Source Information
About U.S., Historic Catalogs of Sears, Roebuck and Co., 1896-1993
From a printed mailer in 1888 to the final publication in 1993, the Sears Catalog has grown into an important record of what life was like through the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Beginning with mail order goods the company followed the railroad in America’s westward expansion and quickly became a national institution providing a wide variety of goods. This particular database contains images of these historic catalogs over the years.
Do you know what your great grandparents would have worn? What would they have wanted for Christmas? Get an idea by looking at the Sears Catalog through the years. The original 1888 mailer carrying watches and jewelry expanded into a catalog in 1894 that kept growing offering an ever-widening range of products: sewing machines, sporting goods, musical instruments, saddles, firearms, buggies, bicycles, baby carriages, and clothing. In the late 1800s the catalog began carrying Christmas holiday items leading to its eventual status as the “Wish Book.”
Other interesting facts about the Sears and Roebuck Catalog include some of the people who were involved in the making of it. Big name 40s and 50s film stars Lauren Bacall and Susan Hayward model fashions in pages of the catalog. Also featured are Ted Williams, a major baseball player in the 40s, Al Unser, a race car driver, and Gene Autry, “The Singing Cowboy.” If your ancestor was a member of a fraternal organization such as the Freemasons or the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers you may be able to find pictures of pins created for their organizations. Music history in America also credits Sears catalog with changing American life style because of the inexpensive but quality musical instruments offered through mail order.
Some of the above information was taken from:
- History of Sears Catalog. Sears Archives, 2004. Web. June 9, 2010.
- Bradford, David K. The Sears Catalog. The Unstrung History of the American Guitar and 19th Century American Music. 2009. Web. July 6, 2010.
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