Sears

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Sears is the most famous mail order house in the world since its Chicago building Sears Tower was the highest in the world for a certain period. In the U.S.A. it was the greatest mail-order and retail vendor of consumer goods. It was founded by Richard W. Sears in 1886, starting as a reseller of watches in North Redwood, Minnesota. In 1887 Sears moved to Chicago and employed Alvah C. Roebuck as watch- and toolmaker. In 1893 Roebuck became partner in the company which then was renamed Sears, Roebuck & Co.. Like other great mail-order houses Sears had a house-brand for cameras, the Tower cameras which were all OEM products, made by different renowned camera makers of several countries. Some cameras were sold branded Sears, and a few under their original manufacturers.

Several Tower cameras were also made by Bilora. Sears lenses for SLRs were made by Ricoh. Conley was a partner of Sears & Roebuck. In 1924 Conley was owned by Sears, and bought Seneca. But the Seneca brand disappeared in 1926. In 1980 Sears, Roebuck and Co. was restructured and rebranded to Sears Merchandise Group.

Distributed cameras

Sears name Description Original camera/manufacturer
Ansco Marvel S-20 brownie type box Made for and sold by Sears as an Ansco Ansco
Marvel-flex 6×6 TLR, c.1941 Ciro-flex A
Sears 126 TLS Reflex 126 film SLR Ricoh 126c-Flex TLS
Sears 3A box camera 3.25x5.25 Kodak V122 film Conley Kewpie No. 3A
Sears 32B SLR Exakta-mount interchangeable lenses, c.1961 aka Tower 32B Mamiya Prismat NP
Sears 35rf 35mm rangefinder Ricoh 500 RF
Sears 35|RF 35mm rangefinder Ricoh 500 G
Sears Auto 35TL 35mm SLR Mamiya 528TL
Sears Auto CS 1000MX
Sears Auto CS 1000MXB
35mm SLR Mamiya NC 1000
Sears Easi-Load FC 600 126 cartridges Ricoh 126C Automatic
Sears FF35 35mm viewfinder Haking Halina Speedy 33
Sears KS 35mm SLR Ricoh XR-2
Sears KS Auto 35mm SLR Ricoh XR-2s
Sears KS-1 35mm SLR Ricoh XR-6
Sears KS Super 35mm SLR, KS-1 with slower speed (1/500s) Ricoh XR-6
Sears KS Super II 35mm SLR, KS Super without Bulb Ricoh XR-6
Sears KS-2 35mm SLR Ricoh XR-7
Sears KS-1000 35mm SLR Ricoh XR-1s
Sears KS-500 35mm SLR Ricoh KR-5 / XR-500
Sears KSX-1000 35mm SLR Ricoh KR-5 Super
Sears KSX 35mm SLR Ricoh KR-10 / XR-1000s
Sears KSX Super 35mm SLR Ricoh KR-10 Super / XR-2000
Sears Model 600 Easi load FC flash cube Instamatic ???
Sears Model 65 35mm viewfinder Halina Paulette
Sears Model 65 RF Halinar 45mm f2.8 lens Halina
Sears RF 5 Ricoh
Sears RF 7 Ricoh
Sears SL-9 Ricoh 35 Flex
Sears TLS 35mm SLR Ricoh Singlex TLS
Sears TLS 500 MX 35mm SLR Ricoh SLX 500
Sears TLS 1000 MX 35mm SLR Mamiya MSX 1000
Seroco Junior 4×5 Conley Model VII
Tower No. 1 Pseudo TLR unknown
Tower 5 127 film Bilora Bella
Tower 7 120 film Brownie type box Germany (Bilora)
Tower 8 box camera Mfr? Germany
Tower 10A 35mm range finder Mamiya RF 48mm f:2.8 coated
Tower 10B 35mm range finder Mamiya 4B RF
Tower 14 pseudo-TLR box Bilora Bonita 66
Tower 16 16mm submini spy cam Mamiya 16
Tower 18 Olympus 35-S 4.2cm f2.8
Tower 18A Mamiya Ruby f/1.9
Tower 18B Mamiya Ruby Standard
Tower 19 35mm interchangeable lens rangefinder Olympus Ace E
Tower 20 Olympus Wide-E?
Tower 20B Mamiya RF 48mm f/1.7
Tower 22 SLR Asahiflex IIA
Tower 23 SLR Asahiflex IA and Asahiflex IIB
Tower 24 SLR Asahiflex IIB
Tower 25 TLR Airesflex (Nikkor lens)
Tower 26 SLR SLR Asahi Pentax (original) and Pentax S
Tower 29 SLR Asahi Pentax K
Tower Reflex I or Tower 120 Flash pseudo TLR Ising Pucky I
Tower Reflex II pseudo TLR Photina from Photavit-Werk GmbH, Nurnberg, Germany
Tower Reflex III pseudo TLR Photina II from Photavit-Werk GmbH, Nurnberg, Germany
Tower Reflex 30 TLR Photina Reflex IIIb from Photavit-Werk GmbH, Nurnberg, Germany
Tower 33 Reflex SLR Braun Paxette Reflex
Tower 34 box camera (?) Ansco
Tower 34 Reflex Braun
Tower 35 Nicca III-S
Tower 37 SLR Mamiya
Tower 37A Mamiya
Tower 39 (c.1961) odd horizontal design with flash reflector; autoexposure.
Tower 41 similar.
Mamiya Automatic 35 EEF
Tower 41 Mamiya, 1962
Tower 42 Nicca, 1954
Tower 43 Nicca, 1954
Tower 44 TLR Toyoca-44
Tower 44B Super Matic TLR Halma 44
Tower 45 Nicca 5L f/2
Tower 46 Nicca f/1.4
Tower 50 Iloca Quick-L / Quick-R, Vero Shutter, Cassar lens
Tower 50 and Tower 51? (120 folding) Rollex 20 ca. 1950 USC
Tower 51 (120 folding) Conley Camera Company 1955
Tower 51 (not folding 120, but 35mm) LH film advance. Also RH film advance model, also knob advance version all called Tower 51 Iloca Rapid B Steinheil Cassar lens 50mm f/2.8 made in Germany by Kamerawerke Wilhelm Witt, Hamburg, Germany
Tower 52 35mm Iloca Rapid IIL
Tower 53 Iloca, 1955
Tower 53B Iloca, 1955
Tower 54 Olympus
Tower 55 35mm Rippa (Yamato; two versions, later one with bigger viewfinder)
Tower 55B Pax Jr (Yamato); Color Luna Lens 45mm f3.5
Tower 57 35mm Samoca 35 M-28 (AKA Hanimex A35)
Tower 57A 35mm rangefinder Samoca LE
Tower 60 120 Dacora I
Tower Reflex 65 Perhaps Tower Reflex 65 with meter - TLR also Tower 64, no meter Walz
Tower Flash 120 120 Bilora box
Tower 127 Mamiya ??
Tower 32B SLR Mamiya-Sekor lens, Exakta/Topcon mount (c.1963) Mamiya Prismat NP
Tower Press Camera 4×5 Busch 4x5 Pressman
Tower Automatic 35 Mamiya ???
Tower Automatic 127 4×4 autoexposure Electric Eye 127 from USC
Tower 127 Automatic II 4×4 autoexposure USC
Tower Camflash 127 also Camflash II 127 Comet 127 from USC
Tower Colorette Rangefinder Braun Super Colorette
Tower Companion 1960 Imperial, similar to Debonair
Tower Hide Away same as Imperial Mark 27
Tower Phantom
Tower Pixie 127 plastic 4×4 cm same as Imperial Lark
Tower Pixie II 127 plastic 4×4 cm
Tower Reflex 1 box camera 120 Probably Bilora
Tower Skipper 127 brownie box size, made in USA Mercury Satellite 127
Tower Snappy Imperial Savoy
Tower Stereo Iloca Stereo
Tower Synchroflash Bilora Bella
Tower Type 3 Nicca III
Tower Type 3S Nicca, Leotax?
Trumpfreflex 6x6 TLR Reflecta (Richter Reflecta)

Links

Companies of Chicago (Illinois)
Adams & Westlake | Central Camera Co. | American Advertising and Research Co. | Bernard | Burke & James | Busch | Calumet | Candid | Chicago Aerial | Chicago Camera Co. | Chicago Ferrotype Company | Deardorff | De Vry | Drucker | Galter | Geiss | Herold | Imperial | Kemper | Lennor Engineering Co. | Metropolitan Industries | Monarch | Montgomery Ward | Pho-Tak | QRS Company | Rolls | Sans & Streiffe | Sears | Seymour | Spartus | The Camera Man | United States Camera Co. | Western Camera Manufacturing Co. | Yale | Zar | Zenith
Chicago in depth: The Chicago Cluster‎, a bakelite trust?