Proudly promoting itself as "the largest home building organization in the world, " Sears, Roebuck and Company advertised its 1932 products in a handsome catalog that also displayed a full-size replica of Mount Vernon, created from Sears materials for a Paris exposition in 1932. At the heart of the publication were 68 designs for Sears houses, among them such handsome residences as the Belmont, a six-room house with vestibule, breakfast alcove, three bedrooms, and one-and-a-half baths; and the Dover, an English cottage with a massive chimney and unusual roof lines. A useful reference for people interested in preserving homes of this period, this volume will also be welcomed by anyone who relishes a glimpse of America's architectural past. Unabridged republication of"

They were Amazon and Walmart combined-the one place to shop for Americans who needed everything-clothes, furniture, tools, jewelry, musical instruments, books, and more! Imagine it's the end of the nineteenth century, and, with one catalog, you can buy everything from beds and tools to clothing and opium. (Yes, opium.) Not to mention ear trumpets, horse buggies, and Bibles. For every recognizable item included in the 1897 Sears, Roebuck & Co. Catalogue, plenty of others are guaranteed to confuse or interest 21st century readers-like Bust Cream or Food and Sweet Spirits of Nitre. What was once standard household fare is today a sometimes strange, often funny look at what life was once like for the average American family. Sears, Roebuck & Co. has defined and innovated American retail for years. As the company grew from humble beginnings, its catalog selection exploded to include all sorts of categories and encompassed almost everything imaginable; eventually you could actually buy a house right along with everything you needed to furnish it. Flipping through the pages of seemingly endless items, huge and small, readers will find it impossible not to marvel at such early American ingenuity and determination to allow people in the farthest reaches of a still-growing nation to purchase and receive all the necessities of life and the comforts of home. For antique collectors, historians, costumers, set designers, and anyone just interested in the everyday components of life back in 1897, this facsimile is as entertaining as it is educational.

Proudly advertising its enormous inventory shipped from "Cheapest Supply House on Earth," in 1894, the Sears, Roebuck and Co. catalog offered substantial savings for rural dwellers on almost everything. And everything means everything. From pianos and firearms to clothing, watches, and jewelry, this well-known American superstore had it all. Need a sewing machine guaranteed to last ten years? Just $17.55 from Sears, Roebuck and Co. And why not buy solid gold? Solid gold watches, that is, for just thirty to fifty dollars. In the musical goods department, guitars came with free instruction books, mandolins were becoming so popular that sales had more than doubled in a year, and violins were imported and plentiful. The guns and sporting goods department boasted a wide range of weaponry, including the Colt's Army Double Action Revolver (which, if ordered with an accompaniment of cash payment in full, came with a "FREE nice present" . . . the likes of which are left to the gun enthusiast's imagination). Hundreds of illustrations accompany the fascinating product descriptions and hard-to-fathom prices of over a century ago in this rerelease of the Sears, Roebuck and Co. Consumer's Guide for 1894. Nostalgic for some, fun for all--this book is perfect for anyone interested in collectibles.