1952 Dealer Catalog
With Price Guides
This 1952 Dealer Catalog would have been used with a customer to order Stieff silver in a Retail Setting.
Prices are shown at retail and with the 20% luxury tax added. Both prices were given as no one knew when the luxury tax would be repealed.
The 20% added charge was a federal tax, created to pay for WWII. It was called a luxury tax and was charged for things that were not 'necessities', such as jewelry! The luxury tax was set up to be in effect for "the duration plus 6", which meant until the end of the war, plus six months." The tax lasted much longer than the planned 6 months, and into the mid 1950’s.
At the same time, the Office of Price Stabilization was controlling prices to prevent hoarding of products during the Korean War, as had happened at the beginning of WWII. Silver companies like Stieff found themselves with controlled prices, and a heavy tax on their products at the same time that casual dining was coming into fashion as well as cheap stainless steel flatware.
The cover is black and the lettering is in silver
The book measure 11.5” tall by 9.25” wide
The interior is divided into
Flatware, Hollow Ware and Williamsburg sections.
This insert was the first item in the book.
(other than the MULT-O Binder ad.)
The Flatware section with the catalog attached to the binder.
Here is the link for the
1952 Sterling Flatware Price List
The Flatware Catalog is small 7.5” tall x 4.5” wide and is punched and
bound. In a slightly awkward set up, the photo page has the prices of the pattern on the back of the page, so to see the price you had to turn the page.
This is the opening page for the Hollow Ware Catalog.
The Hollow Ware items are cataloged by item number and the prices are shown on the green piece of paper in the middle.
Go to the bottom of the page to access the Hollow Ware section of the catalog
Go to the bottom of the page to access the
Williamsburg Restoration Sterling Silver pages.
Click below to go to the various sections of the catalog
1952 Sterling Flatware Patterns & Price List
1952 Sterling Hollow Ware Catalog and Price lists
