Before the internet, there was the Sears catalog

The other day, I posted about this linoleum, that I loved.  It reminded me of a copy of a 1944 Sears catalog that I picked up at a flea market.  Remembering that it had linoleum type flooring, I dug it out to see what patterns were available back in 1944.  I not only found lots of linoleum flooring designs, but just about anything else you could imagine in that catalog.  Yup, back in the day, you could get just about anything from the Sears catalog. 

flooring















roofing















tractor tires















flowers















dog supplies















wallpaper















paint















barn paint















fabric















books (Nancy Drew included... but no "Secret of Red Gate Farm"















medicine















the always important "Beauty Mirrors to help you stay lovely"















Coty beauty preparations (more lovely"ness")















baby chicks















chickens















and of course, the $1575 blue diamond jewelry... yes, $1575 in 1944!  In today's dollars that's about $20,000... from the Sears catalog no less.















I guess our parents, grandparents, great-grandparents weren't as behind the times as we'd like to think.  After all, they had the Sears catalog.

Chris at Red Gate Farm

Comments

  1. Hi Chris: That is a great ole catalogue! I can't believe the different items that Sears carried. When I was first married (over 25 years ago) we purchased a century home in a very rural community. I did all my shopping through Sears and anxiously awaited each and every new catalogue - especially the Christmas edition. Now - you're right - I do the bulk of my shopping via the internet. I haven't looked at a Sears catalogue for many years now. I don't even know if they still publish them. Love the blue diamond jewellery - forever pricey! Have a great day!
    Lisa@SuburbanRetreat

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  2. That is really cool thanks for sharing. Love how all of the pictures are drawn instead of actual photographs of products. And that hexagon roof tile is too cool!

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  3. Loved looking at the "Wish Book" with you! I have an old one that Grandma had kept and it's so much fun looking through... the prices are unbeliveable! Really enjoyed my time at your blog this morning!

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  4. This brought back memories..my mom ordered the entire Christmas for all of ous kids through the Wish Book..and yes she charged it...by the time the next Christmas rolled around she had paid it off and was good to go for that year...kind of like the lay a way the stores used to offer....we had great Christmas's when we were kids...little did we know how my mom paid for them!

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  5. I loved this post! There were 4 of us kids. We all circled stuff in the Wish Book that we wanted for Christmas ...using different colors. The mailman was practacly mauled when the book came!

    I loved Sears as a child... but by the time we were highschool age, the LAST thing we wanted were clothes from Sears. haha...

    I had forgotten how much variety they offered in their catalog. You made me want to go out and find a vintage Wish Book to show my kids... such fun.

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  6. I'm here from "ain't for city gals" and I now have a new quest...I want, need, an old Sears catalog. I sure hope there's one out there somewhere. What fun!

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  7. What a great post! Sears was the #1 way to shop when I was a kid. Then living in the mountains of British Columbia it seemed like most of us shopped through Sears. I bought my clothes and my fridge stove washer dryer through them and about everything else. In the winter we didn't drive those mountain roads that often so Sears was the way to go. Thanks for bringing back some wonderful memories Chris.
    Maura :)

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