[Alandriel (OP)]

Can you imagine our modern world without catalogues?

Nope - me neither
especially not around X-mas time when any trip to any shop can become a battle ground


Who came up with the idea, how and when?

I want to send them a 'THANK YOU' letter for X-mas  []

[eric l]

Found this :  (in http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blshopping.htm)

Mail Order Catalog
Aaron Montgomery Ward sent out his first mail order catalog in 1872 - for his Montgomery Ward mail order business located at Clark and Kinzie Streets in Chicago. The first catalog consisted of a single sheet of paper with a price list, 8 by 12 inches, showing the merchandise for sale with ordering instructions.

"Ward's gradually expanded the catalog. They became bigger, more heavily illustrated, chock full of goods-- often referred to as "dream books" by rural families."
Aaron Montgomery Ward was born on Feb. 17, 1844 and died on Dec. 7, 1913. He first worked for Marshall Field, a department store, as both a store clerk and a traveling salesman. As a traveling salesman, he realized that his rural customers could be better served by mail-order, a revolutionary idea. He started his business with only $2,400 in capital. Montgomery Ward was a mail-order only business until 1926, when the first Montgomery Ward retail store opened in Plymouth, Indiana.
1872 Montgomery Ward-First Mail-Order House
Catalog Image :  http://www.chipublib.org/images/timeline/wardwatchesm.JPG

In Germany, the first catalogue appears to be dated 1888, In France, Begium or the Netherlands, things start even later.
But trading by lists of goods from which only small samples were available was current on the famous fairs in the late Middle Ages (say 13th and 14th century) because the cities where the fairs took place charged way too much for storage.

[Alandriel (OP)]

Thanks Eric, for being able to pull a name out of the hat for me there.

One finds all sorts of things

Montgomery Ward and Company of Chicago, at one time the largest mail order firm in the US, for half a century distributed water pumping windmills.  Today these windmills still may be seen scattered across rural America, a testimony to the success of the Wards commercial efforts at selling mills to farmers and ranchers.

clickety

WHELAN TAKES OVER BIG MAIL ORDER CO.; Montgomery Ward & Co. of Chicago to be Part of World Chain Store System. $100,000,000

clickety

Seems that catalogue idea paid for a happy retirement []

trading by lists of goods from which only small samples were available was current on the famous fairs in the late Middle Ages (say 13th and 14th century) because the cities where the fairs took place charged way too much for storage.

Interesting - thanks!  [] I never considered that

[another_someone]

Could one not consider the tradition of arranged marriages to be a form of catalogue shopping.  Looking at Henry VIII's marriage to Anne of Cleves:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_of_Cleves#Wedding_preparations

The artist Hans Holbein the Younger was dispatched to paint portraits of Anne and a selection of other women Henry was considering for the role of his fourth wife. While it was usual for court painters to be flattering in their portrayal of important people, the only truly important person here was the king: Henry hired the artist to be as accurate as possible, not to flatter these sitters. Holbein was a superb portraiture artist and there's every reason to believe his attractive portrayal of Anne was true, since Holbein remained at court and continued to win royal commissions. The portrait is currently displayed in The Louvre in Paris.

The marriage only lasted 6 months, and Henry later referred to Anne as the "mare of Flanders".

[Alandriel (OP)]

Could one not consider the tradition of arranged marriages to be a form of catalogue shopping.  Looking at Henry VIII's marriage to Anne of Cleves

Super notion that   [] [] - but yes, indeed, why not.

Minature paintings were a great way for fathers and mothers to advertise their daughters a bit further afield to vie for fortunate allicances as travel was not always advisable or possible. The Wallace Collection down the road from where I live has a lovely collection of many, dating mostly though from the 16-17th century - and it's rather hillarious when one compares them to other portraits of the same person.

One could say 'Impressionist' paintings of sorts started way earlier than Monet  [] []

If you want to see portraits of Anne by different painters: check out National Portrait Gallery - by sitter

[shellyagal]

I am a regular online frugal shopper and mostly use cash back portals like Bing, ShopAtHome, AAfter Search and Ebates.