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April, 2020 The Antique Shoppe Page 33
Paging through a vintage seed catalog is like. . .well, chatting over a garden
“SMACK DAB IN THE MIDDLE” fence. Seed companies specialized in a folksy neighborliness that kept the
customers coming back for more. It was an all-in-the-family operation, and
Design Trends of the Mid-20th Century various Gurneys, Burpees, and Mays dot the pages, offering planting tips,
and posing with oversize garden bounty (“Here’s Jill Gurney, Sid’s youngest,
enjoying a ripe, delicious Gurney plum”). The writing style was conversational,
By Donald-Brian Johnson and determinedly one-on-one. A few samplings, courtesy of Earl May, 1950:
“You’re missing some mighty fine eating unless you have some clumps of
This Month’s Feature—How Does Your Garden Grow? Rhubarb on your place.”
“Flower friends, I have made up a collection of annual flowers which I know
VINTAGE SEED CATALOGS will bring you a world of beautiful blooms.: ‘Mrs. May’s Garden Gay’!”
“Boys! Girls! Sell seeds! Earn cash! Win valuable prizes! Special grand
prize: this fine Pony, black and white, gentle and well-mannered! Hurry!
Hurry! Send for your seed collections right away!”
And, since friendship is a two-way street, the customers wrote back:
“Dear Gurney’s: this is my daughter feeding the little orphan pig we raised
on a bottle. We are users of your seed, and always have a good word to say for
your company.”
“Dear Mr. Gurney: I am sending a picture of my son, who is in the Marine
Corps. He is now on duty in the South Pacific. The flower bed where he is
standing is all petunias. It sure was beautiful, and of
course the seed came from you.”
For their largely rural customer base, seed
catalogs offered the advantage of one-stop
shopping. In addition to the expected, the 1946
Gurney’s catalog included liquid hog medicine, live
chicks, high wheel cultivators, four-leaf clovers (“a
“She’s waving her scallions at Hitler’s battalions— real good luck omen for your Victory Garden”),
She’s up to her heart in victory!” and solicitations from the Gurney Fur Department
(“your best market for Furs, Rabbit Skins,
Chances are, the scallions celebrated in that and Pelts.”)
World War II ditty first caught Considering their age and
the eye of their gung-ho Victory constant perusal, many older
Gardener courtesy of a colorful catalogs remain in surprisingly
seed catalog. From the mid-1800s good condition, and can be found
onward, many a wintry day passed affordably online, or at paper shows,
faster as mailboxes welcomed in the $20-30 range. Those looking
the latest seasonal offerings from for something frame-able or
Gurney’s, montage-able may opt for vintage
Earl May, Burpee’s, and other seed packets, which average $1-2
gardening industry “names”. Seed each. Some entrepreneurs have
companies were in the business of even done all the work for you,
selling attainable dreams. The dawn printing seed packet images on
of inexpensive mass printing allowed wallpaper borders, tote bags, and
them to present those dreams as T-shirts.
enticingly as possible. Maybe your only experience
Just look at those “Giant Mastodon” with a garden is walking through
strawberries cascading down the cover one. Maybe, like me, you “can’t
of 1950’s Earl May catalog. Nearly grow dirt”. But, with seed
70 years later, they’re as ripe and catalog in hand, you too can be a
luscious as ever, holding the promise dreamer. Columbine. . lythrum.
of strawberry-shortcakes-yet-to- . .canterbury bells. . .blue mist,
come. Would yours look the same? Well, bleeding heart, and bachelor’s
of course they would! As Earl May button. Which will it be?
SHOWN TOP
promised, “you can’t go wrong planting TO BOTTOM: Oh, why not try them all? It’s
a Mastodon”. (Or a “Superfection”. Or • Ready for the planting: spring, and hope blooms eternal.
“Red Rich—The Wonder Berry”). vintage seed packets from In the words of Geo. W. Gurney,
Seed catalog copywriters and R.H. Shumway Seedsman, Rockford, IL (circa 1956), “Happy Gardening
art directors aimed for descriptions •“It is a fine thing to sweeten Quality and To You!”
and illustrations guaranteed to Honest Value with Friendly Service”.
Earl May catalog cover, 1948.
thrill. Chrysanthemums weren’t • OK, what next? A bemused beginning In memory of Charles M.
just chrysanthemums—At Gurney’s, gardener graces the cover of Better Homes & Johnson, Sr. (1926-2009), a very
they were “Brilliant Blaz-O-Mum Gardens, June, 1940. practical, loving gardener (and
Bargains”. A simple red petunia was • Eat your veggies: Burpee’s “Kitchen Garden Collection”, 1943. Dad)
reborn as “Fire Dance: strikingly • A face you can trust: Geo. W. Gurney, 1956.
beautiful, rich scarlet–red, with • Years of abundant yields for the price you would pay for a bushel or two of fruit”. Grapes, Photo Associate: Hank Kuhlmann.
a bold flashlight throat of golden promoted by Earl May, 1950. Donald-Brian Johnson is the co-author of
numerous books on design and collectibles,
yellow!” (“Large packet only 50 cents • Sure, yours will look like that: columbines, courtesy of Earl May, 1950. including “Postwar Pop”, a collection of his
postpaid!”). columns. Please address inquiries (or
gardening tips) to: donaldbrian@msn.com