Collecting Vintage Catalogs and Ephemera

I never meant to get into the catalog business. We never know what will come our way do we?

In this trailer I keep referring to are many many boxes and in these boxes are things that haven't seen the light of day in 15 years. Before that many of these things were already packed away in plastic bread bags or old cereal boxes and even wrapped in 60 year old newspapers.

Among these items were catalogs. Quite a lot of music catalogs from the 50's and 60's as these people whom the estate came from were once the owners of a music store. I believe they closed in the early 60's and saved everything they weren't able to sell. They threw nothing away...or should I say...they wasted nothing. I have found myself reusing more of my recyclables as a result.

The first thing I noticed about these great vintage guitar catalogs was the illustration art. I'm a big fan of this style art and learned to draw by copying book and magazine illustrations. Some of these catalogs are genuinely beautiful....but, this is not why they are collected.

People that collect catalogs, I've found, actually are collectors of the items found inside them or have a professional interest. If the actual item is hot, then the catalogs too sell very well.

Buying catalogs is a good way to start your collection or even add to it, whatever your interest may be. If you can't buy the item or don't have anymore room for the actual collectible...look for the catalogs. Some people collect old department store catalogs, Christmas catalogs, car catalogs and almost anything you can imagine. I used to keep my old J. Peterman catalogs for the illustrations and stories. I wish I still had them now.

Good places to find old catalogs are ebay of course, estate sales, and old book sellers, such as AbeBooks.com. 

What do you collect? Are there catalogs? It's something to think about.

Here are a few of the catalogs and brochures we have listed this week on ebay.

...and there's more to come.