Thought the catalogue was provided by someone high-minded (8)
I believe the answer is:
idealist
'provided by someone high-minded' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.
'thought the catalogue' is the wordplay.
'thought' becomes 'idea' ('idea' can be a synonym of 'thought'**).
'the catalogue' becomes 'list' (I've seen this before).
'idea'+'list'='IDEALIST'
'was' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for idealist that I've seen before include "One who pursues the perfect" , "An optimist or romantic" , "philosopher" , "Dreamer" , "Person with noble aspirations, perhaps unrealistic" .)