Sears, Roebuck & Co. Mail-Order Catalog, "Ladies' Misses and Girls' Clothing, Fall & Winter, 1907-1908"

By 1900, Sears, Roebuck & Company was one of the greatest merchandisers in the world. For rural residents, mail order catalogs provided a "taste" of the urban experience, offering ready-made goods like those found in the shops and department stores that blossomed in the commercial districts of America's burgeoning cities. Catalogs broadened the merchandise selection for city people as well.