If the Montgomery Ward name sounds familiar, it should! For over 128 years, Montgomery Ward was a well-known and trusted catalog retailer based in Chicago, Illinois. In 1872, Aaron Montgomery Ward established the first mail-order business with an innovative single-sheet catalog offering 163 items. He was the first retailer in the United States to guarantee satisfaction to his customers. This superior service and an impressive assortment of quality goods at affordable prices led to rapid growth. By 1904, the catalogs weighed a hefty four pounds each and were mailed to three million customers.