This post is for Stream of Consciousness Saturday which is hosted by Lindaghill. This is a weekly blogging event and everyone is welcome to join. You can join and meet a nice group of writers. The prompt for today is “is.” Check out Linda’s blog and you can read all the rules.
Isn’t it funny how some things we do now people have done almost the same way in the past? It is like what was old is new again. Or a new twist on an old thing. I am talking about ordering merchandise through the mail. In olden days, when people lived out West, or in a remote or rural area, there were not any large stores nearby where they could buy the latest fashions or other items. So they relied on ordering things by mail through catalogues.
People would get excited when the train or coach arrived because it might be carrying an anticipated purchase from a store in Chicago or back East. I get the same excited feeling nowadays when I have ordered books, DVDs or clothes online. It is fun to get the message in my email that my order has shipped and I can track it. The date of delivery stays in the back of my mind until…I realize the day has arrived. I might check a few times outside my front door to see if it’s there. Or I may be surprised when I see the package sitting by my door on a day I did not expect it. It is fun to open the box or large shipping envelope and finally get to see what I bought.
1780s House Front Door via wikipedia
Not so different from what people in other times felt about receiving their order in the mail.
The Wells Fargo Wagon from Music Man via Vegas 1A on You Tube:
The first to offer merchandise by catalogue in the United States was Aaron Montgomery Ward in 1872.
The Declaration of Independence July 4, 1776 by Asher Brown Durand
Notes Tied On The Sagebrush 
I remember waiting for packages in the days before tracking codes. Recently, we’ve had some fun tracking packages that have gone on adventures in between the vendor and our front porch. Great memories Deborah, have a happy 4th.
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Thanks Dan. Luckily I have not had a problem with my packages getting waylaid on route, well except once. Yes before tracking you just would have to estimate the time it took for the postal service to deliver and depending on how far the package was traveling. Happy 4th!
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I remember spending hours looking through Montgomery Wards’ catalogs as a child. My mom had marked the things she wanted, like window shopping.
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Yes there is something special about looking through a catalogue. And there were so many categories of items besides clothing. There still are catalogues today but I am pretty sure online shopping has taken over a lot of it.
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Interesting point, how the old days of ordering packages has returned. The reasons are different, but kind of the same too. I order online, because it offers much more variety than my local stores usually offer.
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Yes I think it is still the variety and availability. At first, I resisted online shopping. Then I realized that it is a really convenient way to shop especially for wedding gifts. And the retailers have gotten very smart with having the couples register all their wanted items so we can look through their list and pick the right gift and then ship it right to them. More selection when it comes to books and DVDs too.
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Ha! You’re right! I hadn’t thought of the Sears catalog days and the “Yippee my stuff from Amazon is here!” I loved the Sears Christmas catalog…
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Yes, there’s something special about browsing through a catalogue in physical form. Pretty smart idea to have catalogue because you can peruse stuff at your leisure and be tempted to buy more stuff than you usually would. I don’t like shopping in any kind of store. Maybe it is seeing all this merchandise all around. Kind of overwhelming. With a catalogue book you can look and put in down and go back later. The Christmas catalogues are always appealing 🙂
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I remember the orders made by catalogs Deborah, they were exciting like our online orders today 😀
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Fun to have something to look forward to in the mail 🙂
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