Museum - Trade Catalog Covers : Industrial Design and the Trades

Why trade catalog covers? The tool maker had to market the product to the buyer. What better way to catch the attention of the Hardware Dealer or Tradesman than by offering a catalog that said "My product is the latest, greatest, most up-to-date (plane, chisel, machine, etc.) on the market. Buy my product and you will be a better craftsman, sell more and gain prosperity!"

Trade catalog covers closely mirror the prevailing graphic and often architectural designs of the day. A well designed cover could tell the prospective buyer that the manufacturer was an up-standing pillar of the community (C. H. Smith Woodworking Machinery 1870: Restrained and classic design), right up there with the heights of fashion (Ford Bit Co. 1878, Eastlake Style), so famous that no hoopla is needed (C. Hammond, 1910: Basic Text), or part of the Moderne Movement (Luther Grinders, c1920: Arte Moderne design).

Let's face it, marketing has been around forever. What better way to attract attention than with a cover design that may have nothing what-so-ever to do with the contents?

1858

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1870

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1885

1910

1910

1912

1937

c1940

c1940

c1950

c1950