What were some popularly sold items in the 1930's?

Anything from Sears. That catalog was like the Internet shopping of the 1900’s on

http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-sears-roebuck-catalogue-of-the-1930s

Some examples:

http://www.hardtimesfestival.com/ads.htm

http://pzrservices.typepad.com/vintageadvertising/advertising_from_the_1930s/

enemas.

Clothing and department store ads, and in great number.

Here’s my mother, in 1933, hawking Palmolive soap. She, the famous Italian beauty, was in reality, a nice 19-year-old Jewish girl and daughter of two immigrants, one from Russian and the other from the Ukraine.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/45159532@N08/6220252061/in/photostream

Men’s collar stays.
Shoe polish.
Women’s rollers.
Girdles.
Suspenders.
Cuff links.
Dress and shoe clips.
Long underwear.
Hats for men and women.
Gloves for men and women.
Canning jars.
Lye
Kerosene
Common shed tools.
Outhouses
Glass lamps
Chamber pots
Water cisterns for indoors

Shaving cream and razor blades.

Nylon Stockings

Could I interest you in this combined radio and record player, the RCA Victrola? Only $2,000 in today’s money.

various kinds of remedies and preparations, most of which don’t exist now

cars for under $1000

shaving cream

beverages

tobacco

and much, much more

Here are some pages of newspaper advertising from the 1930s.

@Jeruba, great minds…we posted the same site.

So we did, @bkcunningham. Probably I got there by a different route, but—oh, well.

Yes. Oh well. Whatever route you arrived.

I hear printed news papers were very big then. ;-P

I’m 80 years old, but hardly old enough to have done much shopping in the 30’s.