( 
)1875 Montgomery Ward catalog number 13 Spring and Summer COPY is the MOST commonly sold reproduction item on e-bay incorrectly or falsely sold as original. I have a nearly complete collection of over 1,300 different Montgomery Ward Catalogs back to the Early 1872-1873 sheet Flyers. My Catalogs are mostly actual Hard Bound Archival Copies from the time period.
Over 200,000 Copies of the Wards 1895 Catalog were distributed for the 100th anniversary of the Montgomery Ward in 1972. The Reproductions were made slightly smaller to fit in an envelope with the Montgomery Wards 100th Anniversary US Post Office First Day Cover.
The original 1875 Montgomery Ward Catalogs are exactly 13.7 Centimeters Tall X 8.8 Centimeters Wide while the COPIES are exactly 12.5 Centimeters Tall X 8.25 Centimeters Wide.
The Originals have a Smooth cover and a Grey Green Mint Color cover made with VERY Thin Paper, Thinner than Modern Copier Paper. The Reproductions have a Texture Grained CARD STOCK Pale Blue Grey Cover.
The Originals have Very Thin Pages on the Inside that are very white, Much Thinner than Modern Copier Paper. None of my original pre-1880 Montgomery Ward catalogs show any foxing. It was better quality paper that held up well.
The Copies have very uniformly Beige/Buff colored Pages. Easy to Spot when Held against White Modern Copier Paper. The color is to simulate foxing, but foxing would not be so uniform. The Beige is exactly the same from the center of the pages to the edges.
The Copies were reproduced from a file copy with loose covers. The thin black DOUBLE hairline framing Border on the Front of the Repro Catalog is not printed completely on the copy on the spine/binding side.
Much of it is missing with a single faint line. Dealers trying to doctor up the copy to make it look real always draw a solid SINGLE line rather than the original Thick on the Outside line and the thin on the inside line. BEWARE OF THIS.
The Original 1975 Number 13 Wards catalog was SEWN together with the cover pasted around it. The pages were folded into three groups first, then sewn. The Cotton Stitches are VERY LARGE and easy to see on the inside from cover. They would absolutely not be pasted over by the cover.
The copy is bound like a modern pad of paper with tear off sheets. The Pages are all individual before the gluing process. ( Like a Modern Paperback Book). The copies when properly identified only sell for 99 cents to 5 Dollars on Ebay. Do a Keyword search of Ward and Catalog and 1875 and you'll usually find several.
Sellers Listing them incorrectly as AMAZING Mint Originals have sold them for 50-100 dollars each. Even After I send proof of the fact that they were modern Advertising Giveaways!
Some Unscrupulous Sellers are actually Falsely Aging the copies to look Old Beware!!!
Please Buy Safely!!!
Mike
Over 200,000 Copies of the Wards 1895 Catalog were distributed for the 100th anniversary of the Montgomery Ward in 1972. The Reproductions were made slightly smaller to fit in an envelope with the Montgomery Wards 100th Anniversary US Post Office First Day Cover.
The original 1875 Montgomery Ward Catalogs are exactly 13.7 Centimeters Tall X 8.8 Centimeters Wide while the COPIES are exactly 12.5 Centimeters Tall X 8.25 Centimeters Wide.
The Originals have a Smooth cover and a Grey Green Mint Color cover made with VERY Thin Paper, Thinner than Modern Copier Paper. The Reproductions have a Texture Grained CARD STOCK Pale Blue Grey Cover.
The Originals have Very Thin Pages on the Inside that are very white, Much Thinner than Modern Copier Paper. None of my original pre-1880 Montgomery Ward catalogs show any foxing. It was better quality paper that held up well.
The Copies have very uniformly Beige/Buff colored Pages. Easy to Spot when Held against White Modern Copier Paper. The color is to simulate foxing, but foxing would not be so uniform. The Beige is exactly the same from the center of the pages to the edges.
The Copies were reproduced from a file copy with loose covers. The thin black DOUBLE hairline framing Border on the Front of the Repro Catalog is not printed completely on the copy on the spine/binding side.
Much of it is missing with a single faint line. Dealers trying to doctor up the copy to make it look real always draw a solid SINGLE line rather than the original Thick on the Outside line and the thin on the inside line. BEWARE OF THIS.
The Original 1975 Number 13 Wards catalog was SEWN together with the cover pasted around it. The pages were folded into three groups first, then sewn. The Cotton Stitches are VERY LARGE and easy to see on the inside from cover. They would absolutely not be pasted over by the cover.
The copy is bound like a modern pad of paper with tear off sheets. The Pages are all individual before the gluing process. ( Like a Modern Paperback Book). The copies when properly identified only sell for 99 cents to 5 Dollars on Ebay. Do a Keyword search of Ward and Catalog and 1875 and you'll usually find several.
Sellers Listing them incorrectly as AMAZING Mint Originals have sold them for 50-100 dollars each. Even After I send proof of the fact that they were modern Advertising Giveaways!
Some Unscrupulous Sellers are actually Falsely Aging the copies to look Old Beware!!!
Please Buy Safely!!!
Mike
Guide created: 01/13/08 (updated 04/29/08)
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