Do you collect Girl Guides of Canada catalogues?

There’s something about catalogues – especially ones relating to clothing, craft supplies, or toys – that have always appealed to me. Growing up in the 1980s we received both the Sears and the Consumer’s Distributing catalogues each fall – well in advance of Christmas – and, like youngsters everywhere, I would pour over them wishfully for weeks.

Both back then three decades ago and now, we’ve never had the volume of catalogues available to us in Canada that our neighbours to the south in America do, which is perhaps that more reason I fell head-over-heals in love with the Girl Guides of Canada catalogue the first time I received one as a young Pathfinder.

Truthfully I do not know how long the GGC has been issuing catalogues for, but I believe the history of this annually printed booklet stems back to the 1930s, if not earlier. Certainly in Great Britain and other countries where Girl Guiding and Scouting were established early on, catalogues stretch back almost to the earliest days of Guiding in such places. I would love to know more about the history of GG/GS catalogues from around the world, and would welcome any information on the subject that my reader might have to share.

When I began to collect Girl Guide related items again in 2007, one of things that I almost instantly began adding to my collection were GGC catalogues. To date I’ve obtained a copy of each of the following catalogues:

-1990/1991 (30 pages)

-1993/1994 (34 pages)

-1995/1996 (33 pages)

-1998/1999 (38 pages)

-2000/2001 (38 pages)

-2001/2002 (38 pages)

-2003/2004 (37 pages)

-2004 to 2006 (“An updated reprint”, says the front cover, “of the 2004 /05 catalogue”, adds the back page; 37 pages)

-2006/2007 (37 pages)


As this list shows, while I do have several of the more recent catalogues, there are many (a few newer, most older) that I do not. I was wondering if there are other Guiding enthusiasts out there who also collect GGC catalogues and who would be interested in trading. I only have one duplicate (catalogue) at the moment (a copy of 2003/04 issue), I would be happy to swap catalogues for items from my patch/badge/pin dupes and traders list.

Do you collect GGC (or foreign GS/GG) catalogues? If so when did you start, what do you like best about the older catalogues, and do you have any to swap? :)