in facilitating the era of 20th century mass consumption. Its history dates to 1882, when Richard Warren Sears, a young Minnesota railroad station agent who had bought an unclaimed shipment of watches, first used a printed mailer to advertise his stock under the banner "The R. W. Sears Watch Co." In 1884, his catalogue cover proclaimed it a "Book of Bargains: A Money Saver for Everyone." This tipping-point catalog expanded from solely watches and jewelry to an enormous variety of merchandise, including baby carriages and bicycles, and men and women's clothing, Sears writing most of the copy himself.

Moving to Chicago, he teamed up with Alvah C. Roebuck and they incorporated in 1893, with the ailing Roebuck resigning shortly after.

By 1896, Sears began producing seasonal catalogues, and for the first time charged a fee (25 cents), followed by specialty issues for such items as groceries, musical instruments, books and bikes. Other milestones followed: a color section was added in 1897, then a builders section appeared, selling everything needed to construct an entire building. In 1905, actual swatches of wallpaper and men's suiting material were included. Sears succeeded brilliantly by assessing and fulfilling the needs (and desires) of the American public, becoming the largest retailer in the U.S. by the mid-20th century,

Rarity is one of the prime criteria in evaluating catalogues, but there are other factors as well. These include age, condition, the number of illustrations, size, amount of color used in printing, and how collectible the subject is — sporting equipment, tools, automobilia, photographic equipment and craft supplies are particularly sought after. Here are a few typical prices as reported in the 2009 Schroeder's Antiques Price Guide:

— Rare Bristol Steel Fishing Rods, Horton Mfg. Co., Bristol, Conn., 1915, 32 pages, $550.

— Sears, Roebuck and Co. Christmas Book, 1952, $285.

— Storrs & Harrison Co. seed catalogue, Spring 1899, 168 pages, $145.

— York Gas Engine, For Sale by Flinchbaugh Mfg. Co., York, Pa., $175.

— Snap-On Blue Point/Snap-On Tools Inc., 1935, 96 pages, $140.

— Lane Bryant Tall Girls Summer Fashion Sale, 1958, $100.

Linda Rosenkrantz has edited Auction magazine and authored 18 books, including "Cool Names for Babies" and "The Baby Name Bible" (St. Martin's Press). Visit her baby names website at http://nameberry.com. She cannot answer letters personally. To find out more about Linda Rosenkrantz and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.