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Popular Culture Review
Boucicaut’s Bon Marche had a reading room and an art gallery, and was the site
of many concerts, attracting thousands (Miller 167-169). At Siegel-Coopers in
New York City, one could not only purchase myriad staples but also view the
world’s largest photographic gallery and peruse one of the largest pet stores
anywhere (complete with lions and tropical birds) (Leach 23). One could now be
enthralled by, and at, the department store in the same way one would be by
having a night or afternoon out. There were forms of theatre (ranging from
fashion shows to window shopping), music (in the form of orchestras, bands and
trios playing in various places), dining (stores featured a variety of culinary
options ranging from fine dining to quick meals), and of course culture. The most
commonly associated comparison with department stores was the museum. The
fashion show, which originated in the US about 1907, became a major event in
the entertainment life of stores in most major cities and would attract thousands
(Leach 102, 103).
The department store—in particular, the American department store—
came about at the same time as the birth of the modem museum and thus, it
possesses, or at least historically did possess, many attributes of the museum.
According to Neil Harris, “like museums, department stores were selective
concentrations of merchandise, merchandise grouped by functional categories
rather than by age and nationality” (Harris 63). Many department stores began to
take on a museum-like atmosphere, complete with “dark wood cases” and
“cluttered interiors” (Harris 65). Art exhibits were quite common, as were
themed rooms, both of which borrowed heavily from the conventions of the art
gallery and the history museum. Department stores were often the first place that
patrons saw both modem and American art. The Gmbel brothers, after viewing
the Armory show (1913) became “among the most ardent supporters of modem
art, buying up Cezanne, Picasso, and Braques and displaying them in the store
galleries in Cincinnati, New York, Cleveland and Philadelphia” (Leach 136). The
art, the decor, the general international flavour of the stores reflected the fact that
they were now competing with museums and virtually every other existant
entertainment offering. Department stores came to be seen as “micro-worlds,”
fairs, places where one could go and sample and see the material history, food,
fashion, and culture from all over the world (Harris 65).
Store windows in themselves became huge attractions and were, in some
cases, elevated to forms of art. Frank L. Baum, future author of the Wizard o f Oz,
created theatrical scenes of unparalleled creativity. In some cities, the windows
were covered on Sundays, out of respect for the Lord’s Day, which made
Mondays a particularly anticipated day (Leach 57-63, 70). The glass window
allowed the shopper or viewer to see their own reflection but it also serves to act
as a visible barrier that keeps the contents out of their grasp (Twitchell 235).
As a surrogate for the art gallery, museum, fair, carnival, theater, music
hall and restaurant, the department store became the repository of entertainment