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? :)

Save the date: 9/9 – GGC to launch ecommerce site

Girl Guides of Canada has officially announced recently that by September 2009, they plan to create a nationwide online shop. Currently much of the GGC’s annual merchandise catalogue is available for viewing online on the national website, but orders cannot be placed directly through the site itself.

With this exciting news however, GGC members, non-members and collectors alike will all be able to avail of the convenience that comes from directly being able to order anything they fancy from the comfort of their own home computers.

Currently web shoppers are able to order a selection of GGC and province specific items from both the Ontario and Alberta Girl Guide provincial council website shops, but autumn 2009 will mark the first time that the entire national GGC catalogue will be widely (presumably in its entirety) available online for all of your buying needs.

I’m personally happy about this impending ecommerce site and truly hope that that it’s able to take off and soar. (Fingers crossed however that the GGC does not do away with traditional paper catalogues in the wake of this step towards modernization. So far the GGC has said that they plan to keep catalogues in production. Which is really good news, as I know for a fact that both I and many others out there with a vested interest in GGC absolutely adore – and shop from – the physical catalogue itself, and will likely continue to do so, even if a fully stocked ecommerce site is available around the clock).

One thing however, that sent up a red flag for me, is that near the bottom of the GGC’s announcement, they briefly discuss a plan to do away with all GGC shops (that is to say, physical store locations across various Canadian towns and cities) by 2010.

The reason you may ask, why this paragraph sent chills up my back - well, aside from the fact that it’s always worlds better to be able to try on uniforms and other clothing related items in person, than to guess at the right size when ordering online - is that I can’t help but wonder what such a decision would mean in terms of the production and sale of Area, Divisions, and District crests (patches) and pins.

For now though, there’s little point in worrying too much. The GGC clearly knows what they’re doing, and there’s certainly nothing to say so far that A/D/D items wouldn’t be available still. I’ll be monitoring these merchandise changes very carefully as further news unfolds, and will share whatever I learn with my readers here.