Cover of the 1922 Sears General Merchandise catalog.

The barn in the background is a Sears kit barn, L2055.

The Sears barn as seen in the 1920 Sears Modern Homes catalog.

Unnamed, happy child with severely deformed left leg and mangled left hand rushes out to the mailbox to see what parcels have arrived from Sears and Roebuck.

These must be some of Sears best customers! Not only did they order a house, silo and barn from Sears, but each day they receive a plethora of packages!

Close-up of the Sears Silverdale. But what kind of car is that?

The Silverdale, as seen in the 1916 Sears catalog.

A real live Silverdale in Hettick, IL.

Thanks again to Rachel for sharing this wonderful picture!

Needham is a suburb of Boston and to the flat-lander tourist, it appears to be an incredibly prosperous community. The architecture is thoughtfully preserved and - with few exceptions - in excellent (original) condition. It's also a town full of churches. The Baptist Church is shown above.

The Sears Home I found in Needham is an "Ivanhoe," one of the largest and fanciest models that Sears offered (1920). It was more than 2,000 square feet, not including the sunporches.

The dotted lines on the floorplan represented beamed ceilings (made of oak).

Great symmetry! And notice the side porches. Plus, there was quite a bit of space on the 3rd floor.

This Ivanhoe is in Lewisburg, West Virginia.

Another Ivanhoe in Monmouth, Illinois. Photo is copyright 2010 Carol Parish and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

And here's the Ivahoe in Needham! Unfortunately, due to the abundance of trees, I had a heck of a time getting a photo of the house, but it's definitely a Sears Ivanhoe!

Detail of the dormer on the 3rd floor.

Another classic feature of the Ivanhoe are those oversized eaves. I was delighted to see that the house in Needham has not been decimated with aluminum trim and substitute sidings. These houses were built with all cypress exteriors. Cypress was billed as "The Wood Eternal." Because it's an oily, dense wood, it's naturally resistant to wood rot and insect infestation.

A view from the other side. Again, the landscaping made it very difficult.

And unlike 90% of the Ivanhoes I've seen, this one in Needham still retains its original little windows in the living room. The house is currently being remodeled. I hope the windows survive!

And it sits on a big spacious lot!

Apparently, it was widely believed that this was a kit home from Sears, but in fact, it was from Gordon Van Tine (another kit home company).

In fact, it's Gordon Van Tine Model 587 (as seen in the 1918 catalog).

"Notice also the odd touches in the design which make it distinctively different."

The addition on the side of the house (shown in the first photo above) apparently was put right off the side porch. That bathroom is mighty small.

Close up of the house shows what a fine match it is!

This picture was taken before that Nandina got so tall and hid the side windows! Photo is from the Staunton Auditor's office, and I am really, really hoping that the fine folks in the Staunton's Auditor's office don't mind my using this photo.

A side-by-side comparison of the little house in Staunton and the catalog image.

And you'll notice that the front door is original, too! Beautiful landscaping, too!

Check out the details around the front porch.

This close-up shows the detail of the lattice work around the columns. It's amazing that this lattice work is still intact. The pergola is gone, replaced with a solid roof, but this is a common modification.

What a pretty house! And now we know - it did *not* come from Sears, but from a mail-order company in Davenport, Iowa: Gordon Van Tine!

I sure do hope the owners come back and check my blog!

The Ferndale was only offered for two years, 1929 and 1933. It's shown here in the 1929 catalog.

Those dark shutters are not only pleasing, but functional!

It tickles me that the tub on the Ferndale juts out in this floorplan.

It is indeed a "charming" little house.

And thanks to Mrs. Bethke, it's still in mostly original condition, looking much like it did when built in 1931. Will the new owners take good care of it, and preserve the original windows, siding and shutters? We can only hope. Photo is copyright 2013 Andrew and Wendy Mutch and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

Check out the detail around the front porch (1929 catalog).

Picture perfect! Looks just like the catalog. Photo is copyright 2013 Andrew and Wendy Mutch and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

Now it's for sale, but 80 years ago, Mr. and Mrs. Bethke bought it as a 12,000-piece kit from Sears and Reobuck, and then built their own home. Very impressive. Photo is copyright 2013 Andrew and Wendy Mutch and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

A view of our darling Fernwood from the other side. If you look at the floorplan above, you'll see it's a perfect match. Photo is copyright 2013 Andrew and Wendy Mutch and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

First, the good. The Sears Glen Falls was a beautiful Dutch Colonial and spacious, too (1928).

At 2,900 square feet, the Glen Falls was just a little smaller than the biggest Sears House of them all - The Magnolia. The Glen Falls was also the second most expensive house that Sears offered (The Magnolia being the most expensive). Notice the butler's pantry (between the dining room and the kitchen). These were unusual features for an early 1920s kit home.

Is this a Sears Glen Falls? With the paired french doors, it sure looks like s a good match, but I'd need to know the home's exterior footprint to authenticate it.

And on to the grand! This is a Sears Rockford, one of Sears finer homes. This majestic foursquare was offered only in brick. It's shown here in the 1928 catalog. I've only seen three other Rockfords and all three of them were in Virginia.

Notice the detail on the columns, and the eave brackets. Also notice the window arrangement.

And here's a picture-perfect Rockford in Charlottesville. What a grand find! Do the owners know it's a Sears Rockford? I'd love to know.

Oh my, what a lovely match!

The astute observer might notice that the dormer on the Charlottesville Rockford is just not a perfect match to the original catalog image. I've seen three Rockfords (all in Virginia) and each of these Rockford had a much smaller dormer than is depicted in the catalog's line drawing. Shown above is the Rockford in Cape Charles, Virginia.

Thanks to K. Edward Lay, I've learned that there's a Sears Ashmore in Charlottesville. This was a classic Arts and Crafts bungalow (as seen in the 1919 Sears Modern Homes catalog).

Also thanks to K. Edward Lay, I now have a photo of the Ashmore in Charlottesville! And it's the "Aristocrat of bungalows!" Photo is credit is K. Edward Lay, The Architecture of Jefferson Country, CD-Rom, 2001.

Another view of the "Aristocratic Bungalow" in Charlottesville, VA. Photo is credit is K. Edward Lay, The Architecture of Jefferson Country, CD-Rom, 2001.

Before we get to the "ugly," let's talk about the mysterious. This is a Sears Barrington, a hugely popular house for Sears (1928 catalog). Notice the cornice dormer, the front-gabled foyer and the darling little windows within that gable.

And here's where it gets mysterious. Is this a Sears Barrington in Charlottesville? It sure looks like it could be. Oooh, but wait, look at the half-round door! And the darling little window is squared, not angled (as is shown in the image above). And there's no light over the door. Hmmm. So, maybe it's not a Sears Barrington? Tough to know for sure. It's another house that bears more investigation.

Here in Virginia, I've found that the majority of our kit homes came from Aladdin Kit Homes (Bay City, MI). Aladdin was actually a bigger company than Sears, and Aladdin had a mill in Wilmington, NC. Sears sold about 70,000 kit homes in the early 20th Century, while Aladdin sold more than 75,000 houses. Shown here is an Aladdin Newcastle, which looks a lot like a Sears Barrington, except, the Newcastle does have that rounded entry door, and there's no light over the door. However, the darling little windows are still not quite right.

So is it an Aladdin Newcastle or a Sears Barrington? I don't know. I'd love to get inside the house and look at the framing members. You can learn a lot by looking at framing members.

For instance, if it has a mark like this, it's a Sears kit home. This mark, together with a 75-page instruction book, told the novice homebuilder how all those 12,000 pieces and parts went together.

If it has a mark like this, it's an Aladdin.

The Sears Westly was surely one of their most popular designs, and was proably one of their top ten best-selling models. It's a very cute house and has a good floor plan. However, sometimes bad things happen to good Westlys. Image is from 1916 Sears catalog.

Before we hit the ugly, here's a happy, happy Westly in Oakhill, West Virginia. What a fine little Westly it is. And it's in original condition, too. Not bad for a 90-year-old home.

Oh dear. Oh dear, dear, dear.

Oh my, is this really a Westly? I fear that it is. In fact, I'm 98.765% certain that it is. I've seen at least 200 Westlys and this has the right proportions (minus the not-so-sensitive remodeling).

Poor little Westly. There's so much that's wrong with this house. It's kind of an anachronism of bad remodeling practices through the decades. From the T-111 siding on the exterior to the 1980s picture windows to the fake stone facade to the mismatched lanterns on the home's front, this poor house has suffered pretty much every architectural indignity imaginable.

In addition to the kit homes, Charlottesville also has a few "Plan Book" houses. These were different from kit homes. With plan books, you'd browse the pages of the catalog and pick out a house and send off for the blueprints. A complete inventory of all building materials that you'd need came with the deal. The lumber and hardware could then be purchased locally.

Shown above is a plan book house, "The Somerset."

And Charlottesville has two of them!

Most likely, the Sears Homes in Gordonsville came into town right here at the Gordonsville depot. Sadly, this building was torn down sometime in the 1970s or so. I'd be grateful to know an exact date. Just beyond the depot is the signal tower. I'd also be grateful to know how this survived the wrekcing ball. Photo is copyright 2010, C&O Historical Society and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

What a thrill to find the signal tower is still standing!

The Sears Arlington was a classic Arts & Crafts bungalow (1919).

The Arlington, close up and personal.

Be still my heart! What a glorious, gorgeous example of a Sears Arlington!

And if you look down the side, you'll see it has the "stair step" windows. This Arlington truly is a perfect example, and a large part of the reason it's so perfect is that it retains its original siding and windows.

Take a look at the original casements on the Arlington.

My oh my, what a beautiful thing to see! It even has original WOODEN storms!!

And just down the road from the Arlington is what I suspect is a Sears Chelsea (1908).

Is this a Chelsea in Gordonsville? Tough to know for sure. My first impression is YES, but I'm just not 100% certain. I'd love to get inside this house and do a more thorough inspection.

A sneak peak of the beautiful Kentucky I found in Louisa.

The Kentucky, as seen in the 1919 catalog.

The Kentucky was offered in two floorplans, small and large. This house was 43' wide!!!

Fine-looking house, isn't it?

Be still my heart. Here it is, alive and well in Louisa, VA. It's rare to find a 100-year-old house still in original condition. This house has its original doors, windows and sidings!

The Kentucky is a very wide house!

Close-up on the details. I love those windows!

Many years ago, someone planted a pair of oaks squarely in front of the house.

Close-up on the catalog image shows detail of the columns, doors and window.

This Kentucky looks much like it did when built in 1914.

Easily one of the best matches I've ever seen - and it's in Louisa, VA!

In addition to the Aladdin Kentucky, I also found this cute little bungalow in Louisa. This image is from the 1923 Aladdin catalog. This was the Aladdin "Cape Cod" (model name).

What a nice match to the catalog page!

The Aladdin Madison was a very poplar house for Aladdin. In this graphic (1928 catalog), it was called "The Lindbergh."

This house was offered with two floorplans. The Madison in Louisa was the larger of the two floorplans, with the extra window on the home's front, and the two bump-outs in the rear.

Here's the Madison in Louisa! Another lovely match!

Should I start with my favorite? Above is a picture of the Sears Sherburne, from the 1921 Building Materials catalog. It was a spacious, grand house and I've not seen many of these.

And here it is, looking much like it did when built in the late 1910s or early 1920s. What a house! And it came from a kit!

And despite this being a fairly rare model of Sears Kit House, I found a second one, within a few blocks of the first house! And it's also a real beauty! Notice the dramatic cornice returns extending well over the front porch area.

The big surprise of this excursion was this house, the Sears Avalon. This was another unusually fine and somewhat hard-to-find kit house offered by Sears. Prior to Richmond, I'd only seen maybe five Avalons throughout the country. And yet, in Richmond, I found FIVE within one seven-block area. FIVE Avalons! What in the world??

Here's another view of the Avalon from the 1921 catalog. Notice the three square vents on the gabled porch roof (far left) and the small indent in the chimney. Also notice the small attic window over the porch. See how the porch columns are mostly masonry with a little bit of wooden column? These are all distinctive features.

And the floor plans could be "reversed," to take advantage of better lighting on the site.

Wow. Just wow. One of the most perfect Sears Avalons, right here in Richmond. Wow.

Avalon #2 was on Semmes Avenue, near 30th Street. This house also has those three vents on the gabled end of the porch. In that this house has stucco, the porch columns were a little different, but that's a minor alteration and not significant in identifying this as an Avalon.

Avalon #3. I'm very happy that Richmond has so many Avalons that they're to be numbered for identification. This was also retains its original railings.

How cool! Pretty amazing, isn't it!

Avalon #4. Turns out, most of these Avalons face due West, so I was photographing right into the morning sun. Some of these pictures aren't the best, but one has to do what one has to do! This house was on Riverside Drive. That's my hand at the upper left, trying to behave like a sun shield.

Avalon #5. Despite its modifications and alterations, I'm fairly confident that this is a Sears Avalon. The roof has been raised, giving it a higher pitch, and creating a small indented space in front of that attic window, but if you look at the details, you can see this looks like a Sears Avalon. Unfortunately due to sidewalk construction, I was not able to get a better photo.

But there's still more. This is a Sears Montrose as seen in the 1928 catalog.

Several unusual features around the front door give this house its distinctive appearance.

Is this a Sears Montrose on Roanoke Avenue? It's pretty close. Look at the pent roof that continues around that sunporch. And look at the details around the front porch.

The Sears Maywood was one of their finer homes.

This appears to be a Sears Maywood, tucked away behind the trees.

The Sears Westly was a very popular house for Sears.

And you've got a lovely Westly in Richmond!

This was an interesting find: An older Sears House (pre-1916). This was model #190.

And such a nice example!

The Sears Strathmore has always been one of my favorites!

And here's another perfect example of it!

In addition to Sears, there were six other companies selling kit homes on a national level. One of them was Harris Brothers. They were based in Chicago and a much smaller company than Sears, so imagine my surprise at finding a HB house in Richmond! This is Harris Brothers Model J-161 (1920 catalog).

Nice match, isn't it!

One of the more popular houses offered by Harris Brothers was this house, Model N-1000.

Is this the N-1000 (shown above)? It's certainly a possibility. Although not visible in this photo, this house has the rounded front porch, as seen on the floorplan in the catalog image above.

Another national kit home company was Gordon Van Tine. They were probably almost as big as Sears. Here's a picture of the Gordon Van Tine Home #507.

And here's a perfect representation of #507. Gosh, what a fine-looking house. Photo is copyright 2010, Taber Andrew Bain and may not be used or reproduced.

For 76.99 pounds (British), you can have your own "Henry J" (Sears Allstate) auto. This is a miniature reproduction of the 1952 "Deluxe" Allstate, offered by minimodelshop.com.uk.

WLS was originally started by Sears and Roebuck to use wholly as a promotional tool. WLS stands for "World's Largest Store." Shown here is the first edition of the WLS (Sears) employee newsletter.

Sears had a massive lumber mill just outside of Cairo, Illinois. The street was named "Sears and Roebuck Road," but in later years, it was split into two dead-end streets by the highway. One side was named "Sears Road."

And the other side was named "Roebuck Road."

And Garmin never got the memo...

The Cinderella (1921 Sears catalog) was so named because it was an efficiently designed bungalow that saved the housewife much time and effort.

Interior views of The Cinderella (1921).

Less furniture to buy - less trouble and work. Good points, actually.

In the Cinderella, the beds were tucked into a closet during the day.

This is my favorite shot. This room was about five feet wide and ten feet deep, but it looks pretty darn spacious. And look at that sink at the end of the wall. Just a lone sink.

The Cinderella assumed that both Living and Dining Rooms would be used as sleeping spaces.

It's so easy, even a child can do it! Sort of.

Floorplan shows how tiny that "bed space" really is. It was 10'11" long and - if the drawing is anything near scale, it appears about five feet wide. In modern times, the folks looking at this house probably thought, "How odd! A big walk-in closet next to the living room, and it even has a sink in the corner!"

"Dressing room and bed space." Pretty tiny space!!!

"Twenty rooms in 12." Eight of those 20 rooms were closets with a bed.

Here are two of those eight "bedrooms." At least they have a window.

Close-up on the Murphy Bed in the Calumet.

And here's a real, live Calumet in Bloomington, IL.

Like Sears, Aladdin (Bay City, MI) also sold kit homes through mail order. They had a line of wee tiny Aladdin homes known as "Aladdinettes." Here's a picture of the Sonoma (1919), one of their Aladdinnette houses.

The Aladdinnette's "bed space" was really tiny. Only 6'9" by 5'. You have to step out of the room to change your mind!!

Close-up of the Aladdinnette's "closet bed."

Despite what you've seen on those Laurel and Hardy episodes...