Revival Of Sears Catalog 'Kit' Homes

Sears Catalog "kit homes", sold from 1908 to 1940 for less than $2,000, including delivery, are now experiencing a surprising revival as history meets architecture.

1 minute read

November 11, 2002, 11:00 AM PST

By Chris Steins @planetizen

"From 1908 to 1940, Sears sold kit houses by mail that included everything from precut lumber to the kitchen sink. The 116-year-old company may not have written the book on U.S. homes, but it did write the catalog... 'There's a great deal of interest in kit homes now,' said Howard Decker, the chief curator at the National Building Museum in Washington, which is itself considering an exhibition on mail-order homes. 'They symbolized easy and affordable access to an American mythology: the ownership of a single- family home.'"

Thanks to Laura Kranz

FULL STORY: Insert house (a) into landscape (b) and move in (c)

Wednesday, November 6, 2002 in The San Francisco Chronicle

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