Putting Sears Homes on the Map:  The Mail Order House Phenomenon
1906-82  By Architectural Historian Rebecca Hunter

On Thursday, November 10th at 6:30 p.m. the City of Chester Beautification /Tourism Commission is partnering with CPL to host Rebecca Hunter, architectural historian. She will present Putting Sears Homes on the Map:  The Mail Order House Phenomenon 1906-82.

General merchandise mail order catalogs we10re established in the late 1890s –
Montgomery Ward and Sears Roebuck were among the first – offering a wide variety of
goods to the rural market. House plan books appeared at about the same time. In 1906 a
combination of these two marketing techniques first came on the scene – mail order
houses. Sears Roebuck is the best known of all the companies that sold mail order
homes, although not the first in the business. We will learn the history of mail order
home marketing and view images of homes from the nine major producers of these
homes.

Rebecca will have a list of homes in Chester that are potentially mail order homes. Registration is appreciated for this event.