BIBLIOGRAPHY
Fredgant, D. (1984). American trade catalogs. Paducah, K.Y.: Collector Books.


Gustaitis, J. (1993). Closing the book: The Sears catalog is disappearing from the scene – Another icon swept away by the winds of change.” American History Illustrated  28.


Mahnke, F. (1996). Color, environment and human response. New York: John Wiley & Sons.


Norris, J. D. (1990). Advertising and the transformation of American society, 1865-1920. New York, NY:Greenwood Press.


Romaine, L. B. (1960). A guide to American trade catalogs, 1744-1900. New York: R.R. Bowker Company.


Seckelson, L., Ash, J., Bardhan, G. P., Guthrie, E., Van Dyk, S (2015). Trade catalogs: Opportunities and challenges. Art Documentation: Journal of the Art Libraries Society of North America, 34 (2), 267–300.
REFLECTION
I really enjoyed working with this collection as a life long lover of trade catalogs and unusual ephemera. This collection truly began out of a fascination with the kitsch aspect of the “Colorama” trade catalog by Alexander Smith & Sons, Carpet Co. I became obsessed with this weird booklet from the 40s centered around such an obscure subject: interior design based on hair color. I thought it such a fascinating commentary on social structures of the 1940s as well as the role beauty played when advertising to women all packaged in an interactive and “fun” format. I loved the idea of being able to manual move the catalog rather than a simple page by page book or pamphlet that was somewhat more removed from me personally. I wanted to explore more.

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This proved more difficult than I imaged. There is no “interactive” facet while searching various collections. I knew from a prior class that the Thomas J. Watson Library at the Metropolitan Museum of Art held a large collection of trade catalogs and since “Colorama” is a part of that collection, I deduced they must contain other interactive ones as well. I chose to reach out to the special collections librarian Jared Ash as well as Holly Phillips, Associate Manager for Collection Development and Special Collections for more help (since simple catalog searches were proving unhelpful). From multiple conversations few examples were found that fit the interactive element I was searching for but not enough for a collection. After conducting more research, I read that the Avery Classics Collection held an equally large collection of trade catalogs. I contacted one of the Special Collections Librarians, Lena Newman, who pulled items for me based off my interactive element. Everyone I worked with was very excited about this project which gave me more motive to keep exploring.


From what was pulled within each color, I noticed a pattern that color was a common subject for trade catalogs. I thought this was interesting especially given the economics of producing colored images in the past. It makes sense that color would prove the most interactive as color is inherently personal. The introduction of color theory seen in an item called Color Calibrator of Pratt & Lambert paint, allows for a scientific definition explaining why certain combinations work while others do not before allowing the user to find their ideal color. Color can evoke emotion, as seen in the “Berrycrafters Scientific Chart,” and can define you as a person as seen in “Try on a Room…” The simple action of changing the paint samples within Stelatex to create your perfect room or flipping trasnparencies on the perfect 1961 Buick gives the user control over the catalog but also freedom to experiment without being impressed upon by the manufacturer.

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Exploring different ways to experience color through these catalogs brought me so much joy, I could imagine the delight for someone during the time. Examples like the deck of cards Eagle-Pitcher Lead Company must have brought so much entertainment to people in the early 20th century.  I chose to focus on form for each catalog as the thing that made them interactive. A great example I found was the Sherwin-Williams puzzle but excluded this from the exhibition because it fell outside the parameters fo the exhibit. It was part of a larger series called the Silent Teacher which were map puzzles by Rev. E. J. Clemens with advertisements for different businesses on the verso. Instead of a trade catalog this existed simply as a toy with advertisements. Still there is an argument for the idea of trade catalogs as advertisements in book form, this puzzle had to go.

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Overall I enjoyed looking at these unique examples of advertising innovations from the past. I noticed that we are still employing he idea of the transparency overlay even today with digital marketing campaigns. When looking at how to present this material in a modern way, I thought creating digital surrogates for each of the catalogs represented here would provide an interesting contrast and interactive aspect. Trade catalogs are still employed today although mostly in digital formats as the print medium declines. The digital catalogs of today are even more interactive in their nature as users can easily and quickly swipe, click, or hover over objects to achieve their personalized form. I wonder if years from now, what trade catalogs will become.