BIBLIOGRAPHY
Sears and Other Ready-Cut Houses
Compiled from lists prepared by Marilyn G. Wittlinger, Terry Karschner (New Jersey Historic
Preservation Office), James C. Massey for the course.Sears Modern Houses, in New Jersey, Drew
University, Madison, NJ, October 29, 2005; revised October 2013
117 House Designs of the Twenties. Gordon Van Tine Company, 1923. Dover Publication
Reprint, 1992.
The Aladdin Company, Aladdin “Built in a Day” House Catalog, 1917. Reprint. New
York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1995.
Bennett’s Small Houses Catalog, 1920: Roy H. Bennett Lumber Co., Inc. Reprint. New
York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1993.
Billings, Mark. “In Praise of Kit Homes,” American Bungalow,” Spring 2003/
California’s Kit Homes, a Reprint of the 1925 Pacific Ready-Cut Homes Catalog. With
an introduction by Rosemary Thornton and Dale Patrick Wolicki, plus Seven Tips for Finding and
Identifying Pacific Homes. Alton, IL: Gentle Beam Publications, 2004.
Classic Homes of the Twenties. Originally titled Loizeaux’s Plan Book No. 7. Published
by J. D. Loizeaux Lumber Company and Building Supply Company of Plainfield &Elizabeth, NJ,
1927. Reprint. New York: Dover Publication, 1992
Gowans, Alan. The Comfortable House: North American Suburban Architecture, 1890—
1930. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1986.
Gutter, Robert P. and Foster, Janet W. Building By The Book: Pattern Book Architecture in
New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1992.
Hunter, Rebecca. Mail Order Homes: Sears Homes and Other Kit Houses. Shire USA.
2012.
Hunter, Rebecca. Putting Sears Homes on the Map. Compilation of testimonials published
in Sears Modern Homes Catalogs 1908-1940. Rebecca Hunter Publications, 2004
Hunter, Rebecca. Sears, Roebuck Book of Barns: A Reprint of the 1919 Catalog. 2004.
Jones, Audrey J. A Stroll through Historic Hopewell. Flemington,, NJ:. The Print Shoppe,
2003.
Jones, Robert T., ed. Authentic Small Houses of the Twenties. Reprint. Dover
Publications, 1987.
King, Marina. Sears Mail-Order House Survey in Prince Georges County, Maryland.
Prince George’s County, VA: Historic Preservation Commission, Planning Department, MNCPCC, 1988
McArthur, Shirley DuFresne. Frank Lloyd Wright American System-Built Homes in
Milwaukee. Milwaukee, WI: North Point Historical Society, n.d.
McDole, Brad and Chris Jerome. . Kit Houses by Mail. New York: Hearst Books,1982.
Massey, James C. and Shirley Maxwell. “Pre-cut Houses, ‘Catalog Homes’”, Old-House
Journal, Nov.-Dec., 1990.
Maxwell, Shirley and James C. Massey. “The Story on Sears: Houses by Rail and Mail.”
Old-House Journal, July-Aug. 2002.
Massey, James C. and Shirley Maxwell. “Those Amazing Aladdins.” Old House Journal,
Jan 20007.
Maxwell, Shirley and James C. Massey. “Inside the Sears House: Interior Features of a
Modern Home,” Old-House Journal, May-June 2003, pp. 80-84.
Montgomery Ward & Co. Wardway Homes, Bungalows, and Cottages, 1925. Mineola,
NY, Dover Publications, Inc., 2004.
Radford’s House Designs of the Twenties: Wm. A. Radford Co. Reprint of Radford’s 1925
Home Builder’s Red Book. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, Inc., 2003.
Reiff, Daniel D. Houses from Books: Treatises, Pattern Books, and Catalogs in American
Architecture, 1738-1950: A History and Guide.University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State
University Press.
Reiff, Daniel D. “Identifying Mail Order and Catalog Houses,” Old-House Journal,
Sept.-Oct. 1995, pp. 30-37.
Homes in a Box: Modern Homes from Sears Roebuck. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing Ltd.,
1998. Reprint of Sears 1912 catalog.
Schweitzer, Robert and Michael W. R. Davis. America’s Favorite Homes: Mail-Order
Catalogues as a Guide to Popular Early 20th Century Houses. Detroit: Wayne State University
Press, 1990.
Schweitzer, Rob. “Is Your Victorian Home from a Kit?” , Victorian Homes Source Book
1992, pp. 46-51.
Schweitzer, Robert. “Homes from a Box,” Victorian Homes, October, 1999, pp. 34-37.
,
Sears House Designs of the Thirties. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2003. Reprint of
Sears 1932 catalog.
Sears Modern Houses, 1913. Dover reprint.
Sears, Roebuck and Co. Small Houses of the Twenties: The Sears, Roebuck 1926 Catalog:
An Unabridged Reprint. New York: Athenaeum of Philadelphia and Dover Publications, 1991.
Sears, Roebuck and Co. Sears, Roebuck Home Builder’s Catalog: The Complete Illustrated
1910 Edition. Republication, New York, Dover Publications, 1990.
Smith, Henry Atterbury, comp. 500 Small Houses of the Twenties. Reprint. Dover
Publications, Inc., 1990.
Stevenson, Katherine Cole, and Jandl, H. Ward. Houses By Mail: A Guide to Houses from
Sears, Roebuck, and Company. Washington, D.C.: The Preservation Press, 1986.
Thornton, Rosemary. The Houses That Sears Built: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know
About Sears Catalog Homes. Alton, Illinois: Gentle Beam Publications, 2002. Rev. edition 2004.
Thornton, Rosemary. Montgomery Ward’s Mail Order Homes: A History and Field Guide
to Wardway Homes. 2010.
Thornton, Rosemary. Finding the Houses that Sears Built. Alton, Illinois: Gentle Beam
Publications, 2004.
Wells, Tom and Andreasen, Dan. The House in the Mail. New York, Viking, 2002
Wolicki, Dale Patrick. The Architecture of Bay City, Michigan. Bay County Historical
Society, 1998.
Web Sites
Contributed by Terry Karschner, New Jersey Historic Preservation Office
Aladdin Homes
www.lib.cmich.edu/clarke/aladdin
Extraordinarily detailed site. [If your computer is slow, be warned: it takes time.] The complete run
of Aladdin Catalogs to the 1950’s. A great source of information, but there are no records on the
web to document what buildings were sent to a state. Sounds like it is possible
to go there and search invoices, but would be quite labor intensive.
Sears Modern Homes
www.searsmodernhomes.com
Other websites
Accessible by entering “Mail Order Houses” , “Ready-cut Houses”, or company names.
Archives.org. Building Technology Heritage Library. Contains many ready-cut and planbook
house catalogs, all free downloads.