PROVO, Utah, Nov. 30, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Ancestry.com today
announced that it is making available the complete collection of
Sears, Roebuck and Company catalogs from the spring and fall
seasons, spanning 1896 to 1993.
Comprising more than 250,000 pages, the collection is available
online for the first time ever, providing a unique glimpse into how
Americans lived beginning in the late nineteenth century and
beyond—from how they dressed and decorated their homes to how they
worked and played.
"One of the most exciting elements of family history is
discovering what life was like for our ancestors," said
Quinton Atkinson, director of
content acquisition for Ancestry.com. "These catalogs represent a
glimpse into the lives of our family members—from the toys they
played with to what they wore on their wedding day. We hope our
users have fun browsing these nostalgic catalogs and learning more
about the different eras in which our ancestors lived."
Whether interested in browsing nearly 100 years of American
fashion and beauty trends, learning about the common tools of our
formerly agricultural economy, seeing the progress and adoption of
consumer technologies, or reading how the company addressed major
historical moments like the Great Depression, users will find a
century of America captured in the Sears catalogs.
Within their pages are a myriad of popular retail products
through the years—many that may sound strangely unique to us today.
Examples include:
- Boss Pig Extractor Forceps (1901)—this handy tool was
premiered at the Iowa State Fair and considered the "newest
invention of its time." ($1)
- Profile Chin Strap (1930)—a truly unique beauty product,
the profile chin strap was a throat treatment set meant to "keep
your throat fresh and smooth—free from surface wrinkles."
($1.98)
- Houses (1910)—that's right. For $2,000 and for a limited time, one could purchase
an entire home-building kit directly from the Sears catalog.
($2,000)
- Parcheesi (1900)—this popular board game has been around
for much longer than it might seem. One could order it from the
Sears catalog beginning in 1900. (75
cents)
- The Laughing Camera (1901)—these toy lenses boasted a
"whole passing show" that provided more amusement than a circus,
with "friends grotesquely photographed." (15
cents)
In addition to the sheer variety of products offered in the
Sears catalogs, they also demonstrate how product selection and
pricing has shifted throughout the years.
For example, the 1901 catalog offered 67 different pairs of
women's shoes, and one could purchase a pair for about $2.95. By the 1950 edition, one could choose from
179 pairs of women's shoes and expect to pay around $7. Today, Sears sells thousands of pairs of
women's shoes, for which one could easily spend a few hundred if
not more than a thousand dollars.
"In many ways, the Sears catalogs are iconic in that they
represent a changing, evolving America," said Atkinson. "From
erector sets to video games, pocket watches to digital watches, and
telegraphs to cell phones, these catalogs illustrate the unfolding
and evolution of the American Dream."
To search the Sears catalog collection, visit
www.ancestry.com/sears.
About Ancestry.com Inc.
Ancestry.com Inc. (Nasdaq: ACOM) is the world's largest online
family history resource, with nearly 1.4 million paying
subscribers. More than 6 billion records have been added to the
site in the past 14 years. Ancestry users have created more than 20
million family trees containing over 2 billion profiles.
Ancestry.com has local Web sites directed at nine countries that
help people discover, preserve and share their family history,
including its flagship Web site at www.ancestry.com.
SOURCE Ancestry.com