Trade Catalogs and the American Home explores domestic consumerism, life and leisure in America between 1850-1950. This resource presents highly illustrated primary source documents that highlight commercial tastes and consumer trends, and provide a valuable visual record.
The Trade Literature Collection—the catalogs and publications that were once part of the merchandising of business—is internationally known as an important source for the history of business, technology, marketing, consumption, and design. The majority of the Trade Literature Collection has not yet been digitized.
The Building Technology Heritage Library (BTHL) is primarily a collection of American and Canadian, pre-1964 architectural trade catalogs, house plan books and technical building guides.
