If you're interested in a look back in time, Ikea has uploaded every single one of its catalogs onto website. The first year I could find was from 1950. The pictures above are from the 1965 issue.

 

Each issue is in Swedish, but can be translated into English through Google. Many pages include lots of text - much more than today's catalogs - going into specific detail on the materials the furniture items are made from, including polyester foams, laminates, and fiberfill.

 

Ikea was founded in 1943 as a mail-order sales business, not selling furniture until five years later. The first Ikea store opened in Älmhult, Småland, in 1958, under the name Möbel-IKÉA (Möbel means "furniture" in Swedish). The first stores outside Sweden were opened in Norway in 1963 and Denmark in 1969. Many stores opened throughout Europe beginning in the early 1970s.

 

Check out all the issues here: https://ikeamuseum.com/sv/ikea-kataloger/