For 100 years, manufacturers used catalogs to reach those buyers who couldn't come to their stores. Catalog goods included tractors, hardware, industrial supplies, early cars, motorcycles, lighting, and bicycles. Some stores, like Sears-Roebuck, made themselves famous with their seasonal catalogs, including special holiday editions. Many collectors like to own the catalogs that originally advertised key items in their collection.
Interviews & Articles
Information Wants To Be Free: 56 Years of Kodak Camera Catalogs Now Available

When we published our first interview with Rob Niederman back in 2008, he was focused, if you will, on historically significant an… [more]
To Catch A Thief: A Rare Book Expert on His Literary Obsessions

I don’t remember a time when I didn’t read books. In grade school, I devoured library books. I also loved comic books, and was whe… [more]
The Last Word on First Editions

Strictly speaking, a book’s edition refers to the setting of the text. So the first time you set the text and print a book with it… [more]
Best of the Web (“Hall of Fame”)
Google Book Search

Want to do one quick search and pull up the mother lode of vintage books? Try Google Book Search, a database filled… [read review or visit site]
Ephemera Blog

Marty Weil's wide-ranging, in-depth blog on ephemera, including lots of great interviews with ephemera collectors. … [read review or visit site]
Ephemera Society of America

Great reference on ephemera... includes examples and descriptions of various ephemera categories, selected special … [read review or visit site]
Bookscans.com

Bruce Black's gallery of paperback book covers from the 1940s and 50s. With help from numerous contributors, he's a… [read review or visit site]
Clubs & Associations
- Ephemera Society of America
- Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America
- Bibliographical Society of America
Vintage Guru Reveals Her Glamour Secrets
The Killer Mobile Device for Victorian Women
Gloriously Grotesque 19th-Century Pipes
The Beautiful Chaos of Improvisational Quilts
Our Dad, the Water Witch of Wyoming
This 1959 Goggomobil Is Insanely Cute and Gets 55 MPG. Why Can’t Detroit Do That?
California Cool: How the Wetsuit Became the Surfer's Second Skin
The Unfiltered History of Rolling Papers, Plus Tommy Chong's Big Fat Jamaican Vacation
World's Smallest Museum Finds the Wonder in Everyday Objects
Fightin’ Femmes: Unmasking Female Superheroes with Author Mike Madrid

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