Figure 1.-- Here we see some of the Russian blouse outfits offered by Wards in their Summer 1914 catalog. Notice the wide variety of styles.

Although the word "consumerism" has a modern ring, it was personal concern for an early consumer movement, the "National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry," That inspired a young traveling salesman named Aaron Montgomery Ward to start the world's first general merchandise mail-order company in 1872. Aaron Montgomery Ward was born on February 17, 1844, in Chatham, New Jersey, to a family whose forebears had served as officers in the French and Indian Wars as well as in the American Revolution. Looking for something more compatible, Monty left home and followed the river to Lake Michigan and the town of St. Joseph, county seat and market for outlying fruit orchards. Chicago was the center of the wholesale dry goods trade and in the 1860s Ward joined the leading dry goods house, Field Palmer & Leiter. As a retailer, Potter Palmer had previously built a reputation for fair dealing. Ward absorbed these principles while working as a clerk for $5. The Chicago City Directories for 1868 through 1870 listed Ward as a salesman for Wills, Greg & Co. and later for Stetthauers & Wineman, both dry goods houses. In 1870, after canvassing territory in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Ward was again footloose. The plan shaping in Ward's mind was to buy goods at low cost for cash. By eliminating intermediaries, with their markups and commissions, and cutting selling costs to the bone, he could offer goods to people, however remote, at appealing prices - for cash. Since its founding in 1872, the company has literally "grown up with America" and has had a major impact on the shopping habits of a nation of consumers. Montgomery Ward & Co. discontinued its catalog operations in 1985 as part of its restructuring effort to change itself into a modern, competitive chain of value-driven specialty stores, a move which for a time saved the company. week.

Founder

Aaron Montgomery Ward was born on February 17, 1844, in Chatham, New Jersey, to a family whose forebears had served as officers in the French and Indian Wars as well as in the American Revolution. He was named after General G. Aaron Montgomery Ward, a general in George Washington's Army. When "Monty" was 9 years old, his father, Sylvester Ward, moved the family to Niles, Michigan. Young Monty's schooling ended when he was 14. According to his brief memoirs, he first earned money in a barrel Stave factory, "doing a man's work at the cutting machine at $0.25 per day, then stacking brick in a kiln at $0.30 day." He noted that the experience greatly increased his knowledge. "I learned that I was not physically or mentally equipped for brick or barrel making."

Looking for something more compatible, Monty left home and followed the river to Lake Michigan and the town of St. Joseph, county seat and market for outlying fruit orchards. "Being a fair salesman," his account continues, "within 9 months I was engaged as a salesman in a general country store at the princely salary of $6 per month and board. "He rose to become head clerk and general manager and remained at this store for 3 years before accepting a better job in a competing store, where he worked another two years. In this period, Aaron Montgomery Ward learned the mechanics and customs of retailing.

Chicago was the center of the wholesale dry goods trade and in the 1860s Ward joined the leading dry goods house, Field Palmer & Leiter. As a retailer, Potter Palmer had previously built a reputation for fair dealing. Ward absorbed these principles while working as a clerk for $5 a week, although he advanced to $12, he felt he was not progressing fast enough. Just as Palmer withdrew from the partnership to make a change (real estate development on State Street), Ward left after 2 years.

Concept

The Chicago City Directories for 1868 through 1870 listed Ward as a salesman for Wills, Greg & Co. and later for Stetthauers & Wineman, both dry goods houses. In 1870, after canvassing territory in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Ward was again footloose. "Tried in the South," he wrote, "making an engagement with Walter M. Smith & Co. of St. Louis." This move crystallized Ward's thinking. In the tedious routine of train trips to Southern communities, of hiring rigs at liver stables and driving out to crossroads stores, he came face to face with back country consumers. True, their needs and expenses were like those of people already familiar to him; but in a fresh setting, the familiar stood out. They were under a burden of oppressive prices charged by many unscrupulous local retailers. Ward felt that a way of doing business must be found that would bring relief from the traditional systems.

The plan shaping in Ward's mind was to buy goods at low cost for cash. By eliminating intermediaries, with their markups and commissions, and cutting selling costs to the bone, he could offer goods to people, however remote, at appealing prices - for cash. He would invite them to send their orders by mail and deliver the purchases to their nearest railroad station. The only thing he lacked was capital. Ward returned to Chicago and went to work for C. W. & E. Pardridge & Co. , wholesalers and retailers of dry goods, notions and carpets on State Street near the corner of Washington Street.

None of Ward's friends or business acquaintances joined in his enthusiasm for his revolutionary idea, including one of his closest friends, George R. Thorne, a local grocer whom he had known in Michigan. But Ward stubbornly stuck to his purpose and saved all he could from his earnings as a salesman at Pardridge.

The Fire

By 1871, Ward had saved enough money to acquire some merchandise and print a single-page price list, which he intended to mail out to members of a fraternal association of farmers known as the National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry. These Grangers, as they were called, were very active in seeking legislation to establish fair business practices, and Ward felt they would be interested in his business concept. Just as he was about to make his first mailing, disaster struck. The great Chicago fire in the fall of 1871 sent his dreams literally up in smoke. Whipped by a steady wind, the fire wiped out the business district. Before it raced up State Street and leaped the Chicago River to devastate the near north side, the lakefront was piled high with rescued dry goods. Ward helped the Partridges in the salvage operations, but he lost all his own small stock of goods.

The Company Launched

Since its founding in 1872, the company has literally "grown up with America" and has had a major impact on the shopping habits of a nation of consumers. The fire was a setback, but it did not spell defeat. Ward set to work rebuilding his stock. In 1872, he talked two fellow partridge employees into joining him - George S. Drake and Robert P. Caufield. With a total capital of $1,600, they rented a small shipping room on North Clark Street and published their first price list - the world's first general merchandise mail order catalog. In the meantime, his friend George R. Thorne had lost his grocery business in the fire. Thorne and a partner went into the lumber business to help meet the big demand for reconstruction lumber. Thorne and Ward saw a great deal of each other, and frequently argued about the mail order idea in Thorne's home - and it was there that Ward met the younger sister of Thorne's wife, Ellen. In 1872, Ward and Elizabeth Cobb were married.

The following year, Ward's partners', Drake and Caulfield, grew discouraged; Ward bought out their interests and continued alone. About this time, Ward's customers were struggling with low crop prices. It was a tough time for Ward, but he hung on. A second misfortune turned out to be a boon for Ward. Thorne's partner in the lumber business, which was very successful, stole all the company funds and left town, bankrupting Thorne except for $500, his home and a family that now included five sons. Thorne decided to put the $500 into Ward's business and join him as an equal partner.

This was the turning point for the young company, which grew and prospered. Soon the catalog, frequently reviled and even burned publicly by rural retailers who had been cheating the farmers for so many years, became known fondly as the "Wish Book" and was a favorite in households all across America. The Montgomery Ward catalog's place in history was assured when the Grolier Club, a society of bibliophiles in New York, exhibited it in 1946 alongside Webster's Dictionary as one of 100 American books chosen for their influence on life and culture of the people. The selection committee said:

The mail order catalog has been perhaps the greatest single influence in increasing the standards of American middle-class living. It brought the benefit of wholesale prices to city and hamlet, to the crossroads and prairie; it inculcated cash payment against crippling credit; it urged millions of house wives to bring into their homes and place upon their backs and their shelves and on their floors creature comforts which otherwise they never could have hoped for; and, above all, substituted sound quality for shoddy. As a final bow, the mail order catalog was, in many homes, the only illustrated book.

Ward reaffirmed his commitment to consumerism in 1875 with a policy unheard of in those days. His policy set a standard for excellence in consumer relations for American business and did much to condition the American public to expect quality merchandise and service as well as fair play from every business enterprise.

The Montgomery Ward catalog was copied by other enterprising merchants and, 100 years later, there were five major U.S. firms with catalog sales in excess of $3 billion. In addition, there were nearly 4,000 direct mail firms and an even greater number of individual entrepreneurs that had extended the industry to almost every conceivable form of merchandise.

Epiloge

Aaron Montgomery Ward died December 8, 1913, at the age of 69, a victim of pulmonary edema. He had an adopted daughter, Marjorie (later Marjorie Ward Baker), who herself had no children, but there were no other heirs to the Montgomery Ward legacy. A large portion of the estate was given by Mrs. Ward to Northwestern University and other educational institutions.

George R. Thorne, his lifelong friend, business partner and brother-in-law, passed away in 1918. Thorne's five sons all were involved with the business and carried it forward until 1920. The history and growth of the company since then is a matter of record.

Perhaps the greatest tribute to Aaron Montgomery Ward was that of the Grolier Club, a New York Society of book lovers which started in 1946:

No idea ever mushroomed so far from small a beginning, or had so profound an influence on the economics of a continent, as a concept, original to America, of direct selling by mail, for cash. Aaron Montgomery Ward conceived the idea....

End to the Wish Book

Montgomery Ward & Co. discontinued its catalog operations in 1985 as part of its restructuring effort to change itself into a modern, competitive chain of value-driven specialty stores, a move which for a time saved the company. The company said that it desired to return itself to a leadership position in retailing. The company for years influenced American lifestyles through its merchandise, services and active involvement as a corporate citizen in the social and cultural fabric of the American communities in which it operated. It was unable, however, to effectively compete with smaller specialty retailers. Ward declared bankuptsy in 1999 and finally closed its doors in 2000, the casualty of a weak Christmas season.

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Created: May 25, 2000
Last updated: 1:19 AM 2/20/2005