No retailer has had such a profound effect on American consumerism as Sears, Roebuck & Company, today known simply as Sears. Its catalog business ushered in the age of mass consumerism, and the company became one of the country's most popular and trusted institutions in the process. So a trip through the company's history, made available on the Sears.com Web site, is also a trip through American history.
The site is divided into categories: history, catalogs, homes, products, brands, stores, and people. Jump into the "catalogs" area to read background as well as find information about what to do with that old Sears catalog you just found in grandpa's attic.
We forgot that in addition to ice boxes, bracelets, and buggies, Sears sold houses—about 100,000 of them from 1908 to 1940 through the mail-order Modern Homes program. You got a lot for $782 in those days.
For a company bio, check the narrative history as well as the Sears chronology of milestones and events. This is a fun site to lose yourself in for an hour or two, but we wish more archival information was provided, such as copies of old catalogs or images of ancient products.