Before Amazon and other forms of online shopping, there was the Sears catalog. The Sears Catalog, or “Wish Book, began in 1888 as a small mail order publication that sold watches and jewelry, but quickly evolved into a comprehensive retail catalog that sold everything from underwear to farm equipment. Just like the “one click” orders of today, you could simply fill out a form, include payment, and send off for your clothing, furniture, or medical equipment. You could expect delivery to your home or the general store in no time.

Sears was not the first to offer a mail-order catalog. Ben Franklin circulated a small one that sold books, and seed catalogues for farmers were popular in the agricultural industry for much of the 1800s, but the 1,000 page catalog packed to the brim with illustrations and enticing advertising produced by Sears was unique.
Generations of families remember sitting around the fire and circling their “wishes” in the book in hopes they would receive a few of them for Christmas, and many buildings here in Door County were sent from Sears in pieces to be assembled onsite.

Many scholars praise the Sears catalog as the first modern example of American advertising, and credit it with aiding in the development of many rural areas. Stop in the Greene Store to see a reproduction of the 1910 publication. Can you find products inside that are similar to those you would order today?