Sears, Roebuck and Co. didn’t start out to become an automobile company. Richard Warren Sears founded the firm as a mail-order watch company in Minnesota in 1886. After he met Alvah Roebuck, a watch repairman, he moved the business to Chicago. The company did well, publishing a catalogue that offered diamonds and jewelry in addition to watches. Their company became Sears, Roebuck & Co. and diversified, adding to their catalogues all sorts of useful wares that were essential for rural farmers.

Sears, Roebuck weathered the Panic of 1893 and was soon publishing a catalogue of more than 500 pages, including such things as dolls, stoves, and even groceries. Automobiles did not appear until 1908, and that was due to Alvaro S. Krotz, an engineer and inventor who had designed a simple, inexpensive car. His pitch to Sears was successful, and that year’s fall catalogue included the Sears Motor Buggy, a $395 high-wheel runabout.

The basic model, with few amenities, was called Model G. Model H added fenders and a top. Model J had running boards, and Model K had cushion tires. In 1910 Sears caved in to the fashion of the day and began calling it “automobile.” A new model for 1911, the “Business/Pleasure Car” had a longer wheelbase and offered seating for the entire family.

This Model P Sears Business/Pleasure Car is built on the long 87-inch wheelbase, the same as the Model X wagon, which was in effect a pickup. The Model P had two identical bench seats, arranged in tandem. Two front oil lamps were standard, along with a taillamp, a horn, and “full equipment.” It was priced at $495.

Painted white with black accents, this Model P Sears was fully restored in 1987 by Century Auto Connection of Houston, Texas. It is upholstered in diamond-pattern buttoned black leather with a matching grained-leather dashboard. The lighting includes Staylit brass oil headlamps and a C.M. Hall taillamp. The car has been a part of the Merrick Auto Museum since 1995.