OT: We were out and about today, errands and fun….One of the “fun pieces” of the day was going to local Antique Mall. In the West, we seldom find what we would say are true “antique stores” like there are in many places in the East. Most of the things here in the malls are from as early as 1850, but most often from about 1900- through the 1960’s, so are what I call “collectables” stores. But sometimes there are finds that one didn’t expect to find…..the one today was a copy of a 1902 Sears Roebuck Co Catalog, in nearly new shape. We didn’t buy this because it was a collectible, but rather to do some research and enjoy some of the findings.
I plan on putting together a book on family genealogy, but rather than just charts with the basic, (names, dates, and places) I want to put some of the daily chores and lives of what I know about my great-grandparents lives, grandparents lives, my parents’ lives, and my own life. I plan to do this for all my known ancestors as well as those of my husbands’ families.
For instance……Laundry Day in the 1850’s, then 1900, then in 1930-40, and finally the advent of the most modern equipment we are so fortunate to have today!!
The prices on some of these pieces are just out of this world…..Not only is there HUGE difference in the amount of money an average family made in those years and through today, and society was so much different, plus it will help explain what cost of unions really meant, and how instituting Federal Income Taxes made such a huge impact on all American citizens. It hopefully will make them realize that life is much more free when we have a governmentr that doesn't over regulate us on every single thing we do on a daily basis.
Some try to make the argument that because of unions, we have many more items to choose from, but just looking at the number and variety of goods that were actually made, and the numbers of craftsmen and women who made them, was just amazing. We had farmers and crafts people in those times… For instance. There are many musical instruments available…..and different varieties of each….including violins. One model “Stradivarius-like” was available for $2.97 in the 1902 catalog. I talked to a dealer there who had one of those copies of the original including the case, and knew it wasn’t a “real” Stradivarius…..but it did have good sound, and was in excellent shape. She told people what it was, and sold it for $1500 in the last year.
Hopefully this project will make History come alive for our Grandchildren, and their children’s children, and that they will be able to visualize some of the excellent parts of those years, and be able to determine for themselves that so much Government that we are experiencing today is NOT a good thing in so many ways.
Link to reproduction of this catalog: http://www.amazon.com/1902-Sears-Roebuck-Co-Catalog/sim/0517009226/2
Link to the article below, with pictures…..
http://www.wrvmuseum.org/journal/journal_ftbr_0106.htm
The Reign of American Mail-Order Houses, 1870-1930
1930
by: Alyssa Shirley Morein - Curator of Collections
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1902 Sears, Roebuck catalog.
WRVM reference collection
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Included in the reference collection of the White River Valley Museum are more than twenty facsimiles of antique mail-order catalogs, including those from Sears, Roebuck & Company, Montgomery Ward, and J.C. Penney. Time and time again, these hefty volumes have proved invaluable to our staff, helping us identify artifacts and providing a snapshot of a particular year’s fashions or technologies. But more than that, as the 1943 Sears News Graphic wrote, these catalogs present “a mirror of our times, recording… [the day’s] desires, habits, customs, and mode of living.”
Over the last few decades of the nineteenth century, America witnessed the birth of mass consumption, a phenomenon that continues to define our country to this day. Partly responsible for this phenomenon was the mail-order catalog industry, led by Montgomery Ward and Sears, Roebuck, as well as the circumstances which assured these firms such great success.
1870s Midwestern America was composed largely of vast stretches of farmland. Towns (even sometimes neighbors) were relatively few and far between. To purchase goods, the typical farmer had to sacrifice many hours of valuable farming time to make the trip to town by horse-drawn buggy. The mail-order catalog offered him a way to purchase needed supplies right from home without such a sacrifice. In addition, these catalogs offered a far greater selection than the town store could, and even more compellingly, much lower prices. For their customers, it was an unbeatable combination.
Montgomery Ward pioneered the mail-order business in 1872, selling farming goods to members of the farmers’ organization, the Grange, with great and ever-increasing success. Soon after, ambitious entrepreneur and master marketer Richard W. Sears expanded upon this profitable idea, including in his catalog not just farm supplies but everything from clothing to home furnishings to groceries. (Montgomery Ward soon followed suit.) By 1900, Sears had surpassed its elder competitor, selling some $10 million worth of goods per year in its approximately 800-page catalog.
1902 Sears, Roebuck catalog.
WRVM reference collection
| Boosting this already successful industry was the advent of rural free delivery of mail (in the 1890s) and then parcel post (in 1913). Thanks to these services, rural dwellers could simply put their order in the mail box and have their purchases in hand within a matter of days. As business boomed and profits increased, these catalogs expanded their size and selection in kind: by 1925 customers could purchase not only musical instruments, saddles, firearms, and sporting goods, but even pre-fabricated homes and automobiles by mail. And purchase they did—profits in that year were a staggering $243 million for Sears alone.
In the late 1920s, as towns grew, roads improved, and automobile ownership became more widespread, the dominance of mail-order companies began to decline rapidly. Shoppers simply could now access retail stores more easily. Sears and Montgomery Ward responded by opening stores all across the nation and by 1930 only about half of their sales came from catalog orders.
These mail-order companies had an important role in incorporating rural dwellers into American culture. They enabled rural farmers to wear the same clothes and enjoy the same home furnishings and conveniences as their more “sophisticated” urban counterparts. This contributed to the homogenization of American culture, and by fostering a democracy of goods whereby people of all socio-economic levels could afford the same accoutrements, these mass-selling houses contributed to the democratizing of people. Their almost half-century reign remains one of the most significant forces to have shaped American commerce and culture.
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