When Mickey Wore Gloves

By Model Cheryl Tiegs.

As unforgiving as this year's outlook is, the prospect of a prosperous selling season was even dimmer 49 years ago, when Sears, Roebuck & Co. published its first Christmas catalogue. In that Depression year, unemployment was almost 25%, and the Sears "wish" book carried the blue eagle of the National Recovery Administration on its cover. The dollar as we know it today was worth $7.58.

The catalogue, 88 pages mostly in grim black and white, in contrast to this Christmas' 648 pages nearly all in color, was reprinted by Sears as a promotion. Then, as now, concern about prices seemed paramount. The catalogue promised nifty bargains to customers who made a $7.50 purchase--for example, a 26-piece silver-plate tableware set for $4.99. A number of other items look no less alluring. You needed garters to hold them up, but silk stockings were 78-c-. In pre-diet conscious America, there were 2-lb. fruitcakes selling for 49-c-, and 4 Ibs. of mixed nuts cost 79-c-. A man's cotton-broadcloth shirt sold for $1.69, and a wool sweater for $1.95. For women, black leather oxfords cost $1.98, and a one-quarter carat diamond set in 18-karat white gold was priced at $54.50.

But were goods really cheaper? In 1933 the average annual household income was $32 a week; in 1981 it was $497 a week. So while the latest-model Kenmore upright vacuum cleaner costs $99.95 now, compared with $17.45 then, it can be paid for with a day's work, pretax, whereas the 1933 Kenmore cost nearly three days' salary. The 1982 vacuum cleans better too. Some items even have lower price tags today. Sears does not sell a twelve-tube Superheterodyne console radio any longer, but at $52.95 it could hardly be a match for this year's $39.95 portable AM-FM that also carries the audio portion of TV channels. Still, the misty veil of nostalgia only enhances the appeal of a Lionel electric train set ($12.79), all-steel coaster wagon ($1.98), 26-piece doll-house ($1.98) or 15-in. mohair Teddy bear ($1.79).

Celebrity endorsements were just as popular then. Big Bill Tilden's name appeared on a junior tennis racket ($3.19), and Pitcher Dazzy Vance's signature was stamped on the horsehide cover of baseballs (59-c-). More enduring is the Mickey Mouse watch ($2.29), though now Mickey tells time with electronic digits ($16.99) instead of white-gloved hands and must compete with Star Wars models. Another big name in the 1933 catalogue was that of Bird Expert H. Fogg, who had just taken charge of Sears' bird and pet departments and endorsed a line of canaries (up to $6.95); these are no longer for sale. Possibly the nearest equivalent in the current edition is the assortment of women's clothing promoted by Model Cheryl Tiegs.

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