[Miscellaneous Sites in Boston, Massachusetts]: Sears & Co. storefront, at 9 Commerce Street in Boston.

Thomas W. Sears identified this image as "Old Joe and Dad's store." Sears's father, Alexander Pomeroy Sears (d. 1911), was in the wholesale grocery business and was in partnership with his uncle, Joshua Sears, until the latter's death in 1873. In the image, which is a photograph of an earlier photo taken during the late 19th century, the "Sears & Co." sign is placed above an earlier sign on which the name "Joshua Sears" has been partially erased. During the 1880s the business operated at the 9 Commerce Street location, as well as at 178 and 180 State Street, but by 1900 it appears to have been consolidated solely at 180 State Street.