WASHINGTON, Aug. 19, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:
FIRST CATALOG
Profile America — Friday, August 19th. Even in this Internet world, many of us still receive printed catalogs through the mail. The first such catalog — more of a flyer — was sent out by Montgomery Ward this week in 1872. That first catalog consisted of only one page, featuring 163 items for mail order purchase. By 1904, the Ward's catalog weighed in at four pounds. Montgomery Ward ceased producing its catalog in 1985, and the company itself eventually failed in the largest retail bankruptcy liquidation in American history to that time. But the home shopping business is still thriving. There are over 32,000 electronic shopping and mail order houses, and each year they sell over $323 billion worth of goods. Profile America is in its 20th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.
Sources: Kane's Famous First Facts, 2494
Montgomery Wards/accessed 6/1/2016: http://encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/2895.html
1904 catalog/accessed 6/1/2016: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2003-04-27/features/0304270321_1_montgomery-ward-seated-catalog
Liquidation/accessed 6/1/2016: http://www.encyclopediadubuque.org/index.php?title=MONTGOMERY_WARD
Electronic shopping and mail order establishments/NAICS 45411:
http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/BP/2014/00A1//naics~45411
Electronic shopping and mail order revenues/NAICS 45411:
http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ECN/2012_US/00A1//naics~45411
Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotion of the U.S. Census Bureau. Statistics and accounts drawn from cited non-Census sources are employed for illustrative or narrative purposes, and are not attested to by the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Audio" in the "Library" pull-down menu).
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SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau
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