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.

Vintage Guitar Catalogs...who knew?

I spent a good deal of time yesterday scanning and photographing old vintage guitar catalogs that I found in a musty smelling box in the container. It was my goal to take out a box each day and do something with the contents. For most of the boxes that has been simple...just sort and stash for the shop. I had no idea it would take soooo long to scan a box of catalogs.

 Full line 1960's Gibson Guitar and Amp Catalog

Galaxy of Stars in same catalog

There are so many cool catalogs and brochures I get sidetracked looking and reading. I'm not a musician but it makes me want to be a collector of these beautiful old instruments...or at least the catalogs. I love the illustrations and too the 1950's and 60's photos.  Some of the duplicates may find their way into frames and then onto a wall or two in our house or studio.

Gibson Folk Instrument  8 page Catalog

Some of them, I've discovered are rare and collectible. I shudder to think that this box could have easily been tossed into a dumpster at some point. The catalog below is really gorgeous.

 1960 full line Gibson Guitar and Amps

interesting photography

There are about 40 pages of products listed this way...an excellent reference

another nice illustration among the photos

I could just go on and on...

And lastly A Story of a Guitar. This was printed for Kay Instrument Company in 1964-65 as best I can tell. It is like new and documented in beautiful sepia tone photos and illustrations. This is a gem of a book...and I have two!

 

First page....

Last

You can find these four already listed in my etsy shop and I will continue to add until I've got them all in there.

Today, I am adding a really unique RCA Victor TV catalog. The pages are individually removable from the binder so I'm thinking this may have been a salesman's catalog. It's about an inch thick and has great photography...a pretty model in every picture. Be sure to check it out and if you know a collector of any to these items please let them in on the sale.

Anyone know a tip for getting the "old smell" out of paper?  I'm sure there must be something.