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Original 1902 Sears, Roebuck & Co. Catalogue No. 112, measuring approximately 12" × 9" and containing approximately 1,088 numbered pages of illustrated merchandise, advertising, prices, and descriptions from turn-of-the-century America.
This substantial catalog offered nearly everything Sears customers might need, including clothing, bicycles, tools, hardware, household equipment, furniture, architectural fittings, children’s goods, and personal accessories. The Metropolitan Museum of Art also dates Catalogue No. 112 to 1902.
The opening material includes an unusual printed facsimile letter from Sears, designed to resemble a handwritten personal message to customers. It is printed as part of the original catalog rather than being a separately written letter, but it is an interesting example of early direct-mail marketing and remains with this copy.
What You’ll Love
Original Sears catalog rather than a later reproduction
Catalogue No. 112, dating to 1902
Approximately 1,088 numbered pages
Extensive black-and-white merchandise illustrations
Original printed facsimile “handwritten” Sears letter
Period advertising typography and sales language
Useful reference for clothing, tools, bicycles, hardware, furnishings, and everyday American life
Strong resource for historians, collectors, costumers, set decorators, artists, and researchers
Because the binding has largely failed, the surviving pages may also be suitable for careful matting and framing. Individual advertisements could make distinctive décor for:
Bicycle shops or cycling rooms
Workshops and tool displays
Tailoring or sewing rooms
Kitchens and restaurants
Antique stores
Historic homes
Offices, libraries, and studies
Period film or theater sets
The pages could also be scanned for historical study, advertising research, costume reference, scrapbooking, collage, or mixed-media art. No recommendation is made to dismantle an intact antique book; however, this catalog’s binding is already severely compromised.
Condition
Heavily distressed antique condition.
The original cloth-covered binding is no longer structurally sound. The spine covering is substantially deteriorated and separated, with extensive fraying, tears, losses, exposed binding material, loosened sections, worn corners, discoloration, staining, and general age-related deterioration.
Pages show toning, brittle or chipped edges, tears, creases, stains, and handling wear. Some pages or gatherings may be loose or partially detached. The catalog appears to retain a substantial portion of its contents and is numbered to approximately 1,088 pages, but every page has not been individually inventoried; completeness is not guaranteed.
The catalog must be handled carefully and is not suitable for ordinary reading without further deterioration. It is best considered a fragile historical reference, restoration project, display piece, or source of original advertising pages.
Please examine all photographs closely. They are an important part of the condition description.
Measurements
Approximately 12" tall
Approximately 9" wide
Approximately 1,088 numbered pages
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