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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 14, 1906)
Jimuj 14, 1904. Omaha's Artistic Window Trimming and Expert Window Trimmers Thesd Pictures Are from Photograph of Omaha Show Windows Decorated Last Fall for th Horse Show Week. The photographs Were AH Made at Nighty by the Light of the1 Windows Themselves. The Time of Exposure Varied from Five to Fifteen Minutes, According to the Brilliance of the Lights They Wers Selected at Random from a Large Number Made at the Time by The Bee's TT 1; i r f : i 1 V Ai.- , '4 . v J.l m W A, if i It ' 1 I -'I aM Ill fill- t - I i A if f " I A Mt-r ' A.A'A ' ..' .... a "' - :"1 ,VUSt; fl f, V v I' i. -1. - m i.' imMiw.fj mft ol! fcom ft cart W an th totxls h Rail to ffi Ri'rt advanta, lm a im a bcart frtor jrowfoul aha tffiJ wlthVA fotrr waft R nvliJ hfmff In an atmAjhr Of forv. Ha wa hnorfanf If Ma 6wn ayea thai ha MnM(tr((J ti Tlvns tnd(l whan ha aiMiw fnTiatlw of what ha had l aali. At iff placing iViai-ehanfllaa and matarht fn aaay anrti einvnhnt rlaw, Inaida h ht or fn th window, that warf a ttaft ttra fnvelvfn tt rldK-nhvna eonaldafatfon t tha (inbTfa and aKofathaf too much tmM. Tharafnr, fnareanttl wfndowa want nt'y and oniared tot and oftHmaa onelan, and any old atof waa food anourrh to dump fnto thm. Tha lona-af window wrald av without fln fnovatad and tha axhlMt ahand tha bttf H waa, Tha taafehant did not axpaot to aalt anythtnrf of what ha flaod In tha window, no did ha dm fha dinifaya criterion tor Judgmant an Ma atoclf. . . . gfio-tt wladarara tit Todays today tha aho window M fafaMad try fta wna aa ona of hfa tttott frnKorfant ttt dtarna fo adtartielhir. Ha aaleniataa tipoti th window with ail tha aanaa Of Mttalnty that ha doaa upon hla advartlaln apaea fn tha dallj1 fiwatana. Ha ha forwnd that tha Window and tlntara Ink gt hand-ln-fiand and that ona twpnlamanta tha other, Stuff la Hacad In tha window ttf aelf ft, not tntcif to fill tha window and to Indloata tha character Of tha bualnaaa, Ilka th familiar mortar and paatla of tha aootha tary r th wooden lndla of tha tobae eontat. thefa la tnf mora t window trimming than tha casual obaeftef fmalnea. Tha art haa ft theorlea, Its fllTinlons, Ita wall defined alma, Its ifhoola for Instruction kaoclalkins and titibllnatlon. tt has been apaela'lted from eseeutlort by "anybody In tha atora1' to highly trained men Who do tiathlng aisa and.whosa wages. In Omaha, ranga from t to too a week. Tha highest priced WlhdoW dreswf In tha west Is said to be rrasler, tha head man of Marshall new A Co. of Chicago) who draws NO weakly. - flaattttt of tha Idea tt wa along In the that the Informa tion IH wlntlow dressing set In. Hundreds bt thousands Of dollars hatra been apant slnca than In remodeling windows and Inserting plate glasa. Tha old-fashioned heay-Jowled front haa disappeared front modern designs. Heavy pillars, deep re cesses, high ceilings, Indifferent lighting, all hare disappeared from the modern store front and show windows. Now the effect la tor lightness, cleanliness and beauty, and An Important distinction la building tha wlhdowa arid their displays no higher than tha brdlhary visual level of people walking Or standing on tha walk. In place ol columns bf Irtai and stone Dud ponriproue sashes the llahtest, most In genious devices that Will hold the plate glass together are used. Boinetlmrs there Is ho sashes at all, the plate glase being Julned by Screws and cement. Tha windows ate cut off entirely from the rr--alndnf bt the store and are dust proof teraVent damage ta stuck. Most of them have cold air Vents to keep the temperature behind the glnsa tha same as that In front In order to prsvent frosting. The lighting ts dona by what blight be termed Inverted tootllKhta, or rows of incandescents with reflectors, usually Invlslbls and Used at the top of thk window Inside. No store that makes any pretensions to window dressing will permit a window to go longer than two weeks without chancing It eotn ttetety, usunlly even to the background. In Some places there are nsw displays every day. ttrgreee t tVladaw tires!. vi(idnw trimming lifts developed Into two 1 distinct ClaeslHcattons. The one most toned Is described as the "sale," trade'1 or 'merchandise" window, the other as tha epfelacular or art let lo window. The pur pose of tha r rat la to sell goods i that Is, to Interest the pedestrian directly In tha Vvares In the window and their price, con SpkuiotiKly displayed, fha theory of tha ' ether window la to attract attention by Its novelty of deelgn, scheme of color or hnrtiionlous arrangement and to Impress With the Implied eupertnHty of the estab lishment thst ts Willing to go to such lengths gratuitously to entertain tha public. Into tha satt-a window guts little other than stock actually handled In tha store, but for the stvctaculkr window almost anything under the blue'rnnOpy thst cart be got within the space haa been thought appropriate at divert times. The trad window ts the. one ror the practical, Im mediate value and convenlenca for mer chant and patron, while tha other la s digression to please the tanry of the con sumer and to asetst a mood for letting go or dollaia within. One appeals ta the Shopper's heeds Concretely! the other to hts Imagination and tha human penchant tor applauding things out of tha groove. TVada Journals have piled up enough argument tn the subject to tnskw any of tt anascea kary here. It haa been the them ol end Ires debate, tor tha Smatleat detail of very business Is now dlacuased to th but Shred. a OihU is th Avt. fee atrtctty spectacular window baa ho, much vogue In Omaha ea-aept at Bennett' othai fhan during s-yefaf season or fit reeof-nftfon of certain publie events. At Sennett'a several windows are osed Clusively to artistic, and nniqua erTocta snd for fhie feiwrm they are tha moat distinct and marked thing of their kint In tha city. Th Window trimmer here ha frea hand m originating design and carrying tham out. uanfltlea of material are purchased for oe In tha windows only. Tha results have been frequent prise win ner to eom-petltloYV. tfr t within a few yeara Omaha haa been known as a backward town ammg window dressers. Now K is on a footing wrth other cities of Ita class. New mer cantile buildings and expensive improve ment fo Old ones, together with exparisloa fn th business of existing houses, hav worked this desirable change. The" city ha about fifteen men who devote thenv selves eclusively to window decorating, no including their assistants, t'p to tha first horsa show In inn no outsida stimulus hsd ever bean given the art here. At that fim Hheral prlies were offered for tha best windows, dressed according to fulea, In horse stfow colors, red and white. Nearly every big store In town Was entered and th experiment waa to successful that tha practice waa repeated with equally good re gatta In 16. Sc.. eaceptionaliy good windows were pro duced. Most of the Omaha window trimmers fe eerved their training In other cities and hambef In tha large Chicago atores. A few got their knowledge by actual work here, helped by trips (o Chicago and other places. At present a grotip of young men, acting aa assistants, are preparing them' selves to follow ths occupation. There Is ft lot to the life of the Window , 'ci-faT'-' "f j si -ffl. ..rri t c; 1 . ( iss ii'f l ) .v'V z dow with crockery, but doaa not wish to disturb a near window tilled with nna mil linery. On on of his Journeys through tha millinery window ha grows weary carrying mak apeciaJtlea of saJea ana concentrated, effort. Generally pektnT dry goods ta eanatd ared th easiest line to "trim." Tha colors Orchard A Wllhelm. 3. f. fifM.fVAN. Ireel Shoe Company, A. J. NTTTl.TB. Kiipattlca, k. Co. loads of plate and cup gad saucers and h and variety of tha goods lend themselves to trip. A mass of queeaswars smashes Into a kunch of PartaUo - ereatlona and th trimmer feels Ilk h want to kick out tha glass In front of him and run away. In one of the big department atorea the windows are of an unparalleled shortness of depth. To enable the trimmer to work Bt all oft tha floor a spectaj stepladder of ex treme d -llcacy of eoratruotlon was Invented. In reaching to altitude this Udder baa mora than onca eauaed disaster. Consider able plate glass and. other things have been mined by the- sudden collape of the ladder and the projection of th trimmer boot A tory I told of how on trimmer once, after breaking several ptatee In this wa.y. had tha same thing happen again. He thought quickly and moved with celerity. A few momenta later ha was on tha atreet. batlesa and coatlesa. wildly chaalng a startled drunken man, who h declared In angry tones bad fallan agarrfst tha window and broken It- Thus did end'.esa arrays. Furniture, carpets and draperies ara ranked mora difficult, shoes by no mean easy, Jewerly fairly euy. fur nishing goods not so hard and man's cloth ing about th Ilimt In getting th best pos sible effecta "Any man," said a successful clothing merchant of Cleveland year ago, "can put a CO suit In th window and make tt look Ilka it la worth 15. but I have found only a few men who can put a tio suit In a window and make it look like it was worth 116." It la not necessary to go tnu detail further to b understood that certain lines lack tha possibilities for good window display a that are found in others. Tha trim mer whose inclinations are artistic longs for plenty of color material above everything else. i m:i A 1 $- ) Thorn peon. Belden It Co., bav Una oppor tunities for attractive window dlsplaya la their new quarters In tha recently com pleted Hoaglaad block at Sixteenth and Howard mtrmmtm Ffw a mimlwr nf vr ha preserve hla place ,h drelJlnE t, fx en done by R. E. Bchanke. On the payroll ana h also haa charva of tha man'a furnlah. ioflr,ft! LtiniN. refills' Slurs, M. 3. rnot,orBKT. t. L. Iirandeie aV Sons, B. HCTfANKB. Thompson, liaidsn V Co, EDWARD 3. BIMPSON. lierg-Swanson. get mora opportuni ties in th narrow wlndowa. In soma atoreg tha window dreaaer la king. The manage ment Invests him with s general responsibil ity for the windows and results.' He uses bis own pleasure in what la displayed and what is not. barring a window or two re served for sales. He la catered to by every department head In the store and hla favor keenly courted, for every department now and then coveta good display. An establishment of thla kind Is the paradise of tha profession and ri 'A A ,.'"A I '''vfA j J I V'A-f fei J A( t Vr, 9. mt,t,trt(l, Bennett's. trimmer that the ftihlle knows nothing about, nor Is likely to learn unless told. Vi clssltudes frequently ara delivered In laiga packases. In winter the temperature In the wlndowa on cold dajs makes a refrigerator car, fully refrigerated, a Vefuga Intensely tu ba wished for. The nature of the work gen erally precludes the Wearing of gloves, and you will surmise that the window trimmer JfltW A. TtAMfin. Miller, Btewart Keaton.. at lime get very sick of his Job. Neither In summer Is his lot much Improved, for bowher In the city on sweltering day ran a hotter place be fouhd than a show window. Rvery trimmer haa pathetlo tales to IhII how he has had to place cardboard before him to keep half pints of perspire lion from his furrowed brow from ruining delicate fabrlca. N. It. NORTON. Drowning, King & Co. A great variety exists In windows. Boms ara wide and soms narrow) sum have con venient entrances and soma .i t; many are too small and a few ton big, and there are those specified as Seclal curses of the win dow trimmer's life- AM nf the modern wln dowa ara dust-proof and moat of them pro tected from the sun by awnlnga, so th loss Is small to rare alike and laces and the like I,. HAWKINS, liayuen llios. C. T. WALKER, i Nebraska Clothing Company. from these two sources. But ths heel of usually yields tha largest revenuca. the trimmer haa been known to work much In other atores tha trimmer worka partly havoc. Bomctlmes he has to climb through on his own responsibility and partly under a email aperture and traverse the entire length of the store to get to a certain win dow. What Might Happen. Presuming hs ileal ics to (111 the far win- direction from superiors. ; A third class of stores retain general supervision of the windows In the manugement'and th trim mer simply follows orders except in details. The third class usually Includes the stores that gu after buslnoss tha hardest and rtvmily Group at the Golden Wedding Celebration of Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Weber "bf Florence, Neb. i, L '. :i' 0 Cr rA t" : V ..... -.w wrMnr jnitaa,ve;i'ewi ei : 753 'A Mm as i I 1 . : - fe a - w a i if m m i t Ing department. Mr. Bchanke haa achieved considerable success In window trimming and his brother, Albert 8chanke of Pueblo, la ranked aa ona of th beat trimmers in the weet. At tha Boaton a to re Hike Chelupsky haa bad tha window dressing In charge for tea years. Hla chief assistant la Harry Plum beck. The Boaton store wlndowa ara ad mirably adapted to tha purposes which they ara called upon to serve. . The Bennett store,- aa haa been men tioned, la the leader In spectacular and fine window displays. To carry out thla Idea, -the hlgheat salary paid to any Omaha win dow trimmer is given to W. O. Colling, formerly with Marshall Field ac Co. In Chi cago. Hla chief, assistant la T. P. Hailer, who la learning the art as a permanent ocupatlon. Mr. Colling la at liberty to go as far as be likes In originating designs and executing them. At both horse show competitions bis windows carried off the first prize. Considerable money ta apent In odd backgrounds and various appointments. M. J. Loftua, who haa charge of tha wlndowa at tha Orchard tt Wllhelm estab lishment, haa had sixteen yeara 'experience In the drapery gooda department and win dow trimming. . Tha wlndowa of the Hayden Brothers' de partment store ara dressed by Leroy Haw kins, who came here several months ago from Qulncy, III., after a long experience In window trimming In New York and At the Drexel 8hoe company's stors J. L. Sullivan for nearly half a dozen, yeara haa made an attractive change every two -weeks. The wlndowa of his atore ara amall but tasteful, and are peculiar In that they are air tight. According to Mr. Sullivan, this arrangement alwaya keeps ths glass free from frost, something that the cold air vents do not Invariably ac complish. At the Fry Shoe company's Douglas street store F. F. Sturgess snd 1 George Burkman both employ part of their time In keeping tha wlndowa pleasing to tha public. At tha dry gooda store of Thomas KU patrlck tt Co. alx large and very deep wlndowa are afforded for display and are trimmed by A. J. Nurse, an Englishman who obtained hla early training In several great London stores. Mr. Nurse haa been with the firm alnce It succeeded N. B. Falconer tt Co.' and had been with tha lat ter house'for a number of yeara In point of service Nat Horton of Brown ing, King tt Co. la probably the aenlor window trimmer of the city, having had not less than twenty-five yeara' experience In the line. Mr. Horton haa been with Browning, King & Co. in Omaha for twelve years and has charge of tha advertising department aa well as the windows. A. "3. Simpson, who haa had charge of the window trimming and advertising at the Berg-Swanson clothing store for about three years, came here from Chicago, where he had six years' experience with the Mar shall F.eld store. At the Nebrska Clothing company's store both background and window displays are chungod frtqucnlly. Charles T. Walker, the trimmer at mis store Is known hs ons of the closest Mudrnls of tlis act la the city, as well as one nf n.e moat successful. His experience goes back through fifteen years; b-gan at Leadllle, Colo., and IncluJea work for prominent firms In such cities as Cincin nati. Chicago, Cleveland. Indianapolis and Des Volnes. lie las len with the Ne trxska peoplo about a year and a half. Three Immense windows, tl feet wide and 11 feet deep,, enable Miller. Stewart ar Beaton to make tenia atnkng displays of furniture, r.uptts. rus and diapeiks. The wltdj'Y til n i In. are handled by Jor.n Ilamcr, a diaior cf runy ycave" experience and H. L Kes.tell, wi.o ana.os tl.e furni ture d!s: Snj-a. At t:i Jv. nVi urc cr.e wl-dow Is given over to clet..i -f for ;rt!i a-xes and aevrral -lh is to fair I; lie. Moves and cxrpe;. Ths trimming I In care of J.wpli Lubin. who la evierteimd and crbe. Among ether cstah.lshments that give swrlal attentk-n to window dressing are the Soros's and Rrreat shoe stores. Ma whlnney A Ryan. Rwlley, Albert Conn, wb has windows of the most modern type, with oak backgrounds; sV Fradrk Mer ger a4 Albert 'ra.