1. Catalogs to Wish Books J. Burns

2. Remember?

3. Mail Order in the US First catalog-er in US who solicited orders through the mail? Montgomery Ward? Sears? LL Bean? Of course, who else could it be?

4. In 1744, Franklin created the first catalog, which sold scientific and academic books. Hammacher Schlemmer is the oldest surviving mail order business, founded in 1848, but didn’t produce a catalog until 1881.Hammacher Schlemmer

5. Aaron Montgomery Ward produced his first catalog in 1872. Richard Sears and Alvah Roebuck founded Sears and Roebuck, publishing first catalog in 1888.

7. Because they could buy large quantities directly from manufacturers and eliminate the middle men, Ward and Sears could offer many more products at much cheaper prices. Rural people now had access to a whole new world of goods, for home and farm, everything from clothes and books to medicines and veterinary supplies.

9. From the 1870s to 1950s and beyond, Rural families depended on catalogs to supplement what they bought from peddlers and general stores.

14. Starting in the Mid 1800s, urban went from General to Department Stores were large, multi-floors with different goods on each floor Each department had clerks, and customers could handle and sect merchandise The first in US was The Marble Palace in NYC

15. 1846 Marble Palace, NYC 1852 Marshall Field’s, Chicago 1858 Macy’s, NYC 1867, Rich’s, Atlanta 1877 Wannamaker’s, Philadelphia 1881 Hudson’s, Detroit

16. Mr. Bean Goes Shopping