The Clarke Historical Library at Central Michigan University features old catalogs of the Aladdin Company of Bay City, including this 1949 issue.
Bay City's Historic Aladdin Company Recalled in Old Magazine Articles
Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University, Has Aladdin Records
November 22, 2009
By: Dave Rogers
Clarke Historical Library at Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, has opened the historic Aladdin Company of Bay City public catalogs and records to the public.
In addition, Marvin Kuszmierz of the Bay-Journal.com local history website has discovered old magazine articles, posted them on the site and revived interest in the Aladdin Company, one of Bay City's historic industries.
Aladdin was one of America's most long lived manufacturers of mail-order, "kit homes." Begun in 1906 by two brothers, Otto and William Sovereign, the family-owned firm continued to manufacture houses until 1981. Over the firm's long history it sold over 75,000 homes to both individual and corporate customers.
The records of the Aladdin Company were donated to the Clarke Historical Library in 1996. The almost complete run of company catalogs, full set of sales records, over 15,000 post-World War II architectural drawings, and various other company records create an extraordinary historical resource.
The Aladdin Company records are open for use by the public, having been arranged and described through a grant made by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Full-text copies of the annual sales catalogs were scanned through a grant by the Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs.
In the Rotarian Magazine, May 1916, writer Giles Kavanagh profiled Aladdin founders Otto and William J. Sovereign. And, Printer's Ink for 1921 discussed one of the Aladdin products, the Aladdinette, described as "a detached apartment," a mini version of a regular-sized home. The article noted that carpenter labor before World War I was $2 to $2.50 a day, while afterward it was about $1 a day. Those articles are posted on the bay-journal.com website.
In 1949 Mr. E. Hawley of Stone Harbor, New Jersey purchased a house from the Aladdin Company. His story, posted on the Clarke Historical Library website, is representative of the many customers who went through the process of purchasing a pre-manufactured home from the Aladdin Company.
The catalogs themselves were originally advertised in a varied selection of magazines and local and national newspapers. The 1949 catalog presented Mr. Hawley with over 35 models to choose from, most of them smaller 'four squares' with two to three bedrooms. Their primary appeal was the self-construction feature which saved costs and allowed the customer to become part of the design process.
Following is a sample of correspondence from the Aladdin records:
Dear Sirs:
You will remember me back in 1915 when I bought your Georgia No. 2 and nestled it in the hillside where it sparkles like a jewel in the sunshine today. We have been very happy in the past 33 years in our Aladdin home and we are always proud to tell our friends where we got it. We now have three grown up children and five grandchildren to share our beautiful home whenever they care to visit us.
F.A. Billings
Claremont NH, 1949
Locals within the Bay City area had the opportunity to visit the Aladdin factory and meet with the owners, Otto and William Sovereign. However, as most their customers lived outside of Michigan, most communication, as in the case of Mr. Hawley, was done by letter. This allowed Aladdin to sell houses not only nationally but internationally as well.
Aladdin promised that their construction standards met every building code in America and that "nothing was left to chance." The blueprints and construction drawings were easy and simple to follow. The manual gave direct instructions on how to erect an Aladdin home, and a check list covered all the materials shipped; as the company promised "we check it in, you check it out."
In 1949 optional furnishings such as kitchen cabinets, oak flooring and screen doors were offered. Aladdin had started diversifying itself in the 1920s by producing many furnishings such as plumbing, kitchen cabinetry, housewares, and furniture. The company attempted to diversify further in the 1960s, but by this time the redi-cut home itself was the primary appeal of the Aladdin Company.
Aladdin promised that most homes would be delivered within five to eight days of receiving the catalog order. On many of the smaller models in the 1949 catalog Aladdin promised to pay the freight, including that Mr. Hawley's Winston #5.
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