Friday, September 26, 2014

STILL IN CAMP...

I have a small collection of old catalogs, including several from Sears (late 1800s to 1920s) and one from Charles William Stores, a mail order company in New York; I have, too, a bunch of old magazines and newspapers, and I can find amazing details in all of them.
Last week, after posting the photograph of the Gould kids in their pup tent, I started wondering about tents a century ago...and here’s what I found in those old publications...

In the early 1900s, the choices were more varied than one might think: Miners’ Tents, Hudson Tents, Wedge Tents, Concession, Play and Lawn Tents, all made of “water-resisting duck” cloth, and all supported by an oftentimes bizarre combination of “wood pole, metal frame and line.”
          There were tents in stripes and/or solids; tents with “a handsome scalloped curtain all around at the top of the walls,” tents with the walls themselves “arranged so that each can be rolled up separately, or used as an awning.”
          “Never,” one ad exclaims, “roll or fold tenting while damp or rainy for fear of mold or decay!”

By 1929, the choices in the Sears catalog were nearly out of hand.
“We Offer the Greatest Tent Values in America” screams the banner headline on a two-page spread.
          Honor Bilt Umbrella Tents, in beautiful olive green color, shed water like a duck’s back. 9x11 feet for $39.95.
The Highway King was Forest Green; it had a height of 6’2” at eaves, 8 feet at center pole. It also had a waterproof duck floor sewed into the bottom of the tent. $23.95.
There were ventilated tents, white duck tents, play tents; bug-proof tents equipped with marquisette curtains to keep out mosquitoes; small, medium and large tents with collapsible steel center poles and stakes, awning poles; tents with eight guy ropes and rustproof tent pegs.

 But the best of all were the “Tourists’ Tents,” popular for “week-end trips” in the family automobile. These were 7x9-foot tents with two windows and sewed-in front curtains; additional front awnings could be drawn over the top of the car (see photo) to help support the tent and, one presumes, allow for extra space in the seats of the car. $15.95.

I look at that arrangement and shudder.
All things considered, I think I’d rather stay at a Motel 6, thank you.

20 comments:

  1. Oh, and look -- you could buy a tent without the poles and save yourself the 15 or 25 cents. What a deal!

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    1. Yes; that's when you had your children stand in the four corners and hold the thing up...

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  2. How wonderful to have those old catalogs! And you're right. You can learn a lot from old catalogs - especially about how prices have escalated! I have a few catalogs from various places, but they don't go back quite as far as yours do. Still, they're fun to thumb through once in a while. Not sure about that tent encompassing the car? I think I'd rather have an RV.

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    1. I suppose it was the ultimate in 1929; I'm with you, though -- an RV or something! I wonder how long it would take to set it up?

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  3. I think I would enjoy the tourist tent which went over the car - but not sure if we would enjoy assembling it. I'd love to hear some first hand accounts of people using any of these tents

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    1. The setting up must have been frustrating -- and what about a stiff wind? Yikes, that front flap would have billowed above the car!

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  4. I have a reproduction of a 1902 Sears Catalog and just checked it. there are "A" wedge tents, miner's tents, refreshment tents, photographers tents, wall tents, and family compartment tents.

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    1. "...compartment" tents? With separate rooms? That's pretty progressive for 1902, I'd think. Neat!

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  5. Oh yes, I'll take the new and improved with a garage too! Great price even.

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    1. Well, considering that you probably earned less than $25/week, it's comparable to today's ratio...love the "garage" comment!

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  6. Hotel for me, thank you very much, but I loved reading about all the styles of tent available. How lovely to have the sears catalogues.

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    1. Those catalogs are worth their weight in gold, believe me! Use them all the time while writing (what did a coffee grinder look like in 1910, anyway?, etc.) and couldn't do without.

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  7. I think I'll join you in the motel. Much more comfortable !!!

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    1. Yup, warmer, drier, cleaner...when did motels start? That might have been the next step...

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  8. On my one and only camping trip everything got wet. We had to re-erect the tent on our back lawn for too days to dry it out. I have never had an intention to camp since.

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    1. I used to do a lot of it, Bob; spent some time hiking the Appalachian Trail when I was younger, but that was different. But now that I'm older, I'm done!

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  9. Ugh! The smell of mouldy and decaying tent-canvas! What a lovely thought :) Very interesting adverts.

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    1. Oh, I agree! And those duck cloth ones just held all that stuff; the nylon ones we have today are so much better! Even so, my tenting days are definitely over!

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  10. I got a kick out of seeing these vintage tents. When I tent camped, (out of my trunk of my car,) where picnic tables were provided as well as a platform for the tents, we often were glad to have posts and trees from which to sling a tarp of waterproof plastic-cloth...in the 70s and 80s, which provided a dry place to cook and eat. US National Forest and Park Services, as well as state parks.

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    1. Tent platforms were very handy; I remember using them whenever possible to keep out of the damp, but I needed a thin strip of foam between me and that platform! Adirondack shelters were good, too, and there are still a lot of them in state parks.

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