Happy Image: 1920's, Happy Garden, Happy Family

Comforting, optimistic, happy, secure, in control, - the artist got it right in this ad.   

Download the PDF at https://archive.org/details/bolgianosseeds19jbol

The inside of the catalog is visually dreadful with b&w photos which make the plants look embalmed now that the paper has yellowed.  Nasty, nasty images.  

I have placed the full sized image below if you want a snappy desktop image.

Eccentricity; Hairy Vegetables; Gardenrollerphilia

This is, for me, the perfect catalog.  Full of heavy iron things, gears, and seeds, from 1853.  

Life is good.

I love old garden tools, strange geary things and eccentric catalogs.  This one has it all.  

The oddest thing is the following plate.  I have absolutely no idea what they are talking about!!  I skimmed the catalog and noticed no reference to it.  Plus I would have thought the label to be reversed.  And why are country vegies all puny and root hairy??  Are all the plump first rate vegetable sent to the city is it saying?  

(Note the lobed country tomato, and the globular city one.)

The Whitman Catalog is a joy to peruse.

Here is another unusual feature - blunt truth in advertising...see plate caption!

Their seed descriptions are a good read as well.  This is the first catalog I have seen that clues you in how to cook the vegetable.  

If you read any of my tomato posts you might be interested to note that in 1853 the tomato offerings are still very generic here, and the company felt the need to explain they are considered wholesome.

If you aren't yet convinced this is a wonderful read, here is the crowning argument for the catalog...a garden roller with fancy iron work :-) 

 I keep finding garden rollers to share.  It has become an unexpected recurring theme!

 (Why do I so like garden rollers?)

Whitman Catalog
Enjoy!