Vintage Coach Catalogs

Are we allowed to download these or print them off?

By law, photos or graphics published by Coach remain their copyrighted property and may not be used without their permission. Keeping copies for your own files is not considered a problem, but copying and USING them, such as posting them in your own selling pages or sites, auction listings, etc is technically a violation of Coach's copyright and we strongly discourage it. Reproducing the actual images to sell or profit from the images in any form is definitely a violation of US Federal copyright and trademark laws.

The same copyright protection covers Coach's images from any of their media that anyone finds on Google or other public and Search sites. Images including videos or music on the internet are still copyright-protected and belong to the original creator and/or publisher (unless the rights have been officially sold or passed to another party or entity of course), no matter how many times they have been reproduced without the original owner's permission, as many who have posted someone else's copyrighted music or video clips on their own site or channel have often learned the hard way.

At least that's how I understand the basics. In my next life, it would be great to come back as an attorney specializing in copyright and trademark law. :biggrin:
 
Last edited:
By law, photos or graphics published by Coach remain their copyrighted property and may not be used without their permission. Keeping copies for your own files is not considered a problem, but copying and USING them, such as posting them in your own selling pages or sites, auction listings, etc is technically a violation of Coach's copyright and we strongly discourage it. Reproducing the actual images to sell or profit from the images in any form is definitely a violation of US Federal copyright and trademark laws.

The same copyright protection covers Coach's images from any of their media that anyone finds on Google or other public and Search sites. Images including videos or music on the internet are still copyright-protected and belong to the original creator and/or publisher (unless the rights have been officially sold or passed to another party or entity of course), no matter how many times they have been reproduced without the original owner's permission, as many who have posted someone else's copyrighted music or video clips on their own site or channel have often learned the hard way.

At least that's how I understand the basics. In my next life, it would be great to come back as an attorney specializing in copyright and trademark law. :biggrin:
I was only wanting them to authenticate a bag before purchase or before selling. Would that be okay?
 
  • Like
Reactions: katev
I was only wanting them to authenticate a bag before purchase or before selling. Would that be okay?

Coach's catalog photos won't help you with authentication. Just because a bag looks similar to a catalog photo and has the same style number stamped in it does not prove ANYTHING about it's authenticity. Anyone who is comfortable thinking that experienced professional counterfeiters willing to spend a bit more to buy quality materials and hire skilled craftspeople can't reproduce a pretty believable copy might be making some very serious mistakes. Any "authentication" based only on catalog photos and "correct" style numbers without carefully examining other details is no authentication at all.

Sometimes we can tell a "Coach" is probably fake just because it doesn't look like the same style number example in the catalog, but Coach employees can and sometimes did make mistakes when stamping serial numbers. And Coach sometimes changed details on their items between the catalog photo session and full production.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jacynthe
Coach's catalog photos won't help you with authentication. Just because a bag looks similar to a catalog photo and has the same style number stamped in it does not prove ANYTHING about it's authenticity. Anyone who is comfortable thinking that experienced professional counterfeiters willing to spend a bit more to buy quality materials and hire skilled craftspeople can't reproduce a pretty believable copy might be making some very serious mistakes. Any "authentication" based only on catalog photos and "correct" style numbers without carefully examining other details is no authentication at all.

Sometimes we can tell a "Coach" is probably fake just because it doesn't look like the same style number example in the catalog, but Coach employees can and sometimes did make mistakes when stamping serial numbers. And Coach sometimes changed details on their items between the catalog photo session and full production.
Thank you SO MUCH! I am So glad I found this forum!
 
Thank you SO MUCH! I am So glad I found this forum!
I agree with above posts to use the authentication thread. I do enjoy the catalogs for having all kinds of background info on a bag. They can tell you the size of a bag, when they were produced, what colors they were offered, etc. So many things sellers get wrong, or don’t. I have a Boat Tote that I was able to confirm a name and style on after someone posted a catalog here. That was great!
Enjoy!
 
I agree with above posts to use the authentication thread. I do enjoy the catalogs for having all kinds of background info on a bag. They can tell you the size of a bag, when they were produced, what colors they were offered, etc. So many things sellers get wrong, or don’t. I have a Boat Tote that I was able to confirm a name and style on after someone posted a catalog here. That was great!
Enjoy!
Thank you @Lake Effect
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lake Effect
Just an FYI, most of the catalogs you see here and on other online sites contain pictures and descriptions of the boutique or retail bags; I don't think that you are likely to find a catalog for the Made for Factory Outlet bags.

I agree. The Made For Factory (MFF) bags weren't even on their own publicly available website until maybe 10 years ago. For about 5 years before that they were only listed on a website where you had to be a registered member to even view them during special sales.

Even the boutiques didn't have them on their computers. (That's one BIG reason why trying to "authenticate" a questionable vintage "Coach" bag by phone or even at the full-price stores through their computer was such an exercise in futility - the MFF-only bags simply weren't publicly documented. I've never seen any of them in a catalog).
 
Last edited:
This is an amazing resource!! I am very new to this world and would like to ask a question about my bag: specifically why isn't it in the 2001 catalogs?

I did get it authenticated, and was told it was 2001. Is it because it's an outlet bag, and if so are there outlet catalogs?

Thank you so much!

PXL_20240413_183902753.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: KiltyR45
This is an amazing resource!! I am very new to this world and would like to ask a question about my bag: specifically why isn't it in the 2001 catalogs?

I did get it authenticated, and was told it was 2001. Is it because it's an outlet bag, and if so are there outlet catalogs?

Thank you so much!

View attachment 5983169
Not every bag was shown in every catalog. Generally they want to show off new styles in catalogs. This is a style that was made for many years. It was one of the earliest Coach styles - some sources consider it to be the very first. It was first called a classic pouch, then later called a classic shoulder bag.

ETA: While your particular bag may have been sold at the outlet, it isn't an outlet style. I've never seen an outlet catalog. Styles that were made exclusively for outlets probably never appeared in any catalog.
 
Not every bag was shown in every catalog. Generally they want to show off new styles in catalogs. This is a style that was made for many years. It was one of the earliest Coach styles - some sources consider it to be the very first. It was first called a classic pouch, then later called a classic shoulder bag.

ETA: While your particular bag may have been sold at the outlet, it isn't an outlet style. I've never seen an outlet catalog. Styles that were made exclusively for outlets probably never appeared in any catalog.
Thank you! So much to learn!! Does it look like it was manufactured in 2001 to you?