These mailmen today have it made. Why, back in my day, they used to haul a hundred pounds of catalogs five or six times a year!
One of the most pervasive memories we Boomers have locked away is a big catalog or two sitting on the coffee table right next to the ashtray. They would come in the mail annually from companies like Montgomery-Ward, Sears, J.C. Penney, and Spiegel. All it would take to receive them was to buy something at the store. If they got your name and address, the monstrous consumers of wood pulp would begin showing up automatically, generally laid on your welcome mat by those poor abused postmen of the 1960's.
And there was something for everyone in those massive tomes. It seemed that women's clothing took up the most real estate, for good reason. I'm sure it was female shoppers who comprised the bulk of the mail-order catalog business of the era. The customer is always right, load those books up with pretty pictures of dresses.
But kids got their share of cool stuff to look at too, particularly with the Christmas wish books. More on that in just a bit.
Back in the days before the internet, when discount stores carried stuff that was, well, discount (aka junk), consumers knew that they needed to deal with department stores for the good, high-quality stuff that would last years. Thus, the previously mentioned retail establishments would invest money in the big catalogs that would end up in our living rooms. It was good business.
The big catalogs provided a return on the investment of the retailers pretty much year-round, but as Christmas approached, things got really crazy. Crazy enough that the big boys would send you a second catalog in the fall, a bit smaller than the regular version, but this one aimed at the biggest customers of the period: KIDS!
Thus, we would grab that wish book, as they were known, and nearly wear it out looking at the monstrously wonderful toys to be found therein. After all, Sears didn't mess with 99 cent toys in the wish book, they displayed absolutely gorgeous full-color images of race car sets, erector sets, model trains, Easy-Bake ovens, chemistry sets, and other expensive doors to paradise. It worked, too, our parents were relentlessly hounded right up until the big day.
It was a pleasant time for all but local retailers. They were losing sales to the catalog merchants. In fact, when the Montgomery-Ward catalog first began showing up in consumers' mailboxes in the 19th century, it wasn't unusual for local business owners to stage bonfires where piles of catalogs went up in smoke as a form of protest. More retailers joined up with their own catalogs, most notably Sears-Roebuck, who would become known as the most ubiquitous of the mail-order retailers, and local businesses had to learn to just deal with it.
Mail order catalogs had their heyday when we Boomers were kids, during the 50's and 60's. As stores began expanding into more and more areas, the shopping mall concept helping to spur this trend, the significance of the catalogs providing an easy way for customers to purchase things through the mail began to wane. The automatic mailings changed into a request-only service, you would receive a card in the mail and were required to mail it back in (free of charge) indicating that you wanted the latest offering. You also had the option of picking one up at the store down at the mall.
The big mail-order catalogs survived many economic ups and downs, but it was the internet that made them virtually disappear. The Sears catalog went away in 1993. Montgomery-Ward had problems maintaining their profitability, their catalog disappeared in 1985. You could recently request a J.C. Penney catalog through their website, but this has apparently been discontinued. However, don't despair, at presstime you can still get a Spiegel catalog by requesting one at http://www.spiegel.com/shop/catalog_request.aspx.
Unfortunately, getting a Spiegel catalog in the mail won't magically change the year to 1966, though.
Comments (4)
I recall Spiegel mentioned a lot on game shows. Perhaps of note is that in the 80s, a different kind of mail order developed. Stores that served a smaller interest or specialty interest began to do business by catalog. This created a whole new business avenue by which some profited. But it was not for long. In the late 90s, the internet took a lot of it away.
Think of Land's End, Eddie Bauer, LL Bean, etc. I used to shop for odd books, electronics, computer stuff, through catalogs. But over time, shipping has gone up, again, thanks to the internet.
After the boomer era, which I tend to end after the 70s or by the late 80s at the latest, we knew a way of life that had been around for a while. It quickly changes from mail order specialties to the Internet and who knows what next. Everyting changes so fast now that it is very hard to predict where it is all going unless you are involved in the development of new tech.
I think of schools in Maine. We buy lap tops now for all middle and high schools. Most elementary classes have them in class rooms. In this way, all kids become computer literate so that when thye come into the work place, they are all trained, albeit, at the expense of the tax payer and not the employers, who benefit most from this training. We tax payers are so generous to the poor rich ;-).
But we can bet, everything will change far more before it is done. Ah, for the time when things went a little slower and more reliable. We are so constantly challenged with change, that our minds are constantly going from one thing to another. IT creates a distraction type jumping around of our thinking and keeps us form concentrating on a few main things and it causes what appears like almost Alzheimers. We can’t remember from one minute to the next what we did. But its not Alzheimers. It is constant distraction breaking a chain of thought all the time. I suspect it is deliberate.
Distracted disoriented people are much easier to “manage.” We certainly did have it made in the 60s. What a loss we suffered at its passing.
Posted by Scott I | May 8, 2011 7:10 PM
Posted on May 8, 2011 19:10
I really remember the Monkey Ward and Sears catalogs 1.5 inches thick for the main and about ½ inch for the seasonal supplement. We had a local store (full blown - not just a catalog outlet with a counter person to assist your order) and my mother only resorted to order items (usually for store pickup if I remember correctly) that weren’t available for instant gratification downtown at the store. The paper that comprised the pages was glossy and exceedingly thin. It makes me smile when I hear of someone on TV taking the Sears catalog to the outhouse as it would be woefully inadequate as toilet tissue but I guess it beats leaves & twigs. Being a healthy teenager (maybe it wouldn’t be considered healthy in today’s PC environment) I was especially intrigued with the ladies underwear sections because I hadn’t yet established underground connections for Hugh Hefner’s publication (One had to purloin friends older brother's or father's copies or Grandma's NatGeos.) Anyway I haven’t thought of those massive mail order tomes of yore until now – tanks for the memories, Ron.
Posted by Burt | May 9, 2011 8:10 PM
Posted on May 9, 2011 20:10
I haven't been here in a while and I miss you! This is such a great site, but I've been busy... blah blah blah.
Anyway, I remember the big catalogs. We lived in the country and didn't get to "town"... any town... to go shopping for clothes. So catalog shopping was like really big for me.
Sears was Meh... JCPenney was pretty cool... but then Spiegel came along. Wow.
My first 'party' dress (navy/maroon "tattersall" with narrow belt at hips), white Go-Go boots, and fishnet pantyhose came from JCPenney. {{sigh}} Sure miss that.
Thanks for the reminder. Sure is bittersweet, eh?
Posted by Patti Winker | July 2, 2011 11:06 PM
Posted on July 2, 2011 23:06
We mostly got the Monkey Wards catalog! It would be my guild for what I wanted for Christmas! Spiegal I saw in other homes appeared to be the biggest????
Posted by Rivers End | November 3, 2011 8:51 PM
Posted on November 3, 2011 20:51