Sears Wish Books 1937-1975

"The 1933 Christmas Book catalog started a tradition that made the Sears Wish Book an American icon. The Sears catalog and the name Wish Book were closely linked over the years. Prior to 1933, Sears customers often affectionately referred to the large, semi-annual, general catalogs Sears issued as the “Wish Book” or “Book of Wishes.” After 1933, the Wish Book name became synonymous with the annual Christmas Book catalog. In 1968, Sears made it official by renaming the Christmas Book catalog The Wish Book." -from the SearsArchives website

We'll concentrate and the guitars and amps that were offered in the yearly holiday catalog, but if you'd like to check out complete catalogs (and I KNOW you do), head over to WishBookWeb for full Christmas catalogs from Sears, JC Penneys, Montgomery Ward, FAO Schwarz and more!



1969. The Made In Japan guitars have taken a firm hold.

More 1969. The acoustics are still Harmony-sourced... for now.

1970. The hollowbody 1455 becomes the 1456, and the MIJ solidbodies get more generic. Also, the first 'Wish Book' appearance of outboard guitar effects in that 'Wah Wah' pedal.

More 1970. The Sovereign-based 1221 is featured, along with some not-as-jumbo Harmony-built flattops.


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I'm still looking for Wish Book pages to fill the gaps. If you've got scans of  Christmas/Wish Books from Sears for the years 1933, 1934,1935, 1936, 1938, 1939, 1948, and 1949, I'd sure appreciate you sending them to me. I'll even give you a free pair of Silvertone guitar picks for your trouble!



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