Trade Catalogs
Though seemingly ephemeral, trade catalogs are
an invaluable source for the study of social, business, industrial, and
advertising history. They have survived in abundance in many
separate and, generally, uncataloged collections around the
country. The American Antiquarian Society's holdings include a
small number of early trade catalogs (price lists,
circulars, special advertisements, for example), commensurate with
the limited amount of trade material published during that era.
The bookseller, the druggist, and the seedsman were the primary
issuers of these catalogs, and their contributions to America's trade
history are fully cataloged online through 1840.
The bulk of the Society's Trade Catalogs collection,
approximately 900 items, spans the years 1831 through 1876. Many
of the catalogues are undated, and a few are twentieth-century
reprints of earlier items. They run the gamut from tiny leaflets
to bound folio volumes, and testimonials and references from
previous owners are common. The collection also contains several
lavishly illustrated items. The Society holds trade catalogs on
such diverse subjects as farm implements, heavy industrial and
engineering machinery, home amusement, furniture, sewing, and
decorative arts. Even funeral casket devotees and soda
fountain historians can find treasures here. The Society focuses
on the acquisition of seed and nursery catalogs, now owning more
than one hundred such items, with at least fifty firms represented.
There is a card-file checklist, arranged
alphabetically by company name, to be used in
conjunction with Lawrence B. Romaine's subject-classified Guide to
American Trade Catalogues 1744-1900 (New York, 1960). Also
available is a separate checklist of our holdings of seedsmen's
catalogs.
Pertinent trade items held in the graphic arts department
should also be mentioned. Two distinct collections to note are the
William Allen Son's Co. scrapbook and the Centennial collection of
1876. The William Allen Son's Co. scrapbook, given to the Society
in 1981 by Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Knight, contains bills and circulars
that deal chiefly with industrial machinery and heavy manufactures.
A checklist of the contents of this collection is available for
research use. In 1972, the Society purchased a collection of trade
items obtained at the Centennial Exposition of 1876 from local
bookdealer William Gavin. Although the bulk of this purchase is in
the graphic arts department, a portion of it may be found in the
Trade Catalogs collection proper. The Graphic Arts department is also home
to a substantial number of trade cards for which a checklist is currently
being compiled.
- Paula A. Biegay Huggard, former assistant cataloger, North
American Imprints Program; updated by Joanne Chaison, Research
Librarian.
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Trade catalog for Vick's flower and vegetable garden seeds
Trade catalog for G. & D. Cook & Co.'s carriages
Image of a jump seat barouche from the trade catalog for
G. & D. Cook & Co.'s carriages
For current information on the cataloging status of this and
other AAS collections, choose "Collection Access" below.
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