ONCE UPON A TIME... more than 150 years ago and waaaay before there was Amazon Home Delivery, the budding mail-order catalog industry blossomed in America. Thanks to improvements in print technology, railways and Rural Free Delivery by the US Postal Service, consumers —whether urban or rural, but most of America’s population was rural back then— could have household goods, guns, prefab homes and agricultural supplies delivered straight to their doors.
When Sears, Roebuck and Co. sought to displace its competitor Montgomery Ward, it disrupted the market by offering not just affordability but consumer credit, a new and ultimately radical manoeuvre that, together with the home delivery model, circumvented the concept of the "cash only" general store and helped democratize spending through catalog shopping.
Sears, Roebuck & Co Catalog Plant, 1906
The historically significant home delivery of Silvertone instruments through the Sears Catalog since the 1920’s gave musicians in America credit, as well as a reliable and safe option to buy the instruments and equipment they depended on for their livelihoods.
The end result? An innovation that empowered consumers to break through geographic, economic and racial barriers to accessing musical instruments.
Struggling blues musicians and legends of the 1940s such as Muddy Waters and Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup needed roadworthy instruments, as did anyone playing what became known as the “Chitlin Circuit,” the collection of churches, juke joints, nightclubs, restaurants and theaters that hosted many noteworthy Black entertainers such as Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Jimi Hendrix, and Tina Turner.
Top, L-R: Muddy Waters, Aretha Franklin, Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup. Bottom, L-R: Pete Seeger, Jimi Hendrix, Joan Baez & Bob Dylan.
Later, the early 1960's renewed interest in folk music saw guitar demand outrace supply. Folk artists moved from rural areas to the cities, and as musicians like Pete Seeger, Joan Baez and Bob Dylan grew in popularity, the demand for acoustic guitars exploded. Country, blues and rockabilly then drove demand for electric guitars, and the British Invasion saw catalog demand for instruments skyrocket.
Regardless of where you find inspiration —whether it’s the blues or the Beatles, garage grunge or Grand Ole Opry— music remains the most beautiful bridge, allowing us to connect while transcending physical borders and psychological barriers.
As we head into the holidays, whether online or in line, whether quietly or in droves: Here's to more music in all our lives this Season!
Peace.
