I think it was said in days of yore, “if it ain’t in the Sears Roebuck catalog, you don’t need it.”  I’m old enough to remember pouring over a S&R catalog, especially the toy catalog at Christmas time! Bet you did too.

I bought this little paperback for 25-cents at a roadside junque sale. It’s been such fun browsing the pages……..but only in strong light and with a magnifying glass for it’s teeny print/pictures.

This 1909 catalog offered everything:  Pianos, corsets, guns, sofas, typewriters, rocking chairs, “quick cures for dyspepsia,” violins, diamond rings, watchmakers’ tools, shoes (ohmygoshthewomensshoesAWFUL), and “the highest grade steel range” for $22.43 (plus postage? and you know how HEAVY they were).

Did I mention fishing hooks, men’s shirts, lamps, dishes, crucifixes, “Parisian depilatory” (for 58 cents), blacksmith tools…………… well,you get the idea.

A genuine stroll-through-time as I browse those 900-pages of goods offered in 1909 by Messrs. Sears and Roebuck.