For all of the jusÂtiÂfied ire directÂed at cerÂtain online retailÂers for their anti-comÂpetÂiÂtive pracÂtices, tax evaÂsion, labor exploitaÂtion, and so on, one fact often goes unreÂmarked upon since it seems to fall outÂside the usuÂal narÂraÂtives. The exploÂsion of online retail gave purÂchasÂing powÂer to peoÂple locked out of cerÂtain marÂkets because of income or geogÂraÂphy or disÂabilÂiÂty, etc. MoreÂover, it gave peoÂple outÂside of traÂdiÂtionÂal marÂket demoÂgraphÂics the opporÂtuÂniÂty to experÂiÂment with new interÂests in judgÂment-free zones.
These changes have allowed a genÂerÂaÂtion of musiÂcians access to instruÂments they would nevÂer have been willÂing or able to find in the past. For examÂple, FendÂer guiÂtars has disÂcovÂered that women now account for 50 perÂcent of all “beginÂner and aspiÂraÂtional playÂers,” notes Rolling Stone. “The instruÂment-makÂer is adjustÂing its marÂketÂing focus accordÂingÂly… around a masÂsive new audiÂence that it’d preÂviÂousÂly been ignorÂing.” WalkÂing into a music store and feelÂing like you’ve been ignored by the big comÂpaÂnies may not make for an encourÂagÂing expeÂriÂence. But the abilÂiÂty to buy gear online withÂout a hasÂsle may be one sigÂnifÂiÂcant reaÂson why so many more women have takÂen up the instruÂment.
Which brings us to Sears. Yes, it’s a roundÂabout way to get there, but bear with me. You’ve sureÂly heard the news by now, the venÂerÂaÂble retail giant has gone bankÂrupt after 132 years in business—a casuÂalÂty of predaÂtoÂry capÂiÂtalÂism or bad busiÂness pracÂtices or the inevitably changÂing times or what-have-you. A numÂber of euloÂgies have described the company’s earÂly “catÂaÂlogue shopÂping sysÂtem” as “the AmaÂzon of its day,” as Lila MacLelÂlan points out at Quartz. The comÂparÂiÂson sureÂly fits. DurÂing its heyÂday, peoÂple all over the counÂtry, in the most far-flung rurÂal areas, could order almost anyÂthing, even a house.
But a numÂber of stoÂries, includÂing MacLelÂlan’s, have also described Sears, RoeÂbuck & ComÂpaÂny as a great equalÂizÂer of its day for the way it bustÂed the Jim Crow barÂriÂers black shopÂpers once faced. CorÂnell UniÂverÂsiÂty hisÂtoÂry proÂfesÂsor Louis Hyman has postÂed a thread on his TwitÂter and givÂen an interÂview on Jezebel describÂing the democÂraÂtizÂing powÂer of the Sears CatÂaÂlog in the late 19th cenÂtuÂry for black AmerÂiÂcans, most of whom lived in rurÂal areas (as did most AmerÂiÂcans genÂerÂalÂly) and had to sufÂfer disÂcrimÂiÂnaÂtion from white shopÂkeepÂers, who charged inflatÂed prices, denied sales and credÂit, forced black cusÂtomers to wait at the back of long lines, and so on.
Hyman talks about this speÂcifÂic hisÂtoÂry in the video lecÂture above (startÂing at 6:24). The viciousÂness of segÂreÂgaÂtion didn’t stop at the store. As he says, local postÂmasÂters would often refuse to sell stamps or monÂey orders to black cusÂtomers. The Sears CatÂaÂlog, then, includÂed speÂcifÂic instrucÂtions for givÂing cash directÂly to mail carÂriÂers. StoreÂkeepÂers burned the catÂaÂlogs, but still rurÂal cusÂtomers were able to get their hands on them and order what they needÂed, pay cash, and receive it withÂout difÂfiÂculÂty. A new world opened up for peoÂple preÂviÂousÂly shut out of many conÂsumer marÂkets, and this includÂed, writes Chris KjorÂness at ReaÂson, turn-of-the-cenÂtuÂry musiÂcians.
The Sears guiÂtar, says Michael Roberts, who teachÂes the hisÂtoÂry of the blues at DePaul UniÂverÂsiÂty, “was inexÂpenÂsive enough that the blues artists were able to save up the monÂey they made as shareÂcropÂpers to make that purÂchase.” As KjorÂness puts it, “There was no Delta blues before there were cheap, readÂiÂly availÂable steel-string guiÂtars. And those guiÂtars, which transÂformed AmerÂiÂcan culÂture, were brought to the boonÂdocks by Sears, RoeÂbuck & Co.”
The first Sears, RoeÂbuck catÂaÂlog was pubÂlished in 1888. It would go on to transÂform AmerÂiÂca. FarmÂers were no longer subÂject to the variÂable qualÂiÂty and arbiÂtrary pricÂing of local genÂerÂal stores. The catÂaÂlog brought things like washÂing machines and the latÂest fashÂions to the most far-flung outÂposts. GuiÂtars first appeared in the catÂaÂlog in 1894 for $4.50 (around $112 in today’s monÂey). By 1908 Sears was offerÂing a guiÂtar, outÂfitÂted for steel strings, for $1.89 ($45 today), makÂing it the cheapÂest harÂmoÂny-genÂerÂatÂing instruÂment availÂable.
QualÂiÂty improved, prices went down, and bluesÂmen could get their instruÂments by mail. Most of the big names we assoÂciate with the Delta blues bought a guiÂtar from the Sears CatÂaÂlog. GuiÂtars became such a popÂuÂlar item that Sears introÂduced their own brand, under the existÂing SilÂverÂtone line, in the 1930s. LatÂer budÂget guiÂtars and ampliÂfiers sold through Sears includÂed DanÂelecÂtro, ValÂco, HarÂmoÂny, Kay, and TeisÂco (all of whom, at one time or anothÂer, made SilÂverÂtones).
These brands are now known to musiÂcians as clasÂsic roots and garage rock instruÂments played by the likes of Jack White, but their hisÂtoÂries all come togethÂer with Sears (you may hear them lumped togethÂer someÂtimes as “the Sears guiÂtars”). The comÂpaÂny first supÂplied bluesÂmen and counÂtry pickÂers with acoustic guiÂtars, but “once the sound of the elecÂtric guiÂtar became that of AmerÂiÂcan music,” Whet Moser writes at ChicaÂgo MagÂaÂzine, “teens in garages all over startÂed pickÂing up axes, and Sears was there to supÂply them.”
Through their busiÂness deal with Nathan Daniel, they manÂuÂfacÂtured the “amp-in-case” line of DanÂelecÂtro Masonite guiÂtars, sold in stores and catÂaÂlogs. These funky 50s instruÂments, designed for maxÂiÂmum cost-cutÂting, incorÂpoÂratÂed surÂplus lipÂstick tubes as housÂing for their pickÂups. They made such a disÂtincÂtive janÂgÂly sound, thanks to the way Daniel wired them, that it became a hallÂmark of 50s and 60s garage rock. Often sold under the SilÂverÂtone name as well, DanÂelecÂtro guiÂtars were cheap, but well designed. (JimÂmy Page has had a parÂticÂuÂlar fondÂness for the DanÂelecÂtro 59).
While the prodÂuct hisÂtoÂry of Sears elecÂtric guiÂtars is incredÂiÂbly comÂpliÂcatÂed, with brand names, designs, and prodÂuct lines shiftÂing from year to year, it’s enough to say that withÂout their budÂget guiÂtars and amps, many of the strugÂgling musiÂcians who innoÂvatÂed the blues and rock and roll would have been unable to afford their instruÂments. The stoÂry of Sears writ large can be told as the stoÂry of a marÂket “disÂrupÂtor” raisÂing stanÂdards of livÂing for milÂlions of rurÂal and urban AmerÂiÂcans. The company’s innoÂvÂaÂtive marÂketÂing and disÂtriÂbÂuÂtion schemes were also totalÂly cenÂtral to the hisÂtoÂry of AmerÂiÂcan popÂuÂlar music.
RelatÂed ConÂtent:
Josh Jones is a writer and musiÂcian based in Durham, NC. FolÂlow him at @jdmagness
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