
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, October 15, 1995                   TAG: 9510180007
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: F-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

CATALOG TRIVIA

nThe average American household received 1.7 catalogs per week in 1993. Among active mail-order buyers, some households may receive more than three times that number.

nMore than 98.5 million American adults (52.5 percent of the adult population) shopped at home by phone or mail in 1994.

nThere are nearly 10,000 specialty catalogs.

nThe first trade catalogs were issued by printer-publishers of the 15th century, soon after the invention of movable type. The oldest catalog was circulated by Aldus Manutius of Venice in 1498 and offered 15 books by Greek and Latin authors.

In 1744, Benjamin Franklin published the first American catalog, which offered 600 academic books. The modern era of catalog shopping began in 1872 when Aaron Montgomery Ward produced his first catalog of 163 items, most priced at $1. By 1884, the catalog was 240 pages long and contained thousands of items.

Source: Direct Marketing Association|

by CNB