283 results for: Retail and Department Stores
Ephemera
The Bon Marché's spring fashion display announcement, 1914
German immigrant Edward Nordhoff and his wife Josephine (Brennan) Nordhoff founded The Bon Marché in 1890 in downtown Seattle. The well-loved local store was eventually bought by a series of national chains, although the original name was retained until 2005, when Federated Department Stores rebranded all their chains under the Macy's name.This announcement describes The Bon Marché's Spring Fashion Display,…
ID Number:1976.6296.21
Date:1914
Ephemera
Peterson Men's Shop advertisement, circa 1935
Joseph A. Peterson (circa 1877-1951) and George W. Blanchard (1877-1956) both worked at Edward C. Cheasty's men's clothing shop on Second and James in Seattle in the early 1900s, where they got to know dozens of customers and their clothing preferences, and provided personalized attention based on individual style. Blanchard left after 18 years to go into the neckwear business,…
ID Number:1976.6296.26
Date:Circa 1935
Document
Frederick & Nelson account statement, December 1908
The founders of premiere Seattle department store Frederick & Nelson got their start selling used furniture during the rebuilding of Seattle after the Great Fire of 1889. The business expanded to include home delivery of goods, a tea room, and ready-to-wear men's and women's fashions. The owners built a reputation for elegance and customer service. Although the company went out…
ID Number:1976.6359.1
Date:1908
Document
Sylvester Brothers Company invoice, Seattle, June 21, 1910
Sylvester Brothers Company, Wholesale Grocers, was located in Pioneer Square at 312-316 Second Avenue South, occupying the Moses Building. The Moses Building was originally constructed in 1900 for Mrs. Sarah Moses and still stands with a historical site designation. The building was originally five stories, but lost its top two stories in the 1949 Seattle earthquake. The letterhead of this…
ID Number:1977.6531.1
Date:1910
Photograph
Pacific Coast Coal Co. General Merchandise Store, Black Diamond, circa 1915
In 1904 the Black Diamond Coal Mining Company sold the entire town of Black Diamond to the Pacific Coast Coal Company, including the company store. The company store sold merchandise to the miners which were charged to each miner's account. On payday, the credit charges were settled and the miners received the remainder of their pay. The store building had…
ID Number:1978.6585.30
Date:Circa 1915
Postcard
John Dulin and team hauling feed at Arletta, Washington, circa 1905
John Dulin moved to Washington state from Kansas sometime around 1900. By 1905, he was operating a grocery and feed store in Arletta, Washington, near Gig Harbor. At that time, all of the store's supplies had to be brought in by steamer. This photo, taken near Arletta sometime around 1905, shows John Dulin hauling sacks of feed in his wagon.
ID Number:1978.6661.1
Date:Circa 1905
Postcard
Santa Claus figure at Northgate Shopping Center, Seattle, circa 1958
Northgate Mall, originally called Northgate Center, opened in April 1950, anchored by the Bon Marche department store and housing 17 smaller stores. By 1952, Northgate had over seventy tenants, and all its retail spaces were leased. Northgate's reputation for elaborate holiday displays began its first year, when a world's record 212-foot Christmas tree was displayed at the mall. This postcard,…
ID Number:1979.6782.1
Date:Circa 1958
Photograph
Thomas and Warren French posing inside their grocery store, Seattle, circa 1910
Siblings Irene French Cardiff Witt (1854-1932), Thomas Franklin French (1862-1944), and Warren Harrison French (1868-1922) were all born in Illinois and moved to Seattle. Warren arrived in 1888, and helped fight the 1889 Great Fire. The French brothers are mentioned as part of a group of Seattleites met by Seattle Times reporter T. A. Davies during his 1897 trip to…
ID Number:1979.6841.2
Date:Circa 1910
Photograph
Street clock in front of Albert Hansen jeweler, Seattle, circa 1918
Albert Hansen opened a jewelry business in 1883 and continued for about thirty years in various locations in downtown Seattle. This photo shows his store at 1010 Second Avenue, which was in the Leary Building on the northeast corner of Madison and Second. Joseph Mayer and Brothers manufactured many street clocks during the early twentieth century. The photographer Austin Seward…
ID Number:1980.6877.5.41
Date:Circa 1918
Photograph
Street clock in front of Theo Wolfe Watchmaker, Seattle, circa 1907
Street clocks such as this one were popular during the first two decades of the 1900s and were often found in front of jewelry and watchmaking shops. Jos. Mayer and Bros. began in 1897 in Seattle and manufactured many clocks during the first two decades of the 1900s. Joseph Mayer and Bros. assembled this street clock and many others in…
ID Number:1980.6877.5.45
Date:Circa 1907