We at Vintage Literature are pleased to present this very special historical collection of early Department store catalogs from 1896 to 1918. Represnting some of the countries earliest mail order catalog houses T. Eaton ~ Marshall Fields ~ Sears and Simpsons of Canada. Back before todays super malls, these catalogs represent the earliest forms of retail marketing, allowing consumers to obtain goods that would typically be unavailable in small town general stores.

Eaton's was once Canada's largest department store retailer. Founded in 1869 in Toronto by Timothy Eaton, an Irish immigrant, Eaton's first advertisement read "We propose to sell our goods for CASH ONLY – In selling goods, to have only one price." In an era where haggling for goods was commonplace, this was a revolutionary business practice.



Marshall Field & Company was a department store in Chicago, Illinois. The original flagship Marshall Field and Company Building was located on State Street in downtown Chicago. Among the "firsts" by Marshall Field's was the concept of the department store tea room. In the 19th century, ladies shopping downtown returned home for lunch, having lunch at a downtown restaurant unescorted by a gentleman was not considered ladylike. But after a Marshall Field's clerk shared her lunch with a tired shopper, Field's hit on the idea of opening a department store tea room, so that women shoppers would not feel the need to make two trips to complete their shopping.

Sears, officially named Sears, Roebuck and Co., is an American chain of down-scale Department stores which was founded by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Roebuck in the late 19th century. Formerly a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Sears[2] merged with Kmart in early 2005, creating the Sears Holdings Corporation. From its mail order beginnings, the company grew to become the largest retailer in the United States by the mid-20th century, and its catalogs became famous. Competition and changes in the demographics of its customer base challenged the company after World War II as its rural and inner city strongholds shrank and the suburban markets grew. Eventually its catalog program was largely discontinued.

The Robert Simpson Company, or Simpsons, was a Canadian department store chain, founded by Robert Simpson in 1872. Robert Simpson had no male heir and on his death in 1897, the business was sold to a consortium of investors made up of Albert Ernest Ames, Joseph Flavelle and Harris Henry Fudger. The chain was eventually bought by the Hudson's Bay Company, and the Simpsons brand is no longer in use. In 1952, Simpsons partnered with Sears, Roebuck and Company, a U.S. department store chain, to create Simpsons-Sears Limited, a Canadian catalogue and department store chain separate from the Simpsons chain.

As you browse this massive catalog collection it is interesting to note the differences between each catalog, pertaining to the markets they cover, city folk, farm life, fashions, Canada, each catalog offers a unique perspective to 1800's/1900's lifestyles.

Collection Includes:

:: 1896 Marshall Fields Catalog - 352 pages.

:: 1897 Sears Catalog - 709 pages.

:: 1902 Sears Catalog - 704 pages.

:: 1906 T. Eaton Catalog - 427 pages.

:: 1908 Sears Catalog - 727 pages.

:: 1918 Simpsons Catalog - 350 pages.

:: 1946 Marshall Fields History Booklet - 64 pages.

Customers who bought this item also bought