Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly From Tiffany’s to Donkeys: Catalogues Rise Again
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Feb 14, 2026 A lively look at how printed catalogues reshaped commerce, from Tiffany’s luxury Blue Book to Eaton’s nation-building mail order. Stories include Sears’ Wish Book, Canadian Tire’s cultural loyalty and an emotional Bike Story commercial. There’s also the J. Peterman catalogue’s cinematic prose and an odd link between a catalogue and a historic rifle order.
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Oswald Bought A Rifle From A Catalog
- Terry O'Reilly recounts Lee Harvey Oswald ordering a cheap mail-order rifle under the name A. Hiddle.
- The rifle cost $12.88 and was chosen because it was the cheapest in Klein's catalog.
Catalogs As Pre-Digital Amazon
- Printed catalogs let retailers reach towns where they had no stores.
- They acted like the 19th-century equivalent of Amazon for rural consumers.
Tiffany's Blue Book Origin Story
- Terry traces Tiffany's Blue Book back to 1845 as North America's first luxury catalog.
- Tiffany's blue became a trademarked brand symbol still used today.
