Here is the legal reality. Quelle Verlag (now part of the Karstadt group, and largely defunct as a catalog brand) held copyright over the photography and layout. Technically, these catalogs are still under copyright protection (which lasts 70 years after the creator's death in Germany, or 70 years from publication for corporate works).
However, copyright law for ephemera (items not intended for permanent cultural retention) is rarely enforced by defunct retail giants, especially when the content is out of print and has no commercial value to the current rights holders.
Thus, the "free" versions you find online exist in a legal grey area: abandonware. No one is likely to sue you for downloading a 40-year-old shopping catalog, but official, sanctioned free downloads are rare. quelle katalog 1985 free
Germany’s national digital library has begun archiving economic history, including some retail catalogs. While they focus more on historical (pre-1970) documents, a search for "Versandkatalog 1985" occasionally yields results.
While they rarely host the full catalog, they link to partner university libraries that have digitized parts of the Quelle archive. The quality here is professional—300 DPI scans with color correction. This is the legal route. It is free, but the selection is spotty for 1985 specifically. Here is the legal reality
Before we hunt for the free PDF, we need to understand the subject. Quelle (German for "spring" or "source") was founded in 1927 by Gustav Schickedanz. By 1985, the company was a behemoth.
The mid-80s represent a unique nexus in design history. The bold, clashing colors of the 1970s were fading, but the minimalist, monochrome 1990s were still years away. The 1985 catalog captures the "Transitional Eighties": A physical copy of the 1985 Quelle catalog
A physical copy of the 1985 Quelle catalog in good condition can fetch €50 to €150 on eBay Kleinanzeigen or ZVAB. Hence, the desperate plea for a "free" version.
Niche communities are the real heroes of the "free" keyword. Specifically: