Appreciation post: Reading an old trade journal from the 70s

I was cleaning out my uncle's garage and found a stack of 'Chimney Sweep Quarterly' magazines. One article said that back in 1975, a full chimney cleaning in Chicago cost about $35, which is wild to think about now. What's the oldest piece of trade history you've come across?

3 comments

3 Comments

taraross1mo ago

Wow, lewis.mila, you just made me see old prices in a whole new way.

pat7811mo ago

Ever find something so old it feels like a different world? My dad had a 1960s plumbing supply catalog in his basement, the kind with hand drawn pictures of pipe fittings. The prices were nuts, like a brand new cast iron sink for under twenty bucks. It's crazy how much the baseline cost for just existing has changed since then.

lewis.mila1mo ago

Totally get that feeling, but I always wonder if we're comparing the right things. A cast iron sink for twenty bucks sounds amazing, but what did twenty bucks mean back then? My grandpa told me that was like a full day's pay for some people, maybe more. It feels like the real change is how much basic stuff like housing and healthcare eats up our pay now, not just the price tag on a sink.