283 results for: Retail and Department Stores
Photograph
Wallin & Nordstrom shoe store, Seattle, circa 1920
John W. Nordstrom immigrated from Sweden in 1887 and joined the Klondike Gold Rush ten years later. After earning a healthy profit from his claim in Alaska, Nordstrom returned to Seattle eager to invest his money. He reunited with Carl Wallin, a friend from his Alaska days who owned a shoe-repair shop in downtown Seattle. In 1901, they opened Wallin…
ID Number:2016.59.60
Date:Circa 1920
Photograph
Wallin & Nordstrom shoe store, Seattle, circa 1920
John W. Nordstrom immigrated from Sweden in 1887 and joined the Klondike Gold Rush ten years later. After earning a healthy profit from his claim in Alaska, Nordstrom returned to Seattle eager to invest his money. He reunited with Carl Wallin, a friend from his Alaska days who owned a shoe-repair shop in downtown Seattle. In 1901, they opened Wallin…
ID Number:2016.59.62
Date:Circa 1920
Ephemera
Ye Olde Curiosity Shop advertising card, 1915
Ohio-born curio collector Joseph Edward "Daddy" Standley (1854-1940) came to Seattle in 1899 and opened Ye Olde Curiosity Shop on Second Avenue and Pike Street. He moved the shop to the Colman Dock on the waterfront in 1904, and since 1988 the shop has been located at Pier 54. Still a family-run business after five generations, the store attracts about…
ID Number:2018.3.3.1
Date:1915
Ephemera
Golden Potlatch themed coffee bag, 1912
The Tilikums of Elttaes were a fraternal, civic organization composed primarily of influential white Seattle area businessmen, who used Native American imagery to promote tourism and the economic development of the city. In July 1911 the Tilikums ("Friends" in Chinook Jargon; Elttaes is Seattle spelled backward) organized the first Golden Potlatch celebration. The Golden Potlatch was a city-wide festival held…
ID Number:2018.3.3.39
Date:1912
Ephemera
G. B. Sanborn business card, circa 1895
Gustavus B. Sanborn (1848-1902) moved to Seattle's Ballard neighborhood in 1889 and began a successful hardware business. In 1901, Sanborn build a new brick and stone building for his business; the Sanborn Building still stands, as of 2018, at 5325 Ballard Avenue N.W.This business card for one of Mr. Sanborn's Ballard Avenue stores gives its address as simply "Ballard Ave.,…
ID Number:2018.3.3.59
Date:Circa 1895
Ephemera
Balke, Cole, & Co. account statement, August 28, 1890
According to the 1890 Polk Directory, Balke, Cole, & Co. was located at 1217 and 1219 Front Street (now First Avenue) in downtown Seattle. Proprietors Francis Cole, Rudolph L. Balke, and Walter James Coffman (1867-1898) sold mirrors, pictures, and art material. The receipt pictured here details sales made to John Leary totaling $24.35 (about $650 in 2018). Lawyer, businessman, and…
ID Number:2018.3.3.62
Date:1890
Ephemera
Malmo & Co. receipt, 1899
The receipt pictured here was issued to Miss Collins, by Malmo & Co., a seed and nursery company established in Seattle in 1893 by Norwegian immigrant Charles Malmo (1862-1938). Miss Collins paid $5.00 for 12 bunches of violets and three strings of Smilax (a woody vine). This object is one of several attributed to a collection from the family of…
ID Number:2018.3.3.83
Date:1899
Ephemera
J.S. Graham receipt, 1899
The receipt pictured here was issued to Emma Louise (Collins) Downey (1869-1951) by J. S. Graham, purveyor of "artistic Millinery, Cloaks and Suits." Miss Collins paid $20.28 for a hat, sailor, waist, silk, and another hat. This object is one of several attributed to a collection from the family of John Collins (1835-1903), an Irish immigrant who moved to Seattle…
ID Number:2018.3.3.84
Date:1899
Ephemera
Louch, Augustine & Co. grocery bill, January 31, 1901
Englishman Charles Louch (b. 1850) came to Seattle about 1883 and began selling fruits, tobacco, and groceries, eventually expanding to sausage and smoked meats. His signature 1888 Brand hams were popular locally and also a favorite of Klondike gold rush camps. Partnering with traveling food salesman Manuel Brock Augustine (1844-1922) in 1892, their business became well-known, and the men respected…
ID Number:2018.3.3.85
Date:1901
Ephemera
Littler Stores envelope, circa 1950
Upscale men's apparel store Littler was begun in 1931 by Anson A. "Bob" Littler (1900-1991), who started his career as a clerk at Frederick & Nelson in the menswear department. An avid golfer, Mr. Littler began playing in tournaments around 1926, and competed frequently with fellow retail merchants George H. Bartell (1868–1956) and Eddie Bauer (1899-1986). Also a local civic…
ID Number:2018.3.3.89
Date:Circa 1950