About 14 years ago, I excitedly dashed into the living room of our old house in Alton, Illinois and exclaimed to the husband, “I just saw my first Fairy!”
Unfazed, he didn’t even look up from his desk, but merely asked, “And what kind of fairy was it?”
“It was a Sears House,” I replied. “A very small kit home, the Sears ‘Fairy'”!
As I recall, he shook his head slightly and offered no further commentary.
Nonetheless, it was an exciting day for me.
The Sears Fairy was one of their smaller homes (only 616 square feet), and it was cute and well-designed and low-priced. As of 1929, it was a mere $993 which (even then) was a solid value.
According to Houses by Mail, the Fairy was first offered in 1925, but I’ve since found it in a catalog from Fall 1923.
In 1933, the Fairy was renamed “The Culver” and given a little face lift. The front door and living room window were transposed, and the front porch was changed from a pergola to a gabled roof. The floorplan was precisely the same in the two houses.
By 1934, it was gone and never reappeared in any of the subsequent catalogs.
Interestingly, “culver” comes from the old English word “culfre” which means dove. I wonder if the wordsmiths at Sears knew the correlation between the two words, fairy and culver.
I’m betting they did.
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In 1929, the Fairy was priced at just under $1,000.
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The Fairy had about 600 square feet of living space.
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But housewives love it...
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Not a bad-looking house for under $1,000.
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Here's one in Elgin, IL.
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And here's one in Evanston, Illinois. Photo is courtesy Jaimie Brunet, copyright 2013 and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.
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Jaimie loves her "Fairy" and in a recent email she said, "It's been the perfect house for us!" Photo is courtesy Jaimie Brunet, copyright 2013 and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.
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If you take a good look at this edge of the porch, you can see the remnant of the original pergola frame and porch columns. The gabled porch is a nice addition, and in keeping with The Culver (shown below). Photo is courtesy Jaimie Brunet, copyright 2013 and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.
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In 1933, the Fairy was given a little facelift and renamed "The Culver."
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Prices are no longer given, but the payments were $25 a month (15 year mortgage, 6%).
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Compare the two floorplans and you'll see that the Fairy (left) and Culver (right) are identical. Well, except that the Culver has more bushes around it.
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To learn more about Sears Homes, click here.
To read another fascinating blog, click here.
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