Aaron Montgomery Ward started his mail order business in Chicago in 1872. While companies at the time were putting out single page mail order ads, Ward was the first to send out a multiple-item price list. The catalog targeted the rural consumer who wanted the comforts of city life. Ward’s catalog made such comforts available to rural communities.

In 1896 Ward’s catalog began receiving competition from the Sears and Roebuck Company, who began to put out their own catalog. Although neither company puts out a mail-order catalog anymore, Ward’s catalog is still regarded as an influential relic from American life. 

Learn more:
Read more about Montgomery Ward