Mail Order Catalogues

This page shows some pages from mail order catalogues. A mail order catalogue is a published book or pamphlet containing a list or products for sale either by post or from a general store. They were very common in the 19th and early 20th centuries when shops did not sell as wide a range of products as they do today. They were very popular in countries such as America, Canada and Australia and throughout the British Empire where people wanted to buy the latest fashions and gadgets from Europe. Mail order catalogues were the Amazon.com and eBay of the past. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mail_order_catalogue

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簪仔匙

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This is an example of a symmetrical, spoon-shaped hairpin like the ones seen in the catalogue page on the left.

中心花

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A flower hairpin (above) that is similar to number 3 in the catalogue page on the right and a geometrical design  like number 6 (below). 

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金花

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A "golden flower" crescent moon-shaped hairpin like numbers 2, 4 and 5 on the right.

簪仔

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A hairpin ending in a hand holding a flower like numbers 2 and 3 (right). This hairpin originally had a round glass bead that is now missing. The one below is almost identical to number 1.
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金銀細工圖錄

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感謝數年前一位不知名的網友，影印此金銀細工圖錄供本館典藏研究。