Book Description
In the early part of the twentieth century, department stores peddled everything from dresses to kitchen appliances. From the 1920s to the 1960s, they took on a new role as the ultimate arbiters of taste, showing a growing middle class the goods they needed to move up the social ladder. In Service and Style, Jan Whitaker gives readers a historical tour through these wonders of the retail world looking at their early forms, how they grew and what theyve become today. She looks at specific stores like Jordan Marsh, John Wanamakers, Macys, AS and Gimbels. She looks at the post WWII boom and the developing catalogue business attached to certain retailers like Sears and Roebuck. Filled with a great deal of nostalgia for days gone by, Service and Style is also an important cultural history. Besides making many of us think back to the first time we saw the Marshall Fields Christmas tree or John Wanamakers Dancing Waters display, Whitaker reminds us what a vital part the department store has played in the history of American business and the life of the American family.
Customer Reviews:
Dead but Not Forgotten.......2007-08-03
Service and Style has a lot going for it. A great mostly unexplore subject, the history of the American Department Story, a great historical theme, the role these stores played in forming middle class style and great photos. Its well written, organized and researched. I have a family connection to Hess's a department store in Allentown and was pleased to find several references to the store and its owner Max Hess. Many of the things my family talked about that made his store special were shared among other stores as well.
Too bad it didn't take it to the next level and show how the stores transformed the American middle class into sophisticated and pampered consumers. Still, it was well-worth reading and for gazing at all the great photographs of a bygone era.
Everything you ever wanted to know about DEPARTMENT STORES: Late 1800's to 1980's.......2007-07-25
This book is about the history of the American Department Store, from the late 1800's to the early 1980s.
The author of this book is emphatic about the fact that Department Stores are quite different from the "Catalog Stores" (eg: SEARS), or different from the huge "National Chain Stores" (eg: WAL-MART). So please note that this book is only about "Department Stores" (as stated in the book's title) and NOT about Chain Stores,nor the very huge National Catalog Chains.
Anyhow, this book is very well-written. The photos are mostly in black-n-white, since at that time, most photos were not in color.
The author does a wonderful job at categorizing each chapters into sub-categories, and the author goes into great detail in explaining the issues and experiences that affected the American Department stores (be it, their evolution, but also their demise).
From the Up-to- Date in Downtown Troy through Alexander's to A&S in Brooklyn.......2006-10-27
Christina Larsen in her highly favorable review of this book in 'Washington Monthly' notes that one major reason people shop is for 'the experience'. Jan Whitaker chronicles how the Department Store became a central element in American life. She tells of how the great movement from farm to City in the late nineteenth - century , combined with new developments in communication and transportation helped make Department stores the center of American commercial life. Here is Larsen's description of of what Whitaker does in the book.
" She details how department stores, which dominated American retail in the early 20th century, helped give "material expression to vague ideas of what success, femininity, citizenship, and popularity might mean," then put the identifying accessories (briefcase, lingerie, top hat, tennis racket) within reach of most customers. The secret to the stores' success was that they were always selling more than the thing itself."
The Department Store drew the masses into the heart of town. It democratized fashion, and made goods available to the many which were once for the exclusive enjoyment of the wealthy. Though Department Stores sold many different kinds of product, once for instance were a central vendor of books, their major product and great attraction was clothing.
This book will bring a lot of insight into an American institution , and I think for older folks like myself much nostalgic enjoyment. I grew up in the world of Department stores from the 'Up-to- Date' in downtown Troy New York Alexander's in Manhattan and Abraham and Strauss Brooklyn where my Aunt Molly Zeibert of blessed memory was for many years a 'buyer'(Dresses) .
A welcome gift.......2006-10-18
This book is a rich texture of historical narrative, amusing anecdote, great visual material, and insight into the what drives American consumer culture. I sent it as a gift to my father in South Dakota, thinking he might like it since he knows the author. It was a bit risky, though, since he's not much of a book person: a 94-year-old retired dairy farmer who is not easily impressed (to put it mildly). In this case, the review in the Wall Street Journal whetted his interest in advance and it turned out he loved the book! "I really like her choice of words," he marveled at one point. And then his biggest accolade: "She's got a great sense of humor; even made me laugh on the corset page!"
Book Description
This monumental work of cultural history was nominated for a National Book Award. It chronicles America's transformation, beginning in 1880, into a nation of consumers, devoted to a cult of comfort, bodily well-being, and endless acquisition. 24 pages of photos.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting story, not enough analysis.......2004-06-06
W.R. Leach writes about the beginning of consumerism in the U.S. around 1910/20. He writes with much verve about his theme, which makes the book an ageeable read.
But for my taste the book is somewhat short on analysis. For example: there is much talk of the connection between selling and religion, but if this connection was by random or if there were some deeper links is left open.
If you are new to the subject of this book and you want an interesting read: get it. But be aware, the answers for a lot of questions this book poses are not to be found here.
Snooze.......2003-02-06
This has got to be the most boring book in the world!!!! I have to read it for one of my college courses and it is very nauseating. 30 pages on the history of window decorations!! Give me a break! If you're into analyzing the advertising industry, try Social Communications in Advertising by Leiss. Its a much better book and its much more interesting!
Leisure as Consumerism.......2001-12-09
In William Leach's Land of Desire: Merchants, Power, and the Rise of a New American Culture the author ignores the topic of leisure by making it self-evident through consumerism. Leisure, and in turn consumerism, became actual businesses to the likes of the Straus Brothers and Marshall Field, as well as to by-products of consumer industries such as banks, hotels, and museums. Leach's book brings the nature of leisure full circle, from Veblen's Leisure Class to leisure of the working class, whose consumption boosted businesses that used working-class techniques based in the theatre and vaudeville as "showmanship" in the shop window.
perfect.......2001-07-09
Leach has written a wonderful book on the true roots of modern American society. Ever wonder why the only public meeting place extant is the shopping mall? Because "they" want it that way. Find out who they were - and are. But beware. You're probably one of them!
Brilliant, scholarly, beautifully written.......1998-08-24
Ostensibly a history of the department store in America, this book is a revelatory primer for those wishing to understand the origins and growth of the culture of comsumerism in the United States. As Leach convincingly documents, consumerism is an artificial, carefully crafted construct clearly traceable to particular people and places in our history. Their paradigm of consumption, Leach further shows, is one that has come to consume American culture in general--and, increasingly, world cultures beyond it.
Book Description
This book focuses on middle-class urban women as participants in new forms of consumer culture. Within the special world of the department store, women found themselves challenged to resist the enticements of consumption. Many succumbed, buying both what they needed and what they desired, but also stealing what seemed so readily available. Pitted against these middle-class women were the management, detectives, and clerks of the department stores. Abelson argues that in the interest of concealing this darker side of consumerism, women of the middle class, but not those of the working class, were allowed to shoplift and plead incapacitating illness--kleptomania. The invention of kleptomania by psychiatrists and the adoption of this ideology of feminine weakness by retailers, newspapers, the general public, the accused women themselves, and even the courts reveals the way in which a gender analysis allowed proponents of consumer capitalism to mask its contradictions.
Customer Reviews:
A Well-Conceived Book.......2005-04-13
Elaine S. Abelson's When Ladies Go A-Thieving is a remarkably ambitious book that seeks to examine numerous aspects of social history from roughly 1870-1914. While her primary area of investigation is the middle-class female shoplifter in the department store, her book undertakes serious examination of such varied concerns as class identity and class conflict, the rise of consumer culture, and the changing roles of women in society (and society's attempts to reconcile these new roles with existing gender stereotypes).
Abelson's thesis defies quick encapsulation, as it relies on several assumptions and takes form through multiple, equally important conclusions. As women's functions moved increasingly out of the home, and into the public sphere, one of her primary responsibilities was the acquisition of goods. That shopping was women's work (and leisure) was a widely understood stereotype. To address this demand, the department store developed as a place where a woman could see and acquire a large array of consumer goods. It also served to instill a "calculated arousal of desire" (11) and, according to Abelson, for many women the lure proved irresistible. They sought to acquire the coveted goods by any means necessary, and so they shoplifted them. Lower-class women, when caught, were dealt with as criminals.
Yet many middle-class women, who could ostensibly afford the items they stole, were also caught in the act. This reflected poorly on the department store's model of mass consumption, if not mass consumption in general, and it also upset contemporary stereotypical notions of female moral superiority and incorruptibility. Thus these middle-class crimes were swept under the rug with a diagnosis of kleptomania. A woman was seen as weak-willed, ill equipped by her very nature - her gender itself - to control her desire for consumption. The store thus could not be held accountable for its "successful stimulation of consumer desire" and the respectable woman could not be held personally responsible for her regrettable actions (196). Consumerist ideology would remain unscathed, as womanhood itself could be depicted as the ultimate culprit.
Abelson's book was particularly well received by critics, who found it very well written and full of interesting ideas, and found that the research carried implications across wide-ranging historic disciplines. A few questioned whether the evidence was sufficient for Abelson's broad conclusions. Specifically, Mark C. Carnes, writing for The Business History Review, questions Abelson's almost exclusive use of trade journals in her analysis of the extent of the shoplifting phenomenon, and wonders whether the "dire pronouncements of merchants ... accurately reflect the magnitude of shoplifting."8 Perhaps, he suggests, shoplifting wasn't so common as Abelson supposes. Carnes' perceptive review also calls into question Abelson's complete dismissal of kleptomania as a legitimate medical pathology, a point also made by several other reviewers. For Abelson, the only pathology is the pathology of consumption, and Carnes sees this as an "over-broad indictment." Shifting at least some of the blame back onto the women themselves, Carnes writes "To the Victorian men and women who placed so high a premium on self control, shoplifting was almost by definition symptomatic of psychological infirmity."
Anita Clair Fellman, in The American Historical Review, finds Abelson's book "well put together and suggestive" but faults her for failing to "elaborate the implications of her findings" and poses some questions to this end: "Is it significant that the stores' first pitch should have been toward women ... by no means the most powerful members of society? Does this tell us something about the ways in which middle-class women as a subordinate group were essential to the development of consumer capitalism? Might the acceptance of women's tendencies to kleptomania have contributed to the gradual demise ... of the notion of women's moral superiority?" Fellman is troubled that Abelson depicts women as being so susceptible to the "manipulation of merchandisers" and points out that this conclusion is at odds with that reached by Susan Porter Benson, whose Counter Cultures (1986) "assesses women customers as giving as good as they got in the ongoing struggle with department stores."
These qualms hardly detract from the ultimate achievement of Abelson's work. Indeed, it could be argued that many of Fellman's criticisms fall completely outside the scope of the book. Abelson's endnotes and annotated bibliography show that she has made exhaustive use of those sources that are available, from diaries, trade journals, and court records to contemporary parodies of shopping culture. She convincingly demonstrates that the shoplifting phenomenon, whatever its extent, was exacerbated by the deliberate enticement of the department store set-up and that it was dealt with, among the middle class, by shifting blame to a nebulous (though gender-specific) pathology. Along the way, she is able to illustrate numerous interesting aspects of consumer culture, such as its inherent class-conflicts and the redefining of women's roles and expectations. As such, the book is a well-conceived examination of numerous aspects of history.
interesting text, but it could have gone further.......2000-03-16
Having read this book for a seminar course in gender and consumerism, I found it very useful. Abelson spends a good amount of time (the first five chapters, in fact) focusing on the development of the department store and setting up the class dichotomy between the shop girls and the shoppers. She then spends the last two discussing the various ways shoplifting was diagnosed (such as by the creation of kleptomania). My issues with the book, however, were that Abelson never really discusses the issue of race (EVER), and also does not mention ethnicity. She also makes some very good arguements, such as when discussing the class dichotomy, but I feel that she could have gone further than she did with her arguements. However, I found it to be a useful and interesting read.
Average customer rating:
- the world's foremost jewish history does it again
- Great book! For history buffs who like the personal side.
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Merchant Princes: An Intimate History of Jewish Families Who Built Great Department Stores (A Kodansha Globe Book)
Leon A. Harris
Manufacturer: Kodansha Amer Inc
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ASIN: 1568360444 |
Customer Reviews:
the world's foremost jewish history does it again.......2001-09-01
Ken libo has shown an excellent ability to convey jewish history time and time again.. This book is no exception.. It's very readable, and will not let you down. If you want to concieve the struggles and successes of jews and others in the early twentieth century; buy this book.
Great book! For history buffs who like the personal side........1999-06-18
This is a great book. It's chock full of history told in an easy-to-read style. Leon Harris reveals the struggles and successes of 12 of the earliest Jewish retailers of America including Levi Strauss, Sears, Roebuck, Neiman, Marcus etc. It appeals to readers on many levels. First it is an historic account of the people whose names have become so familiar as store-names that we have forgotten there were ever people with those names. "Merchant Princes" includes many personal anecdotes about the founders of the stores and their families, retailing practices of yester-year and what these merchants did with their incredible wealth. Told by a Jew, about Jews, it reveals in surprisingly candid ways the ostracism of Jews in this country addressing how this all began. It's a book you can put down and pick up at any point without losing the flow. Jews will love it. Gentiles will be impressed. I was!
Book Description
Reflecting New Zealand's distinctive and sometimes quirky history, this lively account serves as a reminder of the role New Zealand Department stores played as cultural icons until their near demise after the success of the suburban shopping mall.
Customer Reviews:
Shipped on Rime.......2005-10-19
book was as good as described, like new. Shipped on time. recommend seller. I will use in the future with doubt.
An excellent contribution to several historical fields........1996-12-23
Benson writes about department stores' development as the new purveyors of mass culture and as the setting for a dynamic intersection of class and gender. She describes the encounters of saleswomen, managers, and customers in this retail environment between 1890 and 1940. Benson accomplishes this by combing through various journals and newspapers, and the results of this research are placed into perspective through comparison with other labor historians' work. Although the juxtaposition of Benson's work with others' reveals some flaws, _Counter Cultures_ nevertheless presents an important and vivid picture of a service industry, a neglected area of labor history
An excellent contribution to several historical fields........1996-12-23
Benson writes about department stores' development as the new purveyors of mass culture and as the setting for a dynamic intersection of class and gender. She describes the encounters of saleswomen, managers, and customers in this retail environment between 1890 and 1940. Benson accomplishes this by combing through various journals and newspapers, and the results of this research are placed into perspective through comparison with other labor historians' work. Although the juxtaposition of Benson's work with others' reveals some flaws, _Counter Cultures_ nevertheless presents an important and vivid picture of a service industry, a neglected area of labor history
Average customer rating:
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The Department Store: A Social History
William Lancaster
Manufacturer: Leicester University Press
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ASIN: 071851985X |
Average customer rating:
- Bigger than life....a Texas legend...
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Texas Merchant: Marvin Leonard & Fort Worth (Kenneth E. Montague Series in Oil and Business History, No 11)
Victoria Buenger , and
Walter L. Buenger
Manufacturer: Texas A&M University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0890968446 |
Customer Reviews:
Bigger than life....a Texas legend..........1999-11-25
Marvin Leonard was a merchant with a flair that will probably never be seen in today's world of "cookie cutter" department stores. His store was a unique place, where tradition and modern convenience blended beautifully. It's too bad that his pioneer Fort Worth store no longer exists. The book chronicles the glory days of a store, the likes of which, recall a time when shopping downtown was fun!
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Manitoba History, published by Manitoba Historical Society on September 22, 2002. The length of the article is 6447 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Embattled notions: constructions of Rupert's Land's native sons, 1760 to 1860. *.(children of native women and European traders working for the Hudson's Bay Company in the late18th century and early 19th century )
Author: Denise Fuchs
Publication:
Manitoba History (Refereed)
Date: September 22, 2002
Publisher: Manitoba Historical Society
Page: 10(8)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Average customer rating:
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Cathedrals of Consumption: The European Department Store, 1850-1939 (History of Retailing and Consumption)
Manufacturer: Ashgate Publishing
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 1840142367 |
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