Delivered Anywhere Many manufacturers print catalogs showcasing their products. The problem is getting the catalogs into the hands of customers. Manufacturers are generally unknown outside the city in which they're located, and most catalogs are only distributed locally. Sears Roebuck changes all that in a big way, offering a huge mail-order catalog that it distributes widely. The catalog shown here costs 50 cents, but later catalogs are mailed for free. The 40-acre Sears manufacturing and warehouse facility in Chicago is among the largest in the world.

	Inexhaustible Choices The 1920 Sears catalog opens with women's wear, covering the full range from infants to matrons. This goes on for 250 pages.  Some of the illustrations are in color (enhanced here), and all are richly detailed.
	Even for Farmers The following 50 pages cover the same range for men and boys. This is where work and farm-related items make their first appearance. Half of all Americans still live on a farm, and products aimed at this market are sprinkled throughout the pages.
	Fashion for the Masses The catalog includes an extensive display of shoes and handbags, and page after page of watches, jewelry, cosmetics, tonics, health aids and other personal items. Note that women's shoes are now offered with higher heels.
	And Everything Else The remaining 700 pages feature all manner of household items, from cameras and fabrics, to kitchen items and furniture. Among the more surprising items are musical instruments (including pianos and organs), encyclopedias, firearms and even farm egg incubators. Sears publishes separate catalogs just for plumbing and electrical equipment, which display everything you might need to modernize a bathroom, or install a home heating system.
	Even Homes and Barns Just as impressive are catalogs devoted exclusively to kits for building homes, barns, cabins, garages and sheds. These kits contain full plans, plus all materials required to finish the job, including nails and paint. Framing lumber is pre-cut and numbered, allowing rapid construction methods that reduce total construction costs by 40%, according to Sears' claims. Altogether, the Sears catalog is a staggering achievement.