Eric Chaim Kline, Bookseller

Catalogue of Trimmings, Fancy Goods, and Sundries [Catalogue No. 4]

John Wanamaker

Philadelphia: John Wanamaker, Grand Depot, 188_ (ca 1885). First edition. Softcover. Quarto. 110, [18]pp. Original printed wrappers. Illustrated with numerous in-text illustrations, this catalog of "Trimmings, Fancy Goods, and Sundries" by John Wanamaker contains a selection of 102 articles, from albums, archery, braids and Bibles, to wallets, yarns and zephyrs. Wanamaker's department store was the first department store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and one of the first department stores in the United States. John Wanamaker, the founder of the store that bears his name, was unable to join the U.S. Army during the American Civil War because of a persistent cough. Having been rejected from war duty, he ventured into business with his brother-in-law, Nathan Brown. In 1861, they founded a men's clothing store in Philadelphia called Oak Hall. Wanamaker carried on the business alone after Brown's death in 1868. In 1876, Wanamaker purchased the abandoned Pennsylvania Railroad station for use as a new, larger retail location. The concept was to renovate the terminal into a "Grand Depot" similar to London's Royal Exchange or Paris's Les Halles - two central markets, and forerunners of the modern department store, that were well known in Europe at that time The Wanamaker's Grand Depot opened in time to service the public visiting Philadelphia for the American Centennial Exposition of 1876, and in fact resembled one of the many pavilions at that world's fair because of its fanciful new Moorish facade. In 1877 the interior of Wanamaker's was refurbished and expanded to include not only men's clothing, but women's clothing and dry goods as well. This was Philadelphia's first modern-day department store, and one of the earliest founded in America. A circular counter was placed at the center of the building, and concentric circles radiated around it with 129 counters of goods. Innovation and "firsts" marked Wanamaker's. The store was the first department store with electrical illumination (1878), first store with a telephone (1879), and the first store to install pneumatic tubes to transport cash and documents (1880). John Wanamaker's employees were to be treated respectfully by management (including not being scolded in public), and John Wanamaker & Company offered its employees access to the John Wanamaker Commercial Institute, as well as free medical care, recreational facilities, profit sharing plans, and pensions - long before these types of benefits were considered standard in corporate employment. Spine slightly creased and sunned, and minor foxing and age-toning edges of wrappers. Wraps in overall good+, interior in very good condition. g to vg. Item #39607

Price: $150.00