Stark, actually: Preservation Society selling catalog that was the Amazon of yesteryear
The "Stark, actually" featurettes are about people, places and things in Stark County. Prior examples have included everything from a thoroughbred horse farm to the annual spawning run of white bass, into the Mahoning River near Alliance.
What: A 1919 Montgomery Ward catalog for sale for $125 at the Canton Preservation Society store. It's among a few stacks of old mail-order catalogs for sale there now.
Where: The store is at 1227 Tuscarawas St. W, Canton.
When: This photo was taken on Jan. 12.
The story: It was such a novel idea. Shop from the comfort of your own home. Pick up a product from a central location. Or, even have it delivered to your house.
Sound familiar?
Apologies to Jeff Bezos, but the premise of Amazon's business was born more than 150 years ago with general merchandise mail-order shopping catalogs.
A man named Aaron Montgomery Ward launched the first such catalog in 1872. Sears followed a couple decades later. By the early 1900s — aided by the rollout of parcel post service ― the pioneering retail giants had become the virtual superstores of the era.
The hub of the Montgomery Ward operations was a 1.25 million-square-foot building near downtown Chicago.
The tens of thousands of items for sale in its 1919 Ward catalog include everything from roof shingles to fur coats.
A sampling:
Brown or black striped men's suit for $19.95; velvet and corduroy lined doll carriage ($5.95); silk plush teddy bear ($1.95); books (all less than $1 apiece); continuous service motor ($21.95); oak rocking chair ($8.75); wool rugs for as little as $8; kraut, vegetable and slaw cutters ($1.25); and the Advance Windsor stove, advertised as being "Almost as old as grandmother and still good," for $68.50.
Montgomery Ward later added distribution centers and 500-plus stores. It also grew its catalog offerings to include items such as Wardway house kits and even cats, dogs and ponies.
However, by the 1950s, the business began to struggle. Competitors chipped away at Ward's customer base.
Shredded for good by the competition, the sagging company closed its stores and went out of business during bankruptcy proceedings, which concluded in 2004.
At that time, Direct Marketing Services Inc., a catalog marketer, acquired the Ward name. Today's Montgomery Ward operates mostly as an internet sales business.
Reach Tim at 330-580-8333 ortim.botos@cantonrep.com.On Twitter: @tbotosREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: 1919 Montgomery Ward catalog for sale in Canton for $125
