My father - here about to turn 75 - browses the tool and garden section of a Montgomery Ward sales catalog in the living room of our Larkspur, California home. We were regular Wards customers, for both in-store purchases and catalog orders. Several editions of their complete catalog were always to be seen on bottom shelf of the pink enamel cart in the Salmon Kitchen™, conveniently located for my mother's perusal. She was of the generation that still occasionally referred to it as a "wish book," although that term most often meant the Sears catalog. Non-union Sears, however, was off-limits to us as Father, a member of the Retail Clerks International Union, was loath to be seen entering one of their stores. In the background, my record collection. Some sharp-eyed Shorpy detectives might be able to identify the chap pictured on the one on the middle shelf, but extra points for pinpointing the album. Note, though, that there's something of a forensic complication. Kodachrome slide, shot with bounce flash.
My father - here about to turn 75 - browses the tool and garden section of a Montgomery Ward sales catalog in the living room of our Larkspur, California home. We were regular Wards customers, for both in-store purchases and catalog orders. Several editions of their complete catalog were always to be seen on bottom shelf of the pink enamel cart in the Salmon Kitchen™, conveniently located for my mother's perusal. She was of the generation that still occasionally referred to it as a "wish book," although that term most often meant the Sears catalog. Non-union Sears, however, was off-limits to us as Father, a member of the Retail Clerks International Union, was loath to be seen entering one of their stores. In the background, my record collection. Some sharp-eyed Shorpy detectives might be able to identify the chap pictured on the one on the middle shelf, but extra points for pinpointing the album. Note, though, that there's something of a forensic complication. Kodachrome slide, shot with bounce flash. | Click image for Comments. | Home | Browse All Photos