Shop window

“ At last I reached the object of my quest, a dirty fly-blown little shop in a byway near Drury Lane, with a window full of tinsel robes, sham jewels, wigs, slippers, dominoes and theatrical photographs. The shop was old-fashioned and low and dark, and the house rose above it for four storeys, dark and dismal. ”

“ Those who have not the chance of seeing the interior of one of these stores, can obtain a very good notion of what they are like by inspecting a shop window next door to the Autotype Gallery in what used to be New Oxford Street. ”

“ A very common practice is, to break a pane of glass near the window-fastening, which can be soon displaced by introducing the hand at the aperture thus made. Shop windows are frequently entered by the same means ”

“ I peer into shop windows, not so much for the wares displayed as for glimpses of the men and women engaged in their disposal. I watch laborers trudging home with the tired clink of their implements and pails. I gaze into cellarways where tailor and cobbler sit bent upon their work—needle and peg, their world—and through fouled windows into workrooms, to learn which livelihoods yield the truest happiness. ”

“ Every show-window where I halted was jammed to the gunwales with thick, fuzzy, woolen articles and inflammatory plaid waistcoats, and articles in crash for tropical wear—even through the glass you could note each individual crash with distinctness. The London shopkeeper adheres steadfastly to this arrangement. Into his window he puts everything he has in his shop except the customer. The customer is in the rear, with all avenues of escape expertly fenced off from him by the proprietor and the clerks ”

“ An old woman was even now engaged in carefully sweeping up the glass in the roadway in front of her little shop, and gradually he became aware that the shop itself was completely gutted, and that there was a dark yawning hole where the window, filled with toys and sweetmeats, had been. ”

“ Closely confined to the counter, with a needle in their hand, they are continually throwing their eyes towards the street. Not a passenger escapes their notice. The place the nearest to the window is in the greatest request, as being most favourable for catching the transient homages of the crowds of men continually passing and repassing. It is generally occupied by the beauty of the magazin or warehouse; for it would be resented as an almost unpardonable offence to term this emporium of taste a boutique or shop. ”

“ There is a window at one end of his shop-place that goes all the way to the floor, like a doorway, and it is always open. His shop is half on the ferry-wharf so that the window hangs right over the water, very high above it. It is quite a dizzyish place, but wonderful to look out at. Far away you see boats coming in, and Wecanicut all flat and gray, and then right below is nice sloshy green water with old boxes and straws floating by, and sometimes horrid orange-peels that picnic people throw in. ”

“ The houses overhang the narrow streets; their windows have no glass, but consist of lattice-work wooden shutters, which push up and down, and are often richly carved and otherwise ornamented. The shop windows are open to the sun, and the immense display of merchandise, fruits, game, armour, and cutlery defies description. ”

“ Many of his spare pennies went into the money drawer of the corner shop, and much of his spare time he spent with the workmen at the cabinet-makers' near by. For little workshops were beginning to appear in the neighborhood of lower Charles Street, and some of their proprietors had cut away the front of an old [Pg 22] house, in order to build a window to display their wares. ”

“ A good background, throwing out a few articles that are good values or distinct novelties, may be relied upon to arrest the attention of the passing shopper. It is poor policy to display expensive and inexpensive merchandise in the same window, or to exhibit what is called a “mixed” window. A crowded window bewilders the beholder, and while he may admire the general arrangement and wealth of color, no one item will sufficiently attract him to induce him to enter the store, or will impress his mind so far that he will recollect it when occasion arises to purchase. ”

“ This would be embarrassing to the beginner or the modest man, but its advantage lies in being an added attraction for the store. People are often curious to know how a window display is built up and arranged, and enjoy watching the workman. Often the people attracted are the loafers of a town, and those who, having no business of their own, would not be likely to bring business to the store. But in cities where the streets are crowded, the open window may be considered a distinct attraction to the casual observer and the general public. ”

“ Yes, the fifth story of that old warehouse asserts itself like a diamond pin in a soiled and rumpled scarf, for the mansard roof with its galvanized-iron trimmings, which once [Pg 4] made it appear no more respectable than it ought to be, has given place to a long, well-glazed, dormer window, finished on the outside with heavy timbering and rough plaster work, and fitted with swinging sashes through whose many panes the southern sun may shine without let or hinderance, save when, in summer months, a wide, striped awning parries the hottest rays. ”

“ If he refuses, move elsewhere. You cannot afford to be in the mercantile business without good windows to back up your enterprise.
CHAPTER II.
THE SHOW WINDOW. In attempting to explain the fundamental principles of successful store decoration, the window is the first thing to be considered, and there are all kinds of windows, little and big, upright and oblong, cramped and spacious. Some are hard to get at; some have big, awkward posts in them; but no matter what they are or how undesirable they seem, remember that anything with a pane of glass before it may be made a show window. ”

“ The paper over each window was impenetrable to light, and a blue curtain was drawn across the glass-work in front. It was a quarter past seven when we left Pall Mall, and my watch showed me that it was ten minutes to nine when we at last came to a standstill. My companion let down the window and I caught a glimpse of a low, arched doorway with a lamp burning above it. As I was hurried from the carriage it swung open, and I found myself inside the house, with a vague impression of a lawn and trees on each side of me as I entered. ”

“ Lifting one, as if it fitted into a socket, he drew it away and laid it by his side. He did the same with another, and yet with more, until every bar was lying on the great stone window-sill, and there was a clear and open space as soon as he threw the glass window back on its hinges, broad enough even for the forester to pass.
While they watched him in silence, he leant out and gazed about in all directions; now to right, to left, and downwards, and, satisfied with what he saw, he came back to them in happy complacence.
"Go and look for yourselves!" ”

“ Nowhere in the world can be found so great a collection of gems in so small a space as in these four galleries. The fronts of the stores consist of a huge plate glass window and a small door. Although disproportionate in size, the window suffices to show the goods, and the door is plenty large enough for any one who wishes to enter. ”

“ Some of the best windows I ever saw contained very few goods; but, bear in mind, every piece stood out as distinctly as a wart on a man’s nose. At the same time a well-filled, or “stocky” window, as it is called, frequently is quite as effective as any, and a reputation for carrying a full stock is a desirable thing for any merchant. ”

“ The modern are of the most gorgeous kind. They are not as in New York, immense show windows with a door between; but there is an immense show window in the middle, with a small passage on the side. When a London tradesman wants a show window he wants it all show. It is very like the piety of some men I know. He doesn’t care how small the opening is to get into the place, for he knows if he attracts a customer by the display of his goods in the window, he, the said customer, will manage somehow to get inside. ”

“ The windows are enormous. Not satisfied with the giant sliding doors that open on the street, revealing windows—unencumbered with sash or glass, there are sliding doors under the window sills, that roll back right and left and offer the chance to introduce a current of air directly on the lower limbs. ”

“ The fashion of the day builds plate-glass windows round them, but it is truly a gross superfluity.” The room in which Lady Cressage and the luncheon-table awaited them was of a more hospitable aspect. A broad expanse of lawn, and of distant trees and sky-line fading away in the sunny autumn haze, made a luminous picture of the high embrasured window stretching almost from corner to corner across one side. By contrast with the other apartments, the light here was brilliant. ”

“ The ground floor of the house should be as nearly as possible on a level with the street. The entrances should be fitted with swing doors, to be kept wide open in summer, and ajar at other seasons. A few steps from the door should bring the customer to the bar, on the fitting and arrangement of which as much care should be bestowed as a shopkeeper gives to his front window. ”

“ During the daytime the passer-by will, if he looks up quickly enough, see furtive faces at the windows, of men, and more especially of women, who never seem to come abroad, but pass their lives behind those unwashed curtains, with carefully closed windows, and in an atmosphere which may be faintly imagined by a glance at the wares in the shop below. ”

“ The window-tax—a result of war—laid an embargo on light, by restricting size and number, so the house, like most in the neighbourhood, having been built subsequently to “Billy Pitt’s” obnoxious impost, there were only two windows, and those were narrow. They were draped with heavy curtains, and festooned valances of dove-coloured moreen, trimmed with blue orris-lace, and worsted-bullion fringe, with spiral silken droplets here and there to shimmer in the rays of sun or chandelier. ”

“ It makes a window attractive enough to stop pedestrians, who, glancing at the display, unconsciously note that the goods on exhibition are thrown prominently into the foreground, while the coloring that made them pause has modestly retired, and serves only as a foil for the articles of merchandise. ”

“ Such windows are obviously windows. The huge sheets of plate glass that people are so proud of are all very well for shops, but they are seldom right in small houses.
I remember seeing one plate glass window that was well worth while. It was in the mountain studio of an artist and it was fully eight by ten feet—one unbroken sheet of glass which framed a marvelous vista of mountain and valley. It goes without saying that such a window requires no curtain other than one that is to be drawn at night. ”

“ The writer is a firm believer in good window fixtures, for they assist greatly in making a handsome display, and thus selling goods. Therefore an adequate supply of substantial brass and nickel fixtures is not an extravagance, but a necessity. I said an adequate supply. The big city store needs a great variety of fixtures, for there are many windows to trim. The small store cannot afford more than enough to be used to good advantage.
Side brackets, or arms, must be provided amply, and enough uprights and rods to make whatever racks or trees may be required for small goods. ”

“ In order to make a window stand out from its fellows something more than a plain arrangement of merchandise is needed. It must be unusual and distinctive to the extent of arresting the attention of busy people as they hurry along the street.
Shrewd and observant trimmers have found that the secret of successful windows is to have a background or mechanical device that will command attention, and then to place the goods in so ingenious a manner that in looking at the display people note the excellence of the goods and desire to purchase them. ”

“ Cut the price sufficiently to interest people. Bear in mind that these goods might lie on your shelves years without moving if there was no show window to dispose of them. Properly displayed and properly priced, the show window will sell them like hot cakes, even though they are old enough to have gray whiskers. People dearly love bargains.
Don’t make the mistake of selecting a variety of goods for your display. Confine it to one line as much as possible, and when that is impossible confine it to kindred lines. You don’t need so very many goods if you know how to display them. ”

“ It is impossible to do justice to your work unless you are properly fitted out. Walk around the store until you find a suitable window, and anchor there, provided you will be allowed, for you will find sunlight much better than artificial light, both for the eyes and coloring. ”

“ Shops came first, of course, and he flattened his nose successively against the window with the indiarubber balls in it, and the clock-work locomotive; and against the barber's window, with wigs on blocks, reminding him of uncles, and shaving-cream that looked so good to eat; and the grocer's window, displaying more currants than the whole British population could possibly consume without a special effort ”

“ Daylight came in through a window, fortified by iron bars, and looking out on a small yard surrounded by such black walls that it was very like a well. The old merchant opened the iron-lined shutters, which were so familiar to him, and threw up the lower half of the sash window. The icy air of the courtyard came in to cool the hot atmosphere of the little room, full of the odor peculiar to offices. ”