Satisfaction Guaranteed:
The Mail Order Catalogue in Canada

Exhibition Entrance

For generations of Canadians, the mail order catalogue was the most convenient way to meet their needs and aspirations as consumers. Today, our memory of the catalogue is bathed in nostalgia. If, however, we take a step back in time to the period between 1880 and 1960, it becomes clear that mail order was also a sophisticated business designed to satisfy large groups of customers.

Satisfaction Guaranteed is a travelling exhibition produced by the Canadian Postal Museum-Canadian Museum of Civilization, on the history of the mail order catalogue in Canada from the 1880s to the 1950s.

Drawers, containing catalogues, with mail-order timeline at eye-level.

The exhibition was presented at the Canadian Postal Museum-Canadian Museum of Civilization from June 2002 to October 2003. A scaled-down version of 117 m2 (1260 sq. ft.) will tour from September 2004 to January 2007, thanks to the generous financial support of Canada Post.

You will get a chance to see over 100 artifacts of all kinds, including 40 catalogues (Sears, Eaton's, Dupuis Frères), articles of clothing, toys, religious objects, musical instruments, and household appliances.

Satisfaction Guaranteed is one of many exhibitions offered to Canadian museums by the CMC Traveling Exhibitions Programme.
www.civilization.ca/cmc/ex_itin/exiteng.html

For further information, please contact:
Hélène Arsenault, Manager
Travelling Exhibitions Programme
Canadian Museum of Civilization
100 Laurier Street
P.O. Box 3100, Station B
Gatineau, Quebec J8X 4H2
Telephone: (819) 776-8242 Fax: (819) 776-8209
helene.arsenault@civilization.ca

Myriam Proulx, Coordinator
Travelling Exhibitions Programme
Canadian Museum of Civilization
100 Laurier Street
P.O. Box 3100, Station B
Gatineau, Quebec J8X 4H2
Telephone: (819) 776-8480 Fax: (819) 776-8209
myriam.proulx@civilization.ca