'Pay Less and Dress Better.'

This scarce trade catalogue for the menswear firm Royal Tailors includes hundreds of fabric samples and is richly illustrated with scenes of affluent society in pre-War America. As one of the largest catalogues the company produced it was extremely expensive to print and therefore only a few would have been made to display in large department stores. The latest fashions are marketed as a way of life, with illustrations showing sharply dressed men with glamorous women in various scenes such as at the stock exchange, on the deck of an ocean liner, ice skating and at the office. The way fabric swatches, bold binding, illustrations and typography are combined exemplifies how book design was used for commercial purposes in the US at the break of WWI.

Joseph Vehon (1834 – 1918) of the Royal Tailors was a pioneer in the idea of wholesale merchant tailoring, and built one of the firms of its type in the world. He was one of the first to offer customers their money back if they weren't satisfied with their garments.