Rears and Robust Mail Order Catalogue.
Bellaire, OH: Rears and Robust, 1940. First edition. Hole punch with string. Quarto, np, illustrated with b/w drawings. Good: cover has large open tear, pages are brittle and soiled. Item #23226
From the 1900s through the 1970s, the Sears catalogue was ubiquitous throughout the US, Canada, Mexico, and many other countries throughout the world, often found in outhouses and bathrooms serving dual functions of reading material and toilet paper. This is a spoof catalogue in the style of Sears and Roebuck, with faux ads interspersed with pages of toilet-paper-quality paper. The catalogue's string was used to hang it in your outhouse, and so the user could use the book for entertainment, or for a source of toilet paper, or both! There's even a do-not-disturb doorknob hang tag and a cardboard toilet seat bound in. A rare survivor.
Price: $30.00