Trade catalogs prior to the 1800s

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Trade catalogs, originating in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century primarily in Europe, are printed pages that advertised products and ideas through words and illustrations, or both.[1]

These contained several types of items, ranging anywhere from decor, ironwork,[2] furniture, and kitchenware.[3] If a trade catalog included illustrations, the items were commonly engraved or hand-drawn, then replicated.

Drawing of a brick wall with iron gates, from a trade catalog, 1790.

Catalogs spread through trade, by travelers or traveling merchants. They consisted of lists of items from different places, with local catalogs advertising services. Because several communities had small forms of trade and commerce, it cannot be concluded where the first trade catalog originated. However, trade catalogs showcasing furniture designs certainly became popular in the mid-1700s, headed by designer Thomas Chippendale.[4]

Printing press[edit]

Trade catalogs and pattern books can only be discussed by addressing the medium that propelled their creation: the printing press. Although the exact origin is unknown, historians account that the oldest known version was invented in China around 1000 A.D. Then in 1297 the technique was altered in China, leading to the mass production of books, and only 150 years later came the Gutenberg printing press in 1440 in Germany. With Gutenberg's reinvention of the printing press, printing spread throughout Europe, allowing the efficient production of books, pamphlets, and other typed works.[5]

History[edit]

As for the function of trade catalogs, Symonds argues that there had to be trust between the customer and the catalog. Customers had to recognize that how the items were described or illustrated was how they would receive them. Additionally, products in the catalogs could have the possibility to be or not to be sold, indicating that illustrations shown may never have physically existed.[3]

England[edit]

England's first true trade catalogs that were not a culmination of designs or ideas was for metalware, which appeared in the 1760s. Catalogs typically did not have a name or company attached to them, which was a tactic to keep the sources of the products concealed from the competition. Because there was a limited number of catalogs produced and passed through many consumers, many of the covers that kept these books bound did not remain intact. The illustrations in the catalogs were rarely colored, and many were reused.[4]

With the rise of the rococo style in England, many more engravings were made that explored and depicted complex decor and patterns in catalogs. However, these designs were not copies of illustrations shown in print but rather original ideas influenced by the catalog depictions.[4]

Thomas Chippendale (1718-1779) was a craftsman from England. In 1754, he released Gentleman and Cabinet Maker’s Director, considered the earliest comprehensive collection of ideas in a catalog. Chippendale designed furniture in many styles, including French rococo, Gothic, Chinese, English, or Queen Anne’s style.[6]

Josiah Wedgwood (1730-1795) was an English potter who also engaged in and popularized the spread of trade catalogs, with his first catalog, Queen’s Ware, being published in 1774.[1] Wedgwood would target upper-class customers with his products, believing that selling to those with wealth would influence those of the middle class also to buy his ceramics.[4]

Thomas Sheraton (1751-1806) was also a key figure in the popularity and competitiveness of designs in trade catalogs. Publishing his first book in 1791, The Cabinet-maker and Upholster’s Drawing Book, the furniture designer is considered one of the movement's leaders toward the mainstream design spread.

Scotland[edit]

The widespread use of trade catalogs in Scotland came from the newly popular Chippendale in the mid-1700s. The spread is accredited to a wealthy businessman named James Rannie, who was responsible for many Scotsmen subscribed to Chippendale’s Director. However, many of those subscribers were not wealthy, notable figures but people employed in agriculture.[7]

United States[edit]

Printing did not reach North America until 1639, beginning in the United States. However, these early presses were hard to come by, making catalogs even harder to obtain.[8] Additionally, furniture and decor largely came from England, through trade catalogs from figures such as Chippendale or Sheraton.[9] Due to the war between the colonies and Britain, trade ceased, decreasing trade catalogs from overseas, and hence colonial-style furniture sprouted.[3]

Documented Catalogs[edit]

Some collections of trade catalogs are available to look at on Winterthur Library Digital Collections. Here are a few that are listed prior to the 1800s.

Page of designs from a candelabra and escutcheon catalog, 1790
Page of designs from a composition ornament catalog, 1785
Page of designs from a door knob and escutcheon catalog, 1780
Page of design from William Gomm & Son & Co.'s furniture and ornament details catalog, 1761
Page of designs from a furniture hardware catalog, containing escutcheons, hinges, bells, drawer pulls, and handles, 1780
Page of designs from a Georgian design catalog, 1780

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Baeck, Mario. “Tiled Interiors on Paper: Trade Catalogues as a Key Source to Understand the Use of Floor and Wall Tiles in European Interiors: Acta Academiae Artium Vilnensis.” Acta Academiae Artium Vilnensis, no. 104 (2021): 18–49.
  2. ^ “Early Trade Catalogs.” Winterthur Library Digital Collections. CONTENTdm. Accessed February 6, 2023. http://contentdm.winterthur.org/digital/collection/TradeCats/search.
  3. ^ a b c Symonds, James. Table Settings: The Material Culture and Social Context of Dining, AD 1700-1900. Havertown: Oxbow Books, Limited, 2010. Accessed February 7, 2023. ProQuest Ebook Central.
  4. ^ a b c d Snodin, Michael., and John. Styles. Design & the Decorative Arts : Britain, 1500-1900 / Michael Snodin and John Styles. London: V&A, 2001.
  5. ^ “Printing Press.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, October 10, 2019. https://www.history.com/topics/inventions/printing-press#section_2.
  6. ^ Dudley, Tara A. “Middle Georgian, 1745-1770,” 7 April 2022.
  7. ^ Jones, David. “Common or Genteel? Relationships Between Vernacular and Pattern Book Furniture in Eighteenth-Century Scotland.” Vernacular architecture 39, no. 1 (2008): 19–26.
  8. ^ Romaine, Lawrence B. A Guide to American Trade Catalogs, 1744-1900. New York: R.R. Bowker, 1960.
  9. ^ Dudley, Tara A. “American Georgian, 1720-1780s,” 12 April 2022.
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