Montgomery Ward and Sears Roebuck: The 100 Year War at Gilmanton Historical Society

GILMANTON — The Gilmanton Historical Society opens its 2017 summer series on Tuesday, May 23, at 7 p.m. at Old Town Hall in Gilmanton Iron Works. The event features a presentation by Calvin Knickerbocker on the competition between Montgomery Ward and Sears Roebuck through most of the 20th century.

Aaron Montgomery Ward started the first general purpose catalog sales offering in 1872, focusing on rural customers in the Midwest. He soon expanded to include the entire nation. Richard Sears founded his only similar competitor in 1893. From then until Wards dropped its catalog option in 1985, the two battled for mail order supremacy. Wards was more conservative, while Sears aggressively "peddled" its goods. As a result, Sears took over the lead in sales volume by 1900 and never lost that lead.

This presentation follows the creation, evolution, and eventual demise of catalog sales as a major force in our nation. As the population became more urban, both companies opened retail stores which, soon after World War II, outstripped catalog as their major source of revenue. Through this, there were various decisions that made a huge difference in the relative success of the two companies, according to Knickerbocker.

Many actual catalog pages from 1875 to the 1980s will be shown, illustrating the changing emphasis from rural to urban and from utilitarian to luxury goods over the years.

This program is the first in the Gilmanton Historical Society's 2017 summer series. Programs are offered on the fourth Tuesday of each month, May through September. Upcoming events include the history of New Hampshire Weathervanes by June Glenn Knoblock presented in June. In July, the Society will conduct a walking tour of the Gilmanton Corner village. Pat Clarke will speak about the Gilmanton Summer Hotels in August. The final program in September addresses the hurricane of 1938.

The Society's Museum in Old Town Hall features an exhibit of vintage clothing worn by Gilmanton residents. The exhibit will be open on Saturday morning, July 29, from 10 a.m. to noon. The programs are free and open to the public. Donations to support the work of the Society are always welcome.

Montgomery Ward vs Sears Roebuck is the topic at the Gilmanton Historical Society's program on Tuesday, May 23, 7:30 p.m. at Old Town Hall in Gilmanton Iron Works. (Courtesy photo)