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Transformations
in a Culture
ofConsumption:Womenand
Department
Stores,1890-1925
WilliamR. Leach
Departmentstoreswereamongthefirstmoderninstitutions to disseminate
the new technolgiesofcolor,glass,and light.The adoptionofthosetechnol-
ogies for display furtherenhanced the festiveatmosphereof the stores,
decisivelysettingoffthe world of consumptionfromthat of production.
Throughoutthe 1890s and beyond,merchantshelped make a new glass
environment, usingcurvedor straightglass doorsand shelves,glass counters
and containers,and,by 1905,forty-one differentkindsofglassshowcases.In a
majordeparture,the social implicationsof which have yet to be examined,
glass mediated between people and goods in a new way; it permitted
everything to be seen and at thesame timerenderedit inaccessible.Mirrorsof
all kindsappearedto createthe "illusion" of space and abundance,to "con-
ceal" defectsin storearchitecture, and to make each article"show to advan-
tage."8 Some mirrorsmultiplied images, whether of customers or of
commodities,to infinity.
Fromthe 1870sobserversoftheAmericancommercialscenerecognizedthe
radical culturalsignificanceof the use of color in display,thatits adoption
wouldact as a "handmaidento luxury,"as "an aid to comfort.""The effects
ofcolor," wrotejournalistGail Hamiltonin 1873, "bringan exquisiteenjoy-
mentwhichscarcelyanything else equals." Displaymanagerslearnedthenew
colortheoryandexploitedcolor,oftenin themostadroitways.Theydecorated
withpuffedarchwaysofcoloredsilk; theyhunggarlandsofflowers,draperies
of coloredplush, cages of coloredbirds.The biggeststoresdesignedrooms,
individualdisplays,theentirestorearounda singlecolorscheme.Greenin all
itstintsandshadesprevailedfrombasementtoroofat WilliamFilene'sSonsin
Bostonin 1901. In 1907 greenwas everywhere in Greenhut's,one ofthe last
greatstoresto servedowntownManhattantrade:carpets,side walls, stool
seats, and desk blottersworedifferent shadesofgreen;windowbackgrounds
weregreenvelvet,and the storeattendantsdressedin green;thereweregreen
stationery,greenstockboxesand wrappingpaper,greenstring,evengreenink
andgreenribbonforthegreenstoretypewriters. Perhapsmostimportant ofall,
customerssaw in the departmentstore, as in no other institution,the
spectrumofnew colorsmanufactured fromchemicaldyes.Theyviewed "fast
colors," colors in all combinations,colors that melted into one another,
inspiredby Loie Fuller, the Americandancer who performedin flowing
draperiesundercoloredlights.Fullerusheredinto existencenew prismatic
blendsof tintsin gauzes, artificialflowers,plumes,and ribbons.After1893
peoplecouldobservein thestorescolorsthatno one had everseenbefore.9
ibid.,July8, 1905,p. 79; W. H. Barley,"Powerof StoreDecoration,"StoreLife,1 (Oct. 1904),
7-8; Dolf Sternberger, Panoramaof theNineteenthCentury,trans.JoachimNeugroshel(New
York,1977),38-52.
8 DryGoodsEconomist, Sept.24, 1898,p. 9; ibid.,April14, 1900,p. 14; ibid.,Jan.21, 1905,p.
55; WarrenC. Scoville,Revolutionin Glassmaking:Entrepreneurship and TechnologicalChange
in theAmericanIndustry,1880-1920 (Cambridge, Mass., 1948), 78-83, 103-04, 253-59; Freda
Diamond,TheStoryofGlass (NewYork,1953),79-128.
9 Gail Hamilton,"A New Art,"Harper'sBazaar,Oct. 18, 1873,p. 658; DryGoodsEconomist,
March25, 1893,p. 16; ibid.,June29, 1893,p. 21; ibid.,March24, 1894,p. 83; ibid.,Jan.4, 1896,
p. 7; ibid.,March27, 1897,pp. 39-41; ibid.,April6, 1901,p. 51; ibid.,Feb. 2, 1904,p. 58; ibid.,
Sept. 21, 1907, p. 36; ibid., April3, 1920, pp. 103-07; K. Venkataramen, The Chemistryof
324 The Journalof American History
biography ofGroverWhalen(NewYork,1955),20.
Womenand DepartmentStores 327
possibility,offloatingawayfromtheparticularto tastetherangeofavailable
life." In a way unsurpassedby any other institutionof the time, the
department storehoused a vast rangeof excitingcommodities.Whatwomen
formerly made at home and in private-foods,clothing,soap, cosmetics,and
so on-was now arrayedbeforethemin public,made availablebyrevolutions
in transportation and communicationsto anyonewho could afford to buy it.
Fromthe early1890s the storesshowedan unprecedented quantityofgoods,
fromcoffeeand exoticfruitsto linen and wovenrugsfromfar-off places. The
storesmarketedout-of-season flowersandin theirownpetshopssoldanything
fromrarebirdsto marmosetmonkeys.17 Forthe firsttime,womenofnearly
any economic bracketcould choose froma spectrumof mass-produced,
increasinglystreamlinedeverydaywear and sportswear.By purchasing
imitationjewels, artificialsilk and furs,cheap perfume-all new on the
market-womencould partakeofboththeluxuryand thetheatricalbehavior
oftherich.
Departmentstores,however,did not simply "sell" commodities:they
intervenedwith advertisingskills to amplifythe excitementof possibility
inherentin the commodityform.They attemptedto endow the goods with
transformative messagesand associationsthatthe goods did not objectively
possess. As Marshall Field's advertisingput it in 1912, "throughthe
development ofideas thisstorebecomesa vastrepository ofpossibilitiesto the
individualcustomer.''8 To buya shawlin a "Japanesegarden, " therefore, was
to appropriatenot only the shawl but the exoticisminjectedinto it by its
setting.
Fashionintensified the excitementofcommodities."Fashion," observeda
retailerin 1908, "impartsto merchandisea value overand above its intrinsic
worth"and "imbues withspecial desirability goods whichotherwisewould
excite only languidinterest."The compellingpowerof thatvalue restson
what Rene Girardhas describedin anothercontext as the "model" of
"desire." This modelhas attributesthatpeopleseek to emulateand thatthey
hope will set them apartfromotherpeople, heighteningtheirdesirability.
Fashion intervenesbetween the commodityand the consumerto erect a
structureof "triangulardesire" and is especiallypotentin a fluentsociety
whereclass lines are unclear.Relentlesslyshifting,
fashioncauses anxietyin
thosewho obeyits laws; thusbecause themodelofdesireis alwaysembraced
bymanypeopleat thesame time,it at once loses its appeal,to be castawayfor
a newermodel,and thena newerone.'9 Fashionhas anotherdimension:it is
playfuland secular.Like themerchantswho constantlychangestoreinteriors
and exteriors,fashiondesignersexult in the imaginativereconstruction of
reality,the mixingofdiscordantelements,the exploitationofall stylesfrom
17 Lewis Hyde, The Gift:Imagination and the Erotic Life of Property(New York, 1983), 67-68;
"WanamakerPetShop,"3-5.
18 AdvertisingWorld,16 (March 1912), 11.
19 Dry Goods Economist, Aug. 15, 1908, p. 3; Rene Girard,Deceit, Desire, and the Novel: Self
and Otherin Literary trans.YvonneFreccero(Baltimore,
Structure, 1965),1-52. RendGirarddoes
notdealwithfashion;I haveappliedhisarguments
to thesubject.
328 The Journalof American History
to teacups,fromlingerieto eveninggownsthatclearlyoutlinedthebodywith
"slits up one side to leave stillless to the imagination."Withthe openingof
theirliquorand winedepartments in thelate 1890s,thebigstoresopposedall
efforts by temperancegroupsto restrictsales. Storeadvertising, moreover,
soughtto trigger buyingon impulse,by feelingand not by rationalthought,
and to openpeoplefurther to sensualsuggestion.By creatingartificial, festive
environments and by saturatinggoods and storeswith meaning,merchants
conjuredup whatcan onlybe calleda potentially uncontrollable circumstance
of longingand desire.The outcomemust have been to widen the terrainin
whichmanyformsofdesireweregivenexpression. 22
Departmentstorescontributed to theformation ofan image-producing cul-
turethat further weakenedsensual controls.By theirverynature,colorful
images,whetherin theformofwindows,illustrations, posters,or billboards,
appealeddirectly to the visual sense and had thepower to stirtheimagaination
in a less mediatedway than did whiteand black copyor illustration.Retail
advertisers werequick to graspthatfactand by 1910 wereregularly replacing
what RobertOgden, Wanamaker'spioneeringadvertisingmanager,called
"cold print" with "hot pictures." Endowedwith color, those images pos-
sessedcarnivalesqueproperties, sensualconcreteness, plasticity,andzest.23
Servicewas anotherremarkablefeatureofthestoresand ofotherconsumer
institutions.From the moment that the dry goods houses began rapidly
developingin the 1870s in a climateofintenserivalry,servicewas grafted to
storepractice.Consumptionand serviceevolved together.Ladies' parlors,
restaurants and lunchcounters,thepracticeofgivingfreegiftsand souvenirs
such as flowersand ice cream,freecheckingservices-all had reachedthe
commonplaceby the 1890s. As earlyas 1895 manystoreswereoffering free
child-carefacilities-smallnurseriesand, later,elaborateplaygrounds staffed
bytrainedpersonnel-thatgave customersthechanceto wanderaboutand to
shopalone. Orchestrasand smallbandsthatplayedforthecustomersbecame
so popularthatpeople "expectedto do theirshoppingto theaccompaniment of
music." Siegel-Coopereven stationedan all-womenorchestrain its grocery
department. By 1910 people could attendfreeartexhibitions,lectures,plays,
and "extravaganzas"organizedforthemin storetheatersand recitalhalls. In
1903 Siegel-Cooper,famousforits "spectacularextravaganzas,"producedin
22 DryGoodsEconomist, Nov. 17, 1900,p. 14;ibid.,Nov. 30, 1901,p. 71; ibid.,May2, 1903,p.
68; ibid.,July4, 1908,p. 4; "Mobs ViewDirectoire,"DryGoodsReporter, 1 (Aug.15, 1908),12;
"CostumeandMorality,"ibid.,2 (July17, 1909),12. Practically anyissueoftheDryGoodsEcon-
omistafter1895showsphotographs ofunderwear orlingeriewindows,butsee thephotograph ofa
boudoirwindowwithtwowomendressedin underwear in DryGoodsEconomist,Oct. 19, 1901,
p. 55.
23 "AdvertisingArt," AdvertisingWorld,3 (May 15, 1898), 1-2; Jean-ChristopheAgnew, "The
ConsumingVisionofHenryJames, " in The CultureofConsumption: CriticalEssaysin American
History,1880-1980,ed. RichardWightmanFox and T. J.JacksonLears (New York,1983), 65-
100; Neil Harris,"Iconographyand IntellectualHistory:The Half-ToneEffect,"in New Direc-
tionsin AmericanIntellectualHistory,ed. Highamand Conkin,196-211;EstelleJussim,Visual
Communicationand the GraphicArts:Photographic Technologiesin theNineteenthCentury
(New York,1974), 69-144; PeterC. Marzio, The DemocraticArt:Picturesfora 19th-Century
America:Chromolithography, 1840-1900(Boston,1979),1-27.
330 The Journalof American History
itsfifth-floor
auditoriuma six-week-long "CarnivalofNations," climaxingin
August with "Oriental Week" and highlightedby an exotic show called
"Phantasma,The EnchantedBower." That show,embellishedby "thrilling"
light-and-coloreffects,delivereda "glimpseoftheOrient-a turkishharem,a
paradeofturkishdancinggirls,a 'genie' of the lamp" and "Cleopatraof the
Nile." A yearlaterthe storestagedits "Amazma" show,whichconsistedof
"incandescent illusions," "weird transformations,"and "startlingand
beautifulelectricaldisplays." 24
The bigstoreshadbranchpubliclibrariesand tinyhospitalsto careforailing
shoppers.Store"hostesses" guidedand entertained the "guests" who might
otherwisehavebeenbefuddled orlost. Fromthelate 1890smerchants beganto
extendchargeprivilegesto moreand morewomen.By 1902 chargeaccounts
had achievedfulland widespreadlegitimacy;in thatyeareverystorein New
Yorkbutone hadfallenin linewiththecreditranks.25
OvertimemanyAmericanshad cometo considerthedepartment storeas an
"eleemosynaryinstitutionmaintainedforthe purposeof servingthe public
withoutregardforprofit. " Visitorsto theUnitedStateswereastonishedbythe
extentof the service.As an EnglishadvertisingmanagerfromHarrodsin
London declaredin 1919, "I do not know whetherstoreshave createdand
fosteredthedemandforservice,orwhetherit has developedbecausetherewas
a desire for service which departmentstores recognizedand met; but it
certainlycauses a tremendousamount of overhead expense, and it is a
questionifithas notbeencarriedtoofar.' 26
Servicefit,yetdidnotfit,theAmericanscene. On theone hand,merchants,
bydispensingservicesorgiftsand byproclaiming thatall customerswouldbe
cared for in the stores and that no comfortwould not be forthcoming,
challenged both the atomism of the commoditymarket and the older
republican-individualist contentionthat people must be self-reliantand
independent.On the other hand, service appeared to fulfillthe utopian
Americanpromisethat the happinessand well-beingof everyonecould be
providedfor.The emphasiswas on individualhappiness,althoughit was to be
satisfiedwithininstitutional settings.Servicecould be describedas a peculiar
Americanvariantof neosocialism (I do not think "corporatepaternalism"
quite capturesthe meaninghere),existingin tensionwiththe imperativesof
commodityselling.Manymerchantsviewedthe storesas public,notprivate,
24 Siegel-Cooperadvertisement, in BellaLandauer,comp.,retailadvertisement scrapbook,n.p.,
Bella LandauerCollectionofAdvertising Art(New-YorkHistoricalSociety,New YorkCity);Dry
GoodsEconomist,March16, 1895,p. 32; ibid.,June13, 1896,p. 10; ibid.,Aug.22, 1896,p. 16;
ibid.,March27, 1897,pp. 39-41;ibid.,July16, 1898,p. 79; ibid.,Nov. 17, 1900,p. 15;ibid.,April
21, 1906,p. 87; ibid., Sept. 28, 1907,p. 95; Siegel-CooperCompanyofNew York:A Bird'sEye
ViewofNew York(NewYork,1898),134-35; "New York'sNew Store,"StoreLife,1 (May1904),
25-27; "ThroughEnglishEyes," 8; Leach,TrueLoveandPerfectUnion,234-35.
25 DryGoodsEconomist, April26, 1902,p. 18;ibid.,Feb. 28, 1903,p. 68; ibid.,Jan.16, 1904,p.
21; ibid.,Aug.22, 1908,p. 9; "A BranchoftheNew YorkPublicLibrary to Be OpenedShortlyin
theBig Store,"Thoughtand Work,1 (Jan.15, 1905),6. The termguestswas commonlyused by
merchants todescribetheircustomers.Barley,"PowerofStoreDecoration,"7-8.
26 DryGoodsEconomist, Oct. 28, 1916,p. 55; ibid.,Aug.30, 1919,p. 49.
Womenand DepartmentStores 331
planes,touchingbothwomenwhoworkedandthosemiddle-classwomenwho
shoppedand spentmuchoftheirtimein thestores.
As earlyas the 1840s and 1850s,especiallyin the urbancenters,shopping
had become a woman's job, reflecting the genderdifferentiation
ofrolesthat
resultedfromtheseparationofworkplaceandhomeandthatwas supported by
theriseofwage and salariedmale labor.An indexofthecontrolmanymiddle-
class women had overthe familybudget,shoppinggave thema measureof
economicpowertheylackedbynot working.Afterthe Civil Warthenumber
ofshoppingwomenincreased.In thelate 1860sAlexanderTurneyStewart,the
firstgreatdepartment storeprince,pioneeredin institutionalizing
shoppingas
a femaleactivity.It was one of his dreamsto see "two acres of ladies all
shoppingat one time." By the 1880s the New YorkTimes could report"the
awfulprevalenceof the vice of shoppingamong women," an addiction,it
warned,"everybit as bad as male drinking or smoking."As retailinstitutions
and districtsexpanded,shoppingbecamepossibleformoreand morewomen.
By 1915 women were doing between 80 and 85 percentof the consumer
purchasing in theUnitedStates.31
In the earlyperiod shoppingwas only a minorincidentin the roundof
domesticchoresperformed bymostmiddle-classwomen.Moreover,as many
diariesof such womenindicate,it neversupersededsuch publicactivitiesas
churchgoing and charityormoralreform work.Forexample,thediaryofMary
LesterHarris,wifeof a New York Citydrygoodsmerchant,nevermentions
shopping;rather,Harrisis concernedwithherfamilyand, particularly, with
religion."This is thelast dayoftheyear,"she writestypicallyin 1848, "and
what have I done forChrist?"By 1880 Christianreformworkincreasingly
competedwithshoppingfortheattentionofcitywomen.SophieC. Hall, wife
of an Episcopalianminister,beginsher diarywith religiousreflectionsand
describesin subsequentpagesherprayermeetingsand missionarywork.But
Hall also shops, often much longer than she wishes. "Got to Macy's
Emporium,"she writesin January 1879. "I saw so manybeautifulthingsthat
we foundit a tryingmatterto getout." 32
Bytheturnofthecentury,shoppinghad developedintoan almostfull-time
secular and public business. It was also an adventureburstingwith new
meanings.In thatnew contextshoppingposed manydangersformiddle-class
womenwho weredependenton male incomes.Througha multitudeofdisplay
devices,merchants"encouraged"womento "indulgetheirown desires,"to
buy withoutmuch thoughtor reflection.33 Such encouragement mighthave
releasedunsettlingimpulses,leadingsome women to shoplifting. Still other
women,who enjoyedthebenefitsofthenew liberalcreditpolicies,mighthave
31 "Women Controlthe FamilyPurse," Advertising World,33 (July1928), 44-45; D. J.K.,
"Shoppingat Stewart's,"Hearthand Home, 1 (Jan.9, 1869), 43; JoelBenton,"The Woman
Buyer,"Fame,7 (Oct. 1898),403; New YorkTimes,June13, 1881,p. 13.
32 MaryLesterHarris Diary,Dec. 30, 1848,HarrisCollection(Manuscripts
Division,New-York
Historical Society,New York City); Sophie C. Hall Diary, Monday morning,Jan. 1879
(Manuscripts Division,New YorkPublicLibrary).
33 DryGoodsEconomist, Sept.15, 1894,p. 25.
334 The Journal
ofAmerican
History
boughtcompulsively;theymighthave confusedthepossessionofgoodswith
the fulfillmentoftheirlongingforhappiness.The outcomein bothinstances
mighthave been greatpsychologicaldisorientation and intensemaritaland
familyconflict.
Throughoutthatperiodan increasingnumberof courtcases pittedwives,
who boughtwell beyondtheirmeans, againsthusbands,who refusedto pay
theirwives' debts. Some judgesruledin favorof the husbands;theyargued
thatthe common-lawconceptof "necessaries,"whichrequiredhusbandsto
payfortheirwives' bed,board,clothing,and so forth,didnotcoverthecostof
furcoats and jewelryor of any othersuperfluouscommodity.Otherjudges,
who expandedthe meaningof necessariesand thus elicited the thanksof
merchants,backed the wives. Those cases as a whole illustratethe strain
placed on marriageby the spread of creditand fashionand by the new
abundanceofcommodities.Suchnew realitiesthreatened therelativelystable
equilibriumbetweenthesexesthatmarkednineteenth-century sociallife.34
All womenwerepotentially vulnerableto theperilsofshopping,butmost,it
is probablysafeto say, suffered
verylittlefromthem.As the diariesofmany
metropolitan womenoftheupper-middle class indicate,manyofthosewomen
werenot so muchdisoriented by consumerlifeas fascinatedwithit and with
the new opportunities forescape and pleasure.MarjorieReynolds,a young
New Yorkwoman,writeson February18, 1908: "Gorgeousday, 5thAve. a
dream.To Wanamaker'salone forerrand."Andon April2, 1909: "To Papa's
office.Lunchedwith him at the Down Town Club withglee.... Thence
uptown again. I love the whirl of these streets!Marianne down from
Litchfield-metherat Altman'sandhad someconfab." Mrs. GeorgeRichards,
an affluentwomanfromupstateNew Jersey, wentshoppingeverysecondor
thirdday.A fewofherdiaryentriesareas follows:
January 12,1903.MotherandI to townon 10.57.Altman's, Arnold's.
Lunchedwith
Kate Mitchellat the Woman'sClub, 9 E 46. Called thenon Mrs. Hornblower,
Wanamaker's, homeon5.15.
January 17, 1903.Wentto townon theErie,at 9.46. Stern's,Mirrian's,Aitken's,
Vautin's,Johnson andFaulkner, Macy's.Lunch168.M. andI to Marquand Pictures.
Homeon4.55.
February 26,1903.To townat 12:30.O'Neill's,Altman's.Lunchattearoomson20th
st.... Stern's,
McCreery's....home4.55.
March2, 1903.To townon 9:30.... toLax,Macy,Altman's, O'Neill's,Simpsonand
Arnold's, Homeon 5:15
lookingfora greysuit.Arnold's$25. Shoesat Alexander's.
withGeorge.
The Richardsdiaryis remarkable forseveralreasons.Itreflectsthecharacterof
in
time an upper-middle-class woman'slife:flexible,fluent,unlikemale work
rhythms, althoughdeterminedat its outerlimitsby male time. The diaryis
it has virtuallynothingin it but shoppingdates and
utterlyunintrospective;
excursions,recordsof departuresto and fromManhattanor Newark,ritual
data ofgreatimportanceto thiswoman.The diaryshowshow muchRichards
34 Ibid.,July12, 1902, p. 62; ibid.,Oct. 24, 1903, p. 49; ibid.,July5, 1905, p. 61.
Womenand DepartmentStores 335
termsas its male employeesto sell its cars. And, as the Woman'sJournal
contended,all femaledepartment storeadvertisers weresuffragists.46
Of thatyoungergenerationofwomen,RhetaChilde Dorrand Inez Haynes
Irwinexemplified mostvividlyin theirbehaviorand beliefstheshapingpower
of the cultureof consumption.Dorr was a militantfeministleader in the
1910s,editoroftheSuffragist, theofficialorganoftheCongressionalUnionfor
Woman Suffrage, precursorof the NationalWoman's Party.A socialistfora
shortwhile, she laterdenouncedBolshevism,in 1917, and campaignedfor
WarrenG. Harding,in 1920. Dorr claimed her rightto independence,her
freedomto leave herfamilyand home at anytimeforplaces unknown.As a
childshe had said, "WhenI growup ifI don'tlike myfamilyI won'tlive with
'em. IfI don't like the townI live in I'll move away. I'm nevergoingto have
anything I don'twant,and I'm nevergoingto do anything I don'tlike,not so
longas I live." In 1890,againstherfamily'sopposition,she wentto New York
Cityto become an artist.Her exposureto the consumerlifeofthe citymust
have completedher "transformation" into one of the new feminists,who
increasinglytried to integrate an older interest in woman's public
advancementwith a new, passionateconcernforpersonalenrichmentand
sensualexpression.Dorrwas an important consumeractivistwhojoinedother
reformers in demandingbettertreatment ofsaleswomenin department stores;
at the same timeshe was pleasedto reportthatwomen,having"risen" in the
stores, "keep on rising. One-fourthof the departmentstore buyers and
managers in the sixteen biggest stores on [Chicago's] State [Street]are
women." Moreover,she coulddescribeStateStreet,themajorretailthorough-
farein Chicago,as a "pavilionwherepeopleoughtto dancein theopenair.'"47
Bornin 1873,Irwincame froma genteel,New Englandmiddle-classfamily,
which, significantly, made its living managinghotels in Boston, perhaps
Irwin'sfirstcontactwithmodernconsumerlife.In theearly1900sshe moved
to GreenwichVillage,wrotearticlesfortheradicalperiodicaltheMasses, and
joinedtheNationalAdvisoryCouncil oftheNationalWoman'sParty.Irwin's
famerestslargelyon herimportant history,The Storyof the Woman'sParty,
but she also wrotemanyjournalisticpieces and novelsthatshowedhernearly
uncriticalapproachto the cultureofconsumption.Like manyofhercontem-
poraries,Irwinseemedto lose touchwithitsgrimmer side,its class character,
the way it dependedon disciplineand exploitation,and, above all, theway it
seemedto threatenfragmentation and disorientation. She was so fascinatedby
the tendencytowardplay and leisurein this culturethatshe confusedwork
withplay. Forexample,afterspendinga yearin California,she wrotein 1916
46 Woman'sJournal, Feb. 26, 1916, p. 6; Ferber,Peculiar
Aug. 5, 1916, p. 251; Suffragist,
Treasure,6, 27, 187-88,217; EdnaFerber,"One oftheOld Girls,"AmericanMagazine,72 (Sept.
1911),552-58;EdnaFerber,"May MeysfromCuba," ibid.,705-11.
47 RhetaChildeDorr,A WomanofFifty (New York,1924),6-7, 9-14, 39; EdwardT. Jamesand
JanetWilsonJames,eds., NotableAmericanWomen,1607-1950:A BiographicalDictionary(3
vols., Cambridge,Mass., 1971), I, 503-04; William Hard and Rheta Dorr, "The Woman's
Invasion,"Everybody's Magazine,20 (Jan.1909),81-85; "ChristmasfrombehindtheCounter,"
Independent, Dec. 5, 1907,pp. 1340-47.
Women and Department Stores 341