1897 Sears Roebuck & Co. Catalog, Bicycle Department
Boring Books for Bedtime Readings to Help You Sleep
Sharon Handy
4.6 • 1.4K Ratings
🗓️ 17 December 2018
⏱️ 62 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Tonight, let's take another calming dip into the curious 19th century world of the Sears Catalog. This time, we'll explore the Bicycle Department, and 1897's latest velocipedes, cycling suits, and quality guarantees. Plug in, and pedal to peace.
All Boring Books readings are taken from works in the public domain. If you'd like to suggest a copyright-free reading, catch us on Twitter @boringbookspod or on our Patreon at www.patreon.com/boringbookspod, where you can also support us.
Enjoy!
Music: "Heaven Be Here," PCIII
http://freemusicarchive.org/music/P_C_III/Heaven_Be_Here/Heaven_Be_Here
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:16.4 | Good evening and welcome to boring books for bedtime. I hope tonight's installment provides all the boredom your busy brain needs to quiet down and let you get some sleep for once. |
| 0:18.9 | So lie back, adjust your volume. Take a nice deep breath. And off we go. |
| 0:27.0 | This evening, we're revisiting the curious world of the Sears Roebuck and Co-incorporated Consumers Guide, |
| 0:37.6 | Catalog number 110, published in 1897. That's right. It's the Sears catalog. Tonight we'll be exploring |
| 0:49.6 | the exciting world of bicycles. Let's begin. |
| 0:55.0 | Sears Roebuck and Company Incorporated, the cheapest supply house on earth. |
| 1:03.0 | Our trade reaches around the world. |
| 1:07.0 | Capital and surplus, over $1 million. |
| 1:12.0 | References by special permission, National City Bank, German Exchange Bank, |
| 1:21.8 | Metropolitan National Bank, Corn Exchange National Bank, Chicago. |
| 1:30.0 | Consumers Guide, Catalog Number 110. |
| 1:37.0 | This book tells just what your storekeeper at home |
| 1:41.0 | pays for everything he buys and will prevent him from overcharging you on anything |
| 1:48.1 | you buy from him. |
| 1:51.3 | The bicycle department for the season of 1897, we offer a line of strictly high-grade bicycles, |
| 2:02.0 | which for price beauty of design quality of material used workmanship and in fact |
| 2:11.2 | general perfection is not excelled if in fact equalled by any line of bicycles made. |
| 2:20.0 | We have made our arrangements with a few to selling at least 10,000 bicycles this season. |
| 2:27.0 | And to do this, it is necessary to put our prices below all kinds of competition. |
| 2:34.3 | We have not only done this, but by a careful comparison, |
| 2:38.6 | you will observe that our prices are far lower |
| 2:41.9 | than any other concern. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Sharon Handy, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Sharon Handy and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.