Harmony guitars were sold at around $6.00 - $8.00 early in that 1896-1897 catalog and were pretty high quality. Established by Wilhelm Schulz in 1892, Harmony quickly became one of the largest manufacturers of stringed instruments in the world. In their 1897 catalog, Sears-Roebuck showed off their newest American-made guitars-those made by Chicago-based The Harmony Company. The first musical instruments to appear in the catalog were American made guitars with names like “Our Kenwood” and “Our Columbian” and came with an instruction booklet. Fretted instruments were certainly a part of that success-a type of success reminiscent of the company’s later growth as a technology retailer. Previously dealing only in watches (1888), then adding jewelry (around 1890), Sears-Roebuck finally began expanding their catalog into “many new lines” that would help establish them as the mail order juggernaut they’d become. Within the first few years of the publication of their catalog-around 1894-Harmony-made guitars began appearing alongside other fretted instruments in the catalog. Ukuleles weren’t the first time Sears-Roebuck began selling guitars and other fretted instruments. With its close proximity to several manufacturers and the reach of their catalog, it probably made perfect sense for Sears to hop on board the musical instrument trade. The Windy City always played a major role in blues music, but it was also a hub of guitar manufacturing. (via the Harmony guitars website) How Chicago’s sweet Harmony found its way into houses and concert halls around the country
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