Merry Shopping: Inside the 1962 Sears Christmas Catalog

During this holiday season, Telstar Logistics is proud to offer our readers a soothing counterpoint to the relentless commercialism of Christmas present... by taking you on an illustrated tour of the relentless commercialism of Christmas past.

Inspired by the fact that several friends of this Internet weblog recently forwarded us the same excerpts from a 1977 JC Penny catalog, Telstar Logistics reached into our vast corporate archive and emerged clutching a pristine copy of the 1962 Sears Christmas Book.

As you browse the Sears catalog, keep in mind that, according to the Inflation Calculator, $1 in 1962 was equivalent to $6.51 in 2006 dollars.  Conversely, $1 in 2006 was equivalent to $0.15 in 1962.

Obviously, this catalog offers a treasure trove of insight into the tastes and domestic habits of a typical American family living 45 years ago, so we've reproduced a broad cross-section of the book which shows everything from childrens' wear and phonograph equipment to power tools and ski gear.  Holiday gifts for everyone on your list, from budding young scientists to Bible-thumping fundamentalists! A few of the greatest hits are shown here, but you'll find more than 160 pages of consumerist archaeology at our 1962 Sears Catalog photoset.

Merry shopping!

LINKS:
1962 Sears Christmas Book (Flickr photoset by Telstar Logistics)

Wishbookweb.com (Enthusiast website with complete scans of historic department store catalogs)

PREVIOUSLY:
"Flight thru Instruments" and the Fine Art of Instructional Illustration
 

 

Comments

[gregor]

Operation Moonbase by Marx! I got one for Christmas when I was a kid (I'm 54!). Also had the Remco Nautilus Nuclear Submarine and the Marx Mystery Spaceship, which had a huge, crank operated gyroscope inside. When it was going full steam, it was almost impossible to move it from the position it was in. I miss that stuff.

[Melissa Maples]

Awesome. What a great flashback.

[(L)SD]

I have a 1967 Sears Christmas. Unfortunataly lots of the toy pages are printed on B&W-ish, thin newsprint type paper, hard to scan without damaging the spine.
(L)SD
Dallas, Tx

[Stacey]

I loved this post, I get a kick out of anything retro. Thanks for sharing!

[Stacey]

I loved this post, I get a kick out of anything retro. Thanks for sharing!

[DesiluTrek]

How wonderful to find this on Flickr -- thanks a lor for posting. The '62 Sears Christmas catalog has double meaning for me -- my father worked at a Sears store repairing electronics (TVs and more) from '58-87, and I was born just as that '62 holiday season was beginning.

[Poonam Kulkarni]

I have a copy of the 1962 Christmas edition and I cherish going through every page of it. As a child, I spent hours and hours going through those wonderful pages. The catalog lost its first 2 pages as it got old, but I have kept it safely now, have no intentions of giving it away in scrap...
Was happy to see those pages scanned online on this site... Great posting...

[Scott Anderson]

any chance you have scans of the guitar pages from this catalog? I would really like to have a copy of those pages!

Thanks

[Zalmoxis]

Thank you for your post. I prefer Amazon for shopping. Buying the christmas gifts is always a hard work.

[Tax Guy Don]

What great memories that brings. Now the Grandkids want xbox and guitar hero. When I was a kid I only wanted model planes.

[joseph messina]

it is way to hard to find how to get a catalog sent to me . my address is joseph messina 2402 sullivant ave columbus oh 43204 thak you .

[taylor]

if you are shopping for a nine year old a 4 year old and a 7 year old what girts would you choose