About

This is focusing entirely on the musical instruments sold by Sears-Roebuck prior to World War I and prior to Sear's purchase of the Harmony Musical Instrument Company in 1916. The first guitars sold by Sears appeared in the 1894 catalog which boasts "our guitars are made in the largest and best factory in the country". With only a single illustration it is difficult to determine what their guitars looked like but the descriptions in the catalog are a great help.

I believe that these instruments were already being manufactured by Harmony (est. 1892) due to its proximity to Sears' headquarters and rising production of stringed instruments. However, the 1894 catalog mentions two models of 'Washburn' which was a house brand used by Lyon & Healy which manufactured their own guitars. So while I think a full Harmony production is likely there is a chance that Lyon and Healy produced some guitars for Sears.

If you are interested in banjos and mandolins, click on the Image Credit links to view the rest of the catalogs