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. The 1897 Sears, Roebuck & Co. Catalogue is both a wonderfully fascinating collector’s item and a valuable piece of American history. For every recognizable item included, there are plenty of others 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. It’s amazing to see that a Princely Shirt for Princely Men cost $0.95 or three for $2.75 or that a Complete Violin Outfit (with bow and case) cost only $2.00.
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“An 'artifact' to make the reader's mouth water.” (American Heritage )
About the Author
Sears, Roebuck & Co. was founded in 1886 in Chicago, Illinois. It published a general merchandise mail order catalog and consumer guide from 1888 until 1993. It is the author of the 1897 Sears Roebuck & Co. Catalogue and the 1908 Sears, Roebuck & Co. Catalogue.
Nick Lyons is the editor of Hemingway on Fishing, The Best Fishing Stories Ever Told, The Quotable Fisherman, and The Little Red Book of Dad's Wisdom. He has written over twenty books, mainly on fishing, in addition to hundreds of articles on the subject, which have appeared in such magazines as Harper’s, Outside, Field & Stream, Outdoor Life, and Fly Fisherman. He splits his time between New York City and Woodstock, New York.
Nick Lyons is the editor of Hemingway on Fishing, The Best Fishing Stories Ever Told, The Quotable Fisherman, and The Little Red Book of Dad's Wisdom. He has written over twenty books, mainly on fishing, in addition to hundreds of articles on the subject, which have appeared in such magazines as Harper’s, Outside, Field & Stream, Outdoor Life, and Fly Fisherman. He splits his time between New York City and Woodstock, New York.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 31 people found the following review helpful
By J. E. Barnes
Format:Paperback
The 786-page reprint of the '1897 Sears, Roebuck & Co. Catalogue' is a priceless piece of Americana.
Profusely illustrated, readers will enjoy studying the surprisingly enormous range of consumer goods then available, most of which are obsolete or little used in American life today.
From the $4.90 'Cast Iron Pig Trough' to the $3.00 'Cleveland Ball Bearing Wringer,' from the $1.75 'Magic Lantern Slide Projector for Juveniles' to the $3.35 'Velocipedes' bicycle and the $2.00, mohair-covered 'Ear Trumpet,' readers will turn the pages in delighted awe. Those interested in fashion and costuming will find the extensive pages on clothing remarkable. The average description for most items tallies at about 100 words, most of which are superfluous but fun to read.
There are 55 very detailed pages on clothing, hats, and accessories for men and boys, including $6.95 'Cashmere Suits,' $9.90 'Blue Flannel Grand Army Of The Republic Suits,' and 'Brownie Suits,' 'Fancy Sailor Suits,' and 'Children's Kilt Suits.' These sections are bolstered by idealized figures of mustached men strolling by the seaside in striped suits and straw boaters, pipe-smoking deep thinkers poised in velvet smoking jackets, and bashful lads posing in knee britches.
An equal number of pages are devoted to clothing, shoes, hats, and other accessories for women and girls, including 'Dr. Warner's Abdominal Corset' made with "extension steels, side lacings, and elastic gores on each side," girl's "reefer jackets," the $2.95 'Rich's Patent "Julie Marlowe" Lace Boot,' and 2 pages of heavily - festooned women's hats with names like 'the Leader,' 'the Susanne,' 'the Evangeline,' and 'the Bon Ton.' Presciently, many of the illustrations of women look remarkably like the matronly Mary Astor in the 1941 classic 'Meet Me In St. Louis.'
Especially interesting and comical are the items listed under 'Drug Department.'
Here are found 'Injection No. 7,' which "is a reliable cure for all troubles of the urinary organs...no matter how severe the case,' and 'Dr. Rose's Obesity Powders' which explains that "too much fat is a disease and a great annoyance to those afflicted. . .it produces fatty degeneration of the heart, and sudden death results," and 'Beef, Iron, and Wine' nutritive, which, at $2.50 a gallon, was apparently very popular, "something no family should be without...used for extreme exhaustion caused by brain fatigue, eruptions, scrofula, and...depraved conditions of the blood."
There are 'vegetable cures' for 'female weakness' and 'fig laxatives,' 'Mexican Headache Cures' and 'Indian Cough Syrups,' 'microbe killers,' and "perfectly harmless" 'arsenic complexion wafers' which produce "pellucid clearness of complexion."
"Reliable Worm Syrup and Worm Cakes" cure "the disease so fatal to children" and comes in "convenient form for children to take, which they readily do, thinking it is candy." 'Dr. Chaise's Nerve And Brain Pills' is a cure for those with "overworked sexual excesses."
Special mention should be given to the Sears, Roebuck & Co.'s own $0.75 brand 'Reliable Cure For the Opium And Morphia Habit,' which will "completely destroy that terrible craving for morphine ...and free those victims from their terrible bondage."
The 'Princess Bust Developer' and 'Princess Bust Cream Food' can be purchased separately or together for $1.46. Prepared by "an eminent French chemist," the bust cream promises a "plump, full, rounded bosom," while the bust developer, which comes in both 4 and 5 inch sizes, looks like a toilet plunger and is perfect "if nature has not favored you."
Another ad educates potential women buyers by stating that "no worse affliction can befall a woman's face than to see a horrible growth of coarse hairs springing out like bristles," making her "disfiguring to behold." Oddly, 'Strangle Food' for cockroaches and 'Rat Killer-The Great Vermin Destroyer' are included among health and beauty products for the family.
Despite the exaggerated and misleading claims, this volume is overwhelmingly wholesome in nature, and provides an educational glimpse into the lives, consumer habits, social mores, and advertising methods of Americans of the era.
Throughout, there are extended pages devoted to excerpts from grateful consumer letters with headings like "Proud Of The Buggy," "Perfectly Satisfied With The Revolver," "Everybody Says The Watch Is A Dandy," and "I Do Not Know A More Fair Or Honorable Firm." These pages are one of the catalogue's few disappointments, since the 'letters' are suspiciously uniform in tone, phrasing, and praise.
Other sections include 'Vehicle, Harness, and Saddlery,' 'Crockery And Glassware,' 'Watch And Jewelry,' 'Musical Goods,' 'Furniture,' 'Books And Stationary,' and 'Builder's Hardware And Material.'
Profusely illustrated, readers will enjoy studying the surprisingly enormous range of consumer goods then available, most of which are obsolete or little used in American life today.
From the $4.90 'Cast Iron Pig Trough' to the $3.00 'Cleveland Ball Bearing Wringer,' from the $1.75 'Magic Lantern Slide Projector for Juveniles' to the $3.35 'Velocipedes' bicycle and the $2.00, mohair-covered 'Ear Trumpet,' readers will turn the pages in delighted awe. Those interested in fashion and costuming will find the extensive pages on clothing remarkable. The average description for most items tallies at about 100 words, most of which are superfluous but fun to read.
There are 55 very detailed pages on clothing, hats, and accessories for men and boys, including $6.95 'Cashmere Suits,' $9.90 'Blue Flannel Grand Army Of The Republic Suits,' and 'Brownie Suits,' 'Fancy Sailor Suits,' and 'Children's Kilt Suits.' These sections are bolstered by idealized figures of mustached men strolling by the seaside in striped suits and straw boaters, pipe-smoking deep thinkers poised in velvet smoking jackets, and bashful lads posing in knee britches.
An equal number of pages are devoted to clothing, shoes, hats, and other accessories for women and girls, including 'Dr. Warner's Abdominal Corset' made with "extension steels, side lacings, and elastic gores on each side," girl's "reefer jackets," the $2.95 'Rich's Patent "Julie Marlowe" Lace Boot,' and 2 pages of heavily - festooned women's hats with names like 'the Leader,' 'the Susanne,' 'the Evangeline,' and 'the Bon Ton.' Presciently, many of the illustrations of women look remarkably like the matronly Mary Astor in the 1941 classic 'Meet Me In St. Louis.'
Especially interesting and comical are the items listed under 'Drug Department.'
Here are found 'Injection No. 7,' which "is a reliable cure for all troubles of the urinary organs...no matter how severe the case,' and 'Dr. Rose's Obesity Powders' which explains that "too much fat is a disease and a great annoyance to those afflicted. . .it produces fatty degeneration of the heart, and sudden death results," and 'Beef, Iron, and Wine' nutritive, which, at $2.50 a gallon, was apparently very popular, "something no family should be without...used for extreme exhaustion caused by brain fatigue, eruptions, scrofula, and...depraved conditions of the blood."
There are 'vegetable cures' for 'female weakness' and 'fig laxatives,' 'Mexican Headache Cures' and 'Indian Cough Syrups,' 'microbe killers,' and "perfectly harmless" 'arsenic complexion wafers' which produce "pellucid clearness of complexion."
"Reliable Worm Syrup and Worm Cakes" cure "the disease so fatal to children" and comes in "convenient form for children to take, which they readily do, thinking it is candy." 'Dr. Chaise's Nerve And Brain Pills' is a cure for those with "overworked sexual excesses."
Special mention should be given to the Sears, Roebuck & Co.'s own $0.75 brand 'Reliable Cure For the Opium And Morphia Habit,' which will "completely destroy that terrible craving for morphine ...and free those victims from their terrible bondage."
The 'Princess Bust Developer' and 'Princess Bust Cream Food' can be purchased separately or together for $1.46. Prepared by "an eminent French chemist," the bust cream promises a "plump, full, rounded bosom," while the bust developer, which comes in both 4 and 5 inch sizes, looks like a toilet plunger and is perfect "if nature has not favored you."
Another ad educates potential women buyers by stating that "no worse affliction can befall a woman's face than to see a horrible growth of coarse hairs springing out like bristles," making her "disfiguring to behold." Oddly, 'Strangle Food' for cockroaches and 'Rat Killer-The Great Vermin Destroyer' are included among health and beauty products for the family.
Despite the exaggerated and misleading claims, this volume is overwhelmingly wholesome in nature, and provides an educational glimpse into the lives, consumer habits, social mores, and advertising methods of Americans of the era.
Throughout, there are extended pages devoted to excerpts from grateful consumer letters with headings like "Proud Of The Buggy," "Perfectly Satisfied With The Revolver," "Everybody Says The Watch Is A Dandy," and "I Do Not Know A More Fair Or Honorable Firm." These pages are one of the catalogue's few disappointments, since the 'letters' are suspiciously uniform in tone, phrasing, and praise.
Other sections include 'Vehicle, Harness, and Saddlery,' 'Crockery And Glassware,' 'Watch And Jewelry,' 'Musical Goods,' 'Furniture,' 'Books And Stationary,' and 'Builder's Hardware And Material.'
23 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a catalogue full of photos and descriptions of old things. I enjoyed perusing it just because I love old things.
The print quality is marginal though, but legible. Words and photos look a bit grainy.
Prices, stock, descriptions, wild exaggerations and boasts of products all paint an interesting picture of life at the turn of the century.
I'm an old house lover and I found this book as an intriguing bit of memorabilia about the way things once were in this country.
The section on women's clothing is wild. Almost unimagineable to realize what women did to themselves in the name of fashion. I've read that women's internal organs were often displaced by the pressure of corsets. Ewwwww.
A good resource and conversation starter. Old folks can't get enough of it. In fact, it does make a great Christmas present for the over 60 crowd.
Rose Thornton
author, The Houses That Sears Built
The print quality is marginal though, but legible. Words and photos look a bit grainy.
Prices, stock, descriptions, wild exaggerations and boasts of products all paint an interesting picture of life at the turn of the century.
I'm an old house lover and I found this book as an intriguing bit of memorabilia about the way things once were in this country.
The section on women's clothing is wild. Almost unimagineable to realize what women did to themselves in the name of fashion. I've read that women's internal organs were often displaced by the pressure of corsets. Ewwwww.
A good resource and conversation starter. Old folks can't get enough of it. In fact, it does make a great Christmas present for the over 60 crowd.
Rose Thornton
author, The Houses That Sears Built
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
You'll find *everything* in this reprint, from buggies and bicycles to books to groceries. (You'll need to mentally adjust the prices, since Sears was at that time strictly a mail-order wholesale house, and like the e-merchants of today could drastically undercut the traditional retailers: I've found that adding 50-100% to their list, unless they give another one in the adcopy, will give you a good idea of what "brick-and-mortar" merchants would have charged for the same item.) A splendid resource for anyone interested in the minutinae of everyday late-19th-Century life. If they'd only included toys, it would be perfect! The small print is a bit hard on the eyes and the illustrations sometimes rather dark, but the book as a whole is well worth buying.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
a great book
This is a great book to research what was available to people over 100 years ago. With the dumbocrats in power we are loosing the ability to produce goods of any quality compared... Read more
Published 1 month ago by David A. Hill
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great nostalgia
I love old-timey Americana, and this is old-timey Americana on crack. So many times I flipped through the catalog and idly thought about buying something in it.
Published 2 months ago by C.R. Lowry
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great piece of history!
I love this book. It is so interesting to see what things cost back then and what products people were buying. Read more
Published 2 months ago by londonliz38
5.0 out of 5 stars
A flea market companion?.
This Catalogue has just about everything you could ask for in the way of information on old items you find in flea markets etc.It is also a great read by itself.
Published 2 months ago by welshdragon
5.0 out of 5 stars
sear book 1897
it was a good book it was a big help looking up old product to see how old they are sears roebuck &co
Published 3 months ago by lonnie schoenfeld
3.0 out of 5 stars
fun
My daughter put this on her Christmas list. We had fun looking at it on Christmas day. I don't think it will be something
that gets used over and over.
that gets used over and over.
Published 4 months ago by Shelley Keyes
4.0 out of 5 stars
1897 Sears Roebuck Catalog
Invaluable for the research and interpretation of an 1895 farmhouse! I take it with me, for the edification of interested guests, as well as for my OWN education in what was... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Julia M. Knutson
4.0 out of 5 stars
A valuable resource for the re-enactor / cosplay / steampunk or...
You would not find a more graphic and accurate description of the clothing, jewelry, tools, etc. of the time period. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Strongbeard
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very Interesting
I am enjoying this Sears catalog of 1897. It is so interesting not only to view the prices of vatrious items, but also to understand the impact of government over the past century... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Anne Nelson
3.0 out of 5 stars
Again, the quality of photos is occasioanlly blurry/poor.
Despite the weaknesses, we are happy to have this volume and wish there wre others in thei series. Are others anticipated?
Published 5 months ago by Robert E. Shaffer
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