Tuesday, February 07, 2012

The Department Store – History–Design-Display


Whenever I go to New York one of the things I look forward to most is visiting the great Manhattan department stores – Bloomingdale’s, Barneys, Bergdorf Goodman, Macy’s, and Saks Fifth Avenue. I love their beautifully decorated windows, their vast displays, their range of goods, their architecture and atmosphere.
For as long as I can remember I have been fascinated by department stores. So recently when I came across a superbly illustrated, gorgeous large hardback The Department Store – History–Design-Display (Thames & Hudson, $70) there was no question it was a book I had to own.
The book goes behind the window displays, eye-catching shopping bags and promotional extravaganzas to reveal the history and design of the department store in marvellous richness and detail.
Born in France, the department store grew up thanks to the Industrial Revolution, the rise of the middle class, and the invention of steel-frame architecture and the elevator.
Spectacular entrances led to marble staircases and floor after floor of merchandise and amenities. Department stores also inspired a whole new way of merchandising: shopping became an entertainment rather than a laborious grind; posters and advertisements were created by the great artists of the time; and elaborate shop windows attracted thousands of people during the holidays. They still do in cities like Paris, London and New York.
Alas no New Zealand stores make it to the book but in Australia David Jones and especially the Myer Emporium are featured.
Of course all the great European stores are here including Harrods, Galeries Lafayette, Bon Marche, Printemps, John Lewis, as are the previously mentioned US stores. But there are many, many more.
It is a large, lavish, prolifically illustrated book with 364 illustrations in colour and black & white with a highly readable text to complement the photos and drawings. I was fascinated from the first page to the last.


This piece was first published in the Herald on Sunday, 5 February, 2012.

No comments: