Define
A catalog that is the store: browse, choose, order, without a clerk and often without a website.
Mechanism
Assortment as argument. Density, numbering, and an order path do the closing. The book is the funnel.
Verdict
We have a range, remote buyers, and a way to take the order on the same object.
Don't
We have one SKU. A single-item catalog is a long-copy ad wearing a cover.
Rights-cleared examples
Back cover of 1919 sheet music "Alcoholic Blues" advertising other sheet music titles of the time
Jell-O: America's Most Famous Dessert (12 page images)
Jordan Marsh & Co. Spring and Summer Mail-Order Catalog, 1885 (cover)
Larkin Company 'Product and Premium List,' January 1908 (58th Edition) (cover)
Larkin Company Trade Catalog, 'The Larkin Home-Helper' (cover)
Larkin Company Trade Catalog, 'This Handsome Coat, Yours Without Cost' (cover)
Montgomery Ward & Co. Catalog, 'Fiftieth Anniversary,' Spring-Summer 1922 (cover)
Montgomery Ward & Co. Catalog, 'Golden Jubilee,' Fall-Winter 1922-1923 (cover)
Montgomery Ward & Co. Sales Catalog, Fall & Winter 1894 (cover)
Montgomery Ward Catalog No. 38, Fall and Winter 1885 (cover)
Sears, Roebuck & Co. Catalog for Spring and Summer 1927 (cover)
Sears, Roebuck & Co. Ladies', Misses' and Girls' Clothing Catalog, Fall & Winter 1907-1908 (cover)