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The origin of installment sales credit lies in the open-book credit provided consumers by retailers in colonial times. Although there were no formally scheduled payments, business proprietors expected consumers to pay when funds were available. In agricultural areas, this arrangement meant that retailers extended credit from crop to crop. In 1807 the furniture firm of Cowperthwaite and Sons first introduced consumer installment selling. In about 1850, the Singer Sewing Machine Company began to sell its products on the installment plan....
