Houses by Mail: A Guide to Houses from Sears, Roebuck and Company

by Katherine Cole Stevenson, H. Ward Jandl

It was the American Dream by Mail Order --Smithsonian Americans have ordered from Sears, Roebuck just about everything they have needed for their homes for 100 years--but from 1908 to 1940, some 100,000 people also purchased their houses from this mail-order wizard. Sears ready-to-assemble houses were ordered by mail and shipped by rail wherever a boxcar or two could pull in to unload the meticulously precut lumber and all the materials needed to build an exceptionally sturdy and well-designed house. From Philadelphia, Pa., to Coldwater, Kans., and Cowley, Wyo., Sears put its guarantee on quality bungalows, colonials and Cape Cods, all with the latest modern conveniences--such as indoor plumbing. Houses by Mail tells the story of these precut houses and provides for the first time an incomparable guide to identifying Sears houses across the country. Arranged for easy identification in 15 sections by roof type, the book features nearly 450 house models with more than 800 illustrations, including drawings of the houses and floor plans. Because the Sears houses were built to last, thousands remain today to be discovered and restored. Houses by Mail shows how to return them to their original charm while it documents a highly successful business enterprise that embodied the spirit and domestic design of its time. "After decades of obscurity, Sears houses have become chic." --Wall Street Journal "These were . spacious, solidly built homes." --Parade "Don't be surprised if your own cozy bungalow turns up [in the book]."--Philadelphia Inquirer "A nostalgic and informative look at the tastes of Americans in the years before World War II."--Publishers Weekly "The bible to researchers of Sears' ready-cut homes."--Saturday Evening Post

Genres: Architecture, Nonfiction, History

368 pages, Paperback

Published July 19, 1995

Reviews

[Robert Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Houses of note:

1. The Alhambra, (my personal favorite) and it's much rarer sibling, The Monterey.
2. The Carlton, designed by Prairie School Jack van Bergen. An exact replica of the Andrew O. Anderson House in DeKalb, Illinois. No known Sears examples built, although there are three examples of the design built in Illinois.
3. The Aurora, scaled down version of The Carlton. One example known in Cincinnati.
4. The Magnolia, The grandest of all the Sears offerings. Basically a Four Square with delusions of grandeur. Several known examples survive, including a mortuary.
5. The Bryant, a truly modern design. The first and only International Style offered. No known examples.

[Antonia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love looking at floor plans of old houses, so this was great. Funny what was necessary (a big reception hall) and what could be optional - like a bathroom. Or "note the convenient arrangement in the floor plan which enables you to go from the kitchen through the bedroom up to the second floor or to the parlor without going through the dining room." Took me a few to realize that the "refrigerator" was in the back hall and not in the kitchen becasue it was an icebox. I was just in a original Sears house and found it a well built, attractive house, especially with all of its interior wooden trim. Another, much larger "Victorian" house has had additions and modernizations, but can still be recognized.

I hadn't realized that the convenience of having everything, down to nails and paint, arrive in one or two boxcars had one practical side. All of the lumber was precut. In an era before power tools, this really cut down on the labor necessary to build the house.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting to see the houses one could buy and build. I especially enjoyed seeing the floor plans. These are all photocopies and can be difficult to read, hence my 3 stars. I wish the plans could have been enhanced to make them easier to read. Really cool book!

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very neat that my library had a copy of this! I could flip through it all day. I've got a lot of Sears homes in my town and its always fun to point them out.

[Belinda]

Excellant resource