Image from the online Sears Archive Catalogue http://www.searsarchives.com/homes/images/1908-1914/1911_0165.jpg Click to enlarge

The Sears, Roebuck, and Co. sold over 70,000 homes from 1908 to 1940. The homes were actually plans and materials that were sold to individuals who then completed the actual construction. The floor plans of these homes offer a glimpse at how middle class people managed their daily home life. Today, Sears maintains an archive of catalogue advertisements, such as the one above. Students can study selected advertisements to contrast lifestyles among various groups of people. For example, look at these two plans.    

This plan, called the Chelsea, was sold in the early 1910s for $2,500, which made it one the most expense homes listed in the Sears Modern Homes Catalogue. The home included nine rooms, with four bedrooms upstairs and an entry hall, parlor, dining room, and kitchen downstairs. An long 24 foot porch stretched across the front opening the home to neighbors. As sold, this Sears home included all the plans and most materials needed.

Image from the online Sears Archive Catalogue http://www.searsarchives.com/homes/images/1908-1914/1908_0111.jpg (Click to enlarge) 

The Sears archive, includes almost 120 images of homes. Comparing various homes in the archive can lead to inferences on a range of topics. For example, compare the Chelsea to the Newbury, which was listed 20 years later in the 1930s. This home listed for 1,900, over 500 less than the Chelsea. Prehapes the smaller and less expensive home reflected the changing economic conditions of the 1930s. 

 Image from the online Sears Archive Catalogue http://www.searsarchives.com/homes/images/1933-1940/1934_3397.jpg

 (Click to enlarge)