PRODUCTS FOR THE HOME Manufacturers’ Catalogs 1900s - 1950s
PRODUCTS FOR THE HOME Manufacturers’ Catalogs 1900s - 1950s This listing contains a wide variety of pamphlets, brochures and catalogs devoted to products for the American home—products manufactured to promote comfort or convenience, often enhanced (so it is claimed) by aesthetic pleasure derived from innovative color or design. These “home product” advertising publications date primarily from the first half of the 20th century, and their relevance to the home is at times complicated by goods manufactured by firms seeking domestic as well as commercial outlets for their product .Then there are the curiosities, of which there appear to be no shortage: for example the “Secret Door Openers” (promoted in item 53871.) Some of the products included in the list, glowingly described by their manufacturers, were subsequently found to be health hazards (for instance, propane gas refrigerators, asbestos floor tiles, wood products enhanced by “toxic preservation” etc.). For those interested in oddities or historic exemplars associated with products for the home, or in the projection of the “new” or “modern” advanced by manufacturers in their focused appeals to female “home-makers,” the catalogs and brochures listed should prove interesting and enlightening.
