By Isla Quinn
Thick paper. Soft corners. Pages turned until they went furry at the edges. A child with a pencil, a pile of toys, a long wait for the mail.
For nearly a century, one department store’s catalogue did that in Canadian houses. This is what the sources say about where it started, what was in it, and where you can still look inside.
The year it began
The Canadian Encyclopedia says the Eaton’s catalogue was introduced in 1884, and that it gave Canadians, especially those in pioneer farming communities, access to a variety of merchandise. The Toronto Public Library, in a local-history post, gives the same year and says it was introduced “with a mail-order process” to reach rural and farming communities. The same post says the company itself was founded in Toronto in 1869 by Timothy Eaton and that the catalogue was discontinued in 1976.
A local heritage society, the Rideau Township Historical Society, agrees on 1884 and gives the reason in plain terms. Most Canadians then lived in rural, distant places and could not easily reach the range of goods, or the lower prices, that city people saw. The catalogue closed that gap.
The Wishing Book
Alberta’s historic places blog calls the first Christmas catalogue “The Wishing Book”, produced in 1884. It says Timothy Eaton wanted it to “go wherever the maple leaf grows, throughout the vast Dominion”. It describes gift options “from fashions to merchandise”, plus a special section of toys to put under the tree.
We found no source for the name “Wish Book” in the pages we read. We use the one name the source gives.
What was in it
The heritage society says it sold nearly everything: clothing, books and toys, sporting equipment, musical instruments, groceries, drugs, furniture, farm equipment and prefabricated houses.
A York University research project, written up by a student research assistant, quotes the idea behind it: “anything the modern Canadian could want was just a mail-order away”. Its examples are saucepans, electric mixers and hair dryers, and it shows page 195 of the Eaton’s Christmas Book for 1956. That is a different title again. Our reading: the Christmas edition went by more than one name over its life, but none of these sources says when or why.
Who read it
Library and Archives Canada’s digitized collection holds 25 Eaton’s editions, dated from 1887–88 to 1975. Nine of them are French-only and sixteen are English. Each issue is in one language, not both.
Dates in order
- 1869 (Toronto Public Library): Timothy Eaton’s company is founded in Toronto.
- 1884 (encyclopedia, library, heritage society, Alberta blog): the catalogue begins.
- 1887–88 (Library and Archives Canada): the earliest Eaton’s catalogue in its digitized set.
- 1905 (library and heritage society): Eaton’s Santa Claus Parades begin in Toronto.
- 1976 (library and Wikipedia): the catalogue ends; Wikipedia says January.
- 1999 (library and heritage society): the company ceases operations.
The last page, and the end of the store
The library post says the catalogue was discontinued in 1976. The Toronto Public Library says Eaton’s filed for bankruptcy protection on 20 August 1999, and that the Eaton’s name was retired in 2002. The heritage society puts the end of operations at 1999. We give no sale prices.
Where to look today
Library and Archives Canada has a digitized set of 44 catalogues from several stores, dating from the 1880s to the 1970s, and says they are only a small portion of its mail-order holdings. Most are under copyright, and the page says permission is needed to publish or reuse images. The Toronto Public Library post lists scans of the Eaton’s catalogues for 1894, 1899–1900, 1907, 1917 and 1920–21. That means anyone curious can open a page without buying a thing.
What kind of sources these are
A national encyclopedia, a public library blog, a local heritage society, a provincial heritage blog, a federal archive, a university project and Wikipedia. Two are reader-friendly summaries, not primary records. We read no catalogue page ourselves and quote none.
Questions a buyer would ask
How can I tell an old Eaton’s catalogue is genuine? The sources do not say. They do show that Library and Archives Canada and the library hold scans, which a reader could compare with a paper copy. Our reading: that is the only check the sources support.
Does an older catalogue mean a more valuable one? None of these sources give values, and we give none.
What we left out
Prices of any kind, the company’s sale price, the names of living people, claims about kit houses beyond the one line the heritage society makes, parade details beyond the dates, and any claim that Sephari stocks, sells or ships catalogues or reprints.
Quick answers
When did Eaton’s start its catalogue? The Canadian Encyclopedia and the Toronto Public Library both give 1884. The library says it ended in 1976.
What was the Eaton’s Wishing Book? According to a provincial heritage blog, it was the first Christmas catalogue, produced in 1884, with gift options and a toy section.
Can I see old Eaton’s catalogues online? Library and Archives Canada says it holds 25 digitized Eaton’s editions from 1887–88 to 1975, and most are under copyright.
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Roam first. Shop later.