Montgomery Ward & Company produced the first mail-order catalog offering general goods to rural consumers in 1872. Sears, Roebuck & Company latched on to the concept in 1893. Though the Sears catalog would become an iconic American document the early 20th century, the company did not put out the first Christmas-shopping catalog—department stores like Carson, Pirie, and Scott & Company beat them to it with titles like "Holiday...Continue Reading