The House that Came in the Mail Again
99% Invisible5 Okt 2021

The House that Came in the Mail Again

The Sears & Roebuck Mail Order Catalog was nearly omnipresent in early 20th century American life. By 1908, one fifth of Americans were subscribers. Anyone anywhere in the country could order a copy for free, look through it, and then have anything their heart desired delivered directly to their doorstep. At its peak, the Sears catalog offered over 100,000 items on 1,400 pages. It weighed four pounds. Today, those 1,400 pages provide us with a snapshot of American life in the first decade of the 20th century, from sheep-shearing machines and cream separators to telephones and china cabinets. The Sears catalog tells the tale of a world -- itemized. And starting in 1908, the company that offered America everything began offering what just might be its most audacious product line ever: houses.

Buy The 99% Invisible City!

Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early.

Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Avsnitt(776)

Cooking with Gas

Cooking with Gas

Back in January, Bloomberg News published a story quoting an obscure government official named Richard Trumka Jr. He works with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which regulates stuff like furni...

1 Aug 202329min

The Country of the Blind

The Country of the Blind

Andrew Leland grew up with full vision, but starting in his teenage years, his sight began to degrade from the outside in, such that he now sees the world as if through a narrow tube. Soon—but without...

25 Juli 202347min

Shade Redux

Shade Redux

This past May, the city of Los Angeles rolled out a brand new, state-of-the art feature for bus shelters. It’s called La Sombrita. La Sombrita is a metal screen that’s intended to provide shade for th...

18 Juli 202329min

Chick Tracts

Chick Tracts

In the 1980s, the little Christian comic books known as Chick Tracts were EVERYWHERE. You’d find them in movie theaters and bus station bathrooms, on subways, and all over shopping malls. People would...

11 Juli 202334min

In Proximity: Ryan Coogler and Roman Mars

In Proximity: Ryan Coogler and Roman Mars

In Proximity is a podcast from Proximity Media about craft, career, and creativity.Proximity founder Ryan Coogler talks all about podcasts with Roman Mars, host and creator of 99% Invisible, a sound-r...

5 Juli 202330min

Player Piano

Player Piano

This week we're featuring an episode of The Last ArchiveThe Last Archive is a history show. Our evidence is the evidence of history, the evidence of archives. Manuscripts, photographs, letters and dia...

27 Juni 202353min

The Frankfurt Kitchen

The Frankfurt Kitchen

After World War I, in Frankfurt, Germany, the city government was taking on a big project. A lot of residents were in dire straits, and in the second half of the 1920s, the city built over 10,000 publ...

20 Juni 202334min

The Siren of Scrap Metal

The Siren of Scrap Metal

Amid the noisy bustle of Mexico City, there is a particularly iconic sound echoing on repeat in the background. This recording blares from trucks that cruise the streets all across this massive city. ...

13 Juni 202334min

Populärt inom Business & ekonomi

badfluence
framgangspodden
varvet
rss-jossan-nina
uppgang-och-fall
rss-borsens-finest
rss-svart-marknad
bathina-en-podcast
rss-dagen-med-di
rss-inga-dumma-fragor-om-pengar
fill-or-kill
dynastin
avanzapodden
rss-kort-lang-analyspodden-fran-di
lastbilspodden
24fragor
borsmorgon
tabberaset
svd-tech-brief
kapitalet-en-podd-om-ekonomi