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History and Delawareana in Special Collections

About the collection

The trade catalog collection complements the Special Collections Department's traditional strengths in the history of horticulture, science and technology, printing and publishing, and the book arts. Companies selling printing supplies, agricultural implements and nursery stock, type founders, publishing companies, and booksellers are particularly well-represented as are the catalogs of Delaware businesses.

Featured manuscript collection

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MSS 563 Dyeing Catalog Collection

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Finding Trade Catalogs

The University of Delaware Library Special Collections houses an extensive collection of trade catalogs and advertising ephemera produced in the United States from the middle of the eighteenth century until the present day.

Searching

Trade catalogs are cataloged in DELCAT by the name of the company.  In the Advanced Search option, search a company's name in the Title Keywords field, selecting "words adjacent."

Browsing

Browsing trade catalog holdings will yield all items in DELCAT. From the Browse option on DELCAT's Basic Search menu, scroll to find "Other Call Number Begins with" and type "Trade Catalog" in the search box.

Then click on "Trade Catalog" to browse holdings.

Trade Catalogs