Consumer Reports buying guides and consumer advice publications, 1937-2024

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Summary

Creator:
Consumer Reports (Firm) and John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History
Abstract:
Consumer Reports is a product testing and consumer advocacy nonprofit organization based in Yonkers, N.Y., founded in 1936 as Consumers Union. Collection consists of Consumer Reports' various buying and shopping guides; consumer advice and education publications; how-to booklets, and other printed materials. Topics addressed include automobile purchasing, repairs and maintenance; baby products; painting and other do-it-yourself home projects; health and wellness; home appliances and electronics; household economic and financial management; and retirement planning. Acquired as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History.
Extent:
12.0 Linear Feet
Language:
Materials in English, Spanish.
Collection ID:
RL.13151

Background

Scope and content:

Collection consists of Consumer Reports various buying guides; consumer advice and education publications; how-to booklets, and other printed materials. Topics addressed include automobile purchasing, repairs and maintenance; baby products; do-it-yourself home projects; health and wellness; home appliances and electronics; household financial management and retirement. Specific issues are listed in a note whenever there are holdings gaps in the folder-level date ranges.

Biographical / historical:

Consumer Reports is a product testing and consumer advocacy nonprofit organization based in Yonkers, N.Y., founded in 1936 as Consumers Union. Consumers Union published its first magazine issue in May 1936 and published its first buying guide, originally for subscribers only, in 1937. The annual buying guide began to appear in bookstores in 1943, the year after the flagship publication, Consumers Union Reports, changed its name to Consumer Reports to reflect the organization's reorientation shift from union members to a broader consumer audience.

The automobile buying guides began as a set of frequency-of-repair tables that appeared in issues of Consumer Reports in 1952. The first April car issue was published in 1953, and developed into a series of annual, seasonal, and vehicle-type specific guides. Over time other buying guides appeared, focusing on appliances, home electronics, lawn and garden equipment, and other product areas. The main buying guide was originally produced by the Editorial Department, but as the organization grew in scope and complexity other entities produced consumer advisory and educational guides, including Consumer Reports Books (which began in 1965 as the Special Publications Committee in 1965) and the Southwest Regional Office.

Acquisition information:
The Consumer Reports buying guides and consumer advice publications were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as gifts from Consumer Reports in 2019-2025.
Processing information:

Processed by Richard Collier, December 2025;

Materials described in this collection guide were compiled from accessions 2019-0130; 2019-0173; 2020-0017; 2021-0003 and ongoing arrivals.

Arrangement:

Organized alphabetically into the following series: Buying Guides; Consumer Advice and Education Publications.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the Rubenstein Library's Citations, Permissions, and Copyright guide.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Consumer Reports buying guides and consumer advice publications, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

Permalink:
https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m11n04