Mail-Order Catalogs and the Old West
How did 19th century folks go about ordering something from Montgomery Ward or Sears, Roebuck & Co. catalogues? How was payment sent? What about delivery options?
Paper: Common in the Old West?
I’ve read books where the intrepid hero has to reuse brown paper the mercantile owner used to wrap a purchase in order to leave the heroine an all-important note. I read another novel where a would-be bride’s employer deducted the cost of paper and envelope from her wages. Was paper that expensive? Did expense translate to scarcity?
