Tag Archives: Sears

Christmas in the Archives

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By Jennifer Anderson

In December, many of our clients, donors and readers are preparing for Christmas. So many Christmas traditions are linked to anticipation—preparing surprises for loved ones, dreaming up projects for the New Year, offering comfort and warmth to family, friends and strangers.

Simpson’s, the Christmas Tree Store, around 1955 (e011172111)

That feeling of anticipation is not unlike what it is to work as an archivist. In some ways, it feels like Christmas all year round in the archives: opening boxes, making discoveries, and anticipating the interest that the public will find in our collections. The work of a reference archivist is like customer service: it gives us great satisfaction to be able to assist researchers. Archival work also inspires a sense of gratitude to colleagues who work together to make good things happen.

Black-and-white photograph showing children lined up to see Santa Claus, together with three adult women. Everyone is smiling, although some of the children look nervous.

“Secrets to Santa,” 1952 (e011172113)

A case in point: working with the Sears Canada fonds has been the source of much enjoyment for me, and for my colleagues. The collection includes material relating to Sears stores across the country, as well as Sears Canada’s parent companies, all of which are household names in Canada: Simpson’s, Simpsons-Sears and Sears-Roebuck. The fonds consists of textual documents, photographs, scrapbooks, audiovisuals, drawings and architectural blueprints. Included in the acquisition were 200 boxes of published catalogues, which will supplement the already substantial and frequently consulted catalogue collection in Library and Archives Canada’s holdings.

Black-and-white photograph showing shoppers, mostly women, wearing winter coats and hats, studying catalogues at a counter, as well as the store staff behind the counter. There is a sign on the wall reading “Catalogue Shopping Centre,” together with Christmas decorations.

Catalogue Shopping Centre at Christmastime, around 1955 (e011172120)

One very pleasant surprise in the fonds: thousands upon thousands of archival photographs, which are of exceptional quality and interest. Documenting the leisure pursuit of shopping, but also the practical elements of the retail economy and the working lives of store personnel, the photographs are sure to interest the public. And they are fun! These photos also include glimpses of company-sponsored social and cultural extracurricular events like curling, bowling, dance parties and concerts.

Christmas shopping, Regina, Saskatchewan, around 1950 (e011172152)

Thanks to colleagues across Library and Archives Canada, as well as outside this institution, who were involved in the acquisition, organization, description and digitization work, all geared toward making the Sears Canada fonds discoverable.

Black-and-white photograph showing a large group of men, women and children watching an electric train in a store.

Crowd watching an electric train, Regina, around 1950 (e011172147)

Over the coming years, we look forward to seeing this material being used to generate new research findings. Please reach out to us if we can assist you in getting started on your own research.

Black-and-white photograph showing a little boy talking with Santa Claus, while other children and many parents, dressed for winter, are lined up nearby. In the background are two signs that read “Trains” and “Meccano.”

Visiting Santa Claus, around 1955 (e011172112)

Jennifer Anderson was an archivist in the Public Services Branch, and she previously worked in the Science, Environment and Economy section of the Archives Branch, at Library and Archives Canada.

Catalogue shopping at Sears: Delivering the goods

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By Jennifer Anderson

Have you done some online shopping recently? That remote connection you have to retail, complete with delivery to your doorstep, is so convenient. It makes it easier for everyone to gain access to high-quality goods, whether you are mobility-challenged, live far away from urban centres, or cannot visit a store for any other reason. It also saves time.

But shopping remotely was not invented yesterday.

Before the Internet, consumers could shop from a distance using catalogues that were delivered regularly to their homes. They could also pick up their orders at small catalogue stores sometimes located within other shops, like florists and gift stores.

A black-and-white photograph showing the exterior of a catalogue store, with “Simpson’s Order Office” written above the door, and advertisements in the windows.
Simpson’s catalogue order office, Sarnia, Ontario, 1952 (e011172139)

In an earlier blog article, I mentioned that Library and Archives Canada (LAC) acquired the archives of Sears Canada in 2017. There are over 40,000 photographs in this archival fonds, many of which show the day-to-day operations of Simpson’s (and later, Sears) staff working on delivering goods to customers through the company’s catalogue service. Although originally the photographs were likely for public relations, today they offer researchers a window into the everyday working lives of the department store personnel.

After Sears arrived in Canada in 1952, purchasing Simpson’s and rebranding itself as Simpsons-Sears, it was the catalogue that remained the mainstay for the company, eventually outperforming Eaton’s, Dupuis Frères, Hudson’s Bay Company and all other department stores in the mail-order retail business. In the late 1970s, the company dropped the Simpsons name, and its stores became known simply as Sears. The company launched its toll-free telephone number in 1992, and a decade later, it was the most-called phone number in Canada. Sears launched its website in 1996, receiving millions of visits each year. But throughout this period, the catalogue’s popularity continued to grow.

Early catalogue imagery was composed of hand-drawn silhouettes, rather than photographs, aimed at enticing customers to purchase attractive items and ensembles. In many cases, the artists were women, who faced barriers at commercial design firms.

A black-and-white photograph showing two smiling women standing on each side of fashion catalogues from the late 19th century and mid-20th century.
Catalogue shopping, always in style, 1953 (e011172110)

Similarly, the women who promoted fashion in catalogues and magazines had influential careers in journalism and played a role in social change. As Valerie Korinek showed in Roughing It in the Suburbs: Reading Chatelaine Magazine in the Fifties and Sixties (2000), Chatelaine was a powerful medium interacting with a community of Canadian women readers in a pre-Internet age. A photograph of Chatelaine’s fashion editor, Vivian Wilcox, suggests that she was involved in marketing the Sears catalogues.

A black-and-white photograph showing a camper trailer, and a woman unpacking a set of dishes at a table, with smaller images of details of the camper at the bottom of the advertisement.
Vivian Wilcox, fashion editor, Chatelaine, with an artist’s rendering of a silhouette, around 1955 (e011172116)

Marketing researchers and historians will have considerable scope for research projects based on the analysis of advertising in the catalogue, and the ways in which attempts to appeal to customers have changed over the years. For instance, consider this ad for a camper-trailer, from the 1950s, and the ease with which the solitary female camper appears to be preparing for a meal in the woods.

A black-and-white photograph showing a camper trailer, and a woman unpacking a set of dishes at a table, with smaller images of details of the camper at the bottom of the advertisement.
Advertisement for camper trailer, around 1950 (e011172156)

But the photographs in the Sears Canada fonds at LAC are about more than nostalgia or public relations. They reflect real change within the Canadian economy and society over time. The records speak to one company’s efforts to show resilience and adaptation as the economic environment changed. Today, the archival records related to the Sears catalogue are about more than marketing a particular product or a business; they are about how the Canadian retail sector, rooted in a transnational network, worked to remain relevant through the 20th century and into the 21st century.

For example, consider this series of photographs showing the staff of Simpson’s, then Simpsons-Sears, and finally Sears, taking catalogue orders over the telephone. Dated from 1921 to 1972, they show real changes in the communications equipment used, in the desks and the clothing, as well as in the hairstyles. We can also see the change from black-and-white photography to Kodachrome colour photographs. However, the work itself, and the all-female staff, does not appear to change during this time.

  • black-and-white photographs and two colour photographs showing women connected to telephone switchboards with headsets taking catalogue orders over the decades.
    Taking customers’ orders, from 1921 to 1972 (e011172128)
  • black-and-white photographs and two colour photographs showing women connected to telephone switchboards with headsets taking catalogue orders over the decades.
    Taking customers’ orders, from 1921 to 1972 (e011213329)
  • black-and-white photographs and two colour photographs showing women connected to telephone switchboards with headsets taking catalogue orders over the decades.
    Taking customers’ orders, from 1921 to 1972(e011213331)
  • Four black-and-white photographs and two colour photographs showing women connected to telephone switchboards with headsets taking catalogue orders over the decades.
    Taking customers’ orders, from 1921 to 1972(e011172123),
  • colour photographs showing women connected to telephone switchboards with headsets taking catalogue orders over the decades.
    Taking customers’ orders, from 1921 to 1972 (e011172134)
  • colour photographs showing women connected to telephone switchboards with headsets taking catalogue orders over the decades.
    Taking customers’ orders, from 1921 to 1972 (e011172133)

These behind-the-scenes photographs of customers’ orders being wrapped, sorted and labelled suggest a long-lost time, and yet they evoke actions that must be very familiar to anyone working for one of today’s major online retailers.

A black-and-white photograph showing two rows of women standing, wearing aprons and wrapping parcels at a long desk, with shelves containing parcels behind them, and a large roll of wrapping paper in the foreground.
Packing the order, around 1950 (e011213330)

  • Two black-and-white photographs, one showing a group of employees sorting parcels into bins, and the other showing women at desks checking addresses on parcels as the parcels slide down a ramp toward them.
    Sorting parcels, around 1955 and in 1953 (e011172121)
  • Two black-and-white photographs, one showing a group of employees sorting parcels into bins, and the other showing women at desks checking addresses on parcels as the parcels slide down a ramp toward them.
    Sorting parcels, around 1955 and in 1953 (e011172127)

Similarly, this series of photographs of delivery personnel with their trucks strikes a modern viewer as both antiquated and yet somewhat familiar. Today’s delivery staff is as likely to be female as male, and it is extremely unlikely that they would wear bow ties! However, the uniform itself as a symbol of trust and the pride taken in ensuring customer satisfaction are doubtless still parts of the service standards of any contemporary enterprise.

  • Three black-and-white photographs showing men dressed in uniforms beside Simpson’s delivery trucks, over the decades.
    Delivery team, from around 1927 to 1960 (e011172142)
  • Three black-and-white photographs showing men dressed in uniforms beside Simpson’s delivery trucks, over the decades.
    Delivery team, from around 1927 to 1960 (e011213328)
  • Three black-and-white photographs showing men dressed in uniforms beside Simpson’s delivery trucks, over the decades.
    Delivery team, from around 1927 to 1960 (e011172124)

And certainly the economic importance of large distribution centres, both as places of employment and delivery hubs, is a familiar concept in today’s world of online shopping.

A black-and-white photograph showing two men checking paperwork in a large distribution centre, with merchandise visible on a series of rolling carts in the foreground and fluorescent lights overhead.
Kenmore distribution centre, Toronto, 1960 (e011172129)

One photograph, which may appear anachronistic today, but which was at one time central to the guarantees that large department stores offered their customers, shows the appliance repair and service department.

A black-and-white photograph showing three men repairing items in a workshop, and a fourth man moving a large appliance.
Kenmore service department, Toronto, 1960 (e011172130)
A black-and-white photograph showing two women ironing clothes and three women working at sewing machines.
Women in a sewing room, around 1955; left to right: Louise Karst, Elizabeth Moehring, Anne Dawson, Madeleine Huzina and Helen Marg (e011172115)

The pages of these catalogues continue to generate high interest among LAC’s users, whether they are interested in the history of design, advertising, marketing or pricing. We are therefore confident that the Sears Canada fonds will generate an enthusiastic response from the research community and Canadians who are interested in the fascinating history of Sears Canada or have fond memories of the department store.

If you are looking into starting research on Sears Canada or a related subject, or have already begun, our reference specialists would be pleased to assist you. Simply use our Ask Us a Question form to contact us. We look forward to hearing from you!

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Jennifer Anderson was an archivist in the Public Services Branch, and she previously worked in the Science, Environment and Economy section of the Archives Branch, at Library and Archives Canada.