You could order a house from a Sears catalog from 1908 to 1940. 

447 Different Models were available. 

Including this guy — “Modern home number 102″ . A ten room residence:

This is what the home looks like today:

It is pretty incredible that someone could order their home from a catalog in the very recent past. 

What’s more: 

“The ability to mass-produce the materials used in Sears homes lessened manufacturing costs, which lowered purchase costs for customers. Not only did precut and fitted materials shrink construction time up to 40% but Sears’s use of “balloon style” framing, drywall, and asphalt shingles greatly eased construction for homebuyers.“

Beyond just selling WHOLE HOUSES through a catalog, innovations in design and manufacturing elevated the concept of a modern home. 

 “Central heating not only improved the livability of homes with little insulation but it also improved fire safety, always a worry in an era where open flames threatened houses and whole cities, in the case of the Chicago Fire. Indoor plumbing and homes wired for electricity were the first steps to modern kitchens and bathrooms.”

What happened to the concept of the modern home? Why did Sears phase it out? 

“Sears began offering financing plans in 1916. However, the company experienced steadily rising payment defaults throughout the Great Depression, resulting in increasing strain for the catalog house program. The mortgage portion of the program was discontinued in 1934 after Sears was forced to liquidate $11 million in defaulted debt. Sears closed their Modern Homes department in 1940. A few years later, all sales records were destroyed during a corporate house cleaning. The only way to find these houses today is literally one by one.“

There many lessons to be learned here about brands being responsible for moving society “forward”, and interesting parallels to our current housing crisis. It would also take someone much more intelligent than myself to adaquately research and explain these relationships. 

There is something inspiring about the impact of the Sears modern home on society. 

The Sears Modern Home –

1. Moved society forward

2. Helped define what it meant to own a modern home.

3. Supply chain innovation

4. Made a process that had numerous disprate parts both customizeable and uniform, selling directly to a consumer. 

5. Richard Nixon was born in one of these houses. 

Hmm. Sound familiar (Minus number 5)?  Are we talking about Amazon / Apple / Zaarly / Zynga / Groupon right now? Or Sears in 1908?  

The new challenge, is to take this process a step further –

How can a brand do all of these things listed above, and, in the process, improve the quality of life for not only for its customers, but the planet as a whole?

Oh, and not be part of a global financial meltdown and depression.

If Sears could sell full homes out of a catalog in 1908, brands should proably be able to make the world a more secure place while also making a profit. Here’s to optimism. 

Am I alone in my optimisim? Is this kind of innovation even possible?  

For more read: 

1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sears_Catalog_Home

2) http://www.searsarchives.com/homes/

All photos are also from these two sites.