Printed catalogs seem to be a threatened species. The fittest do survive and, in fact, thrive. Many others thrive as online catalogs. So that “Save these, toss those” reaction we once had when catalogs appeared only in the mailbox is no longer quite so automatic.
Point is, this subjective project of picking the best and worst of catalog copy is both controversial and inexact, based on a single scrutiny of the issue on hand or online at that specific date. I can live with that.