c. 1910
Holiday shopping in New York
Hunting for last-minute gifts amid the Edwardian crowds
Image: Library of Congress
The rapid commercialization of the holiday season began in Victorian Britain when manufacturers and shopkeepers realized that the season’s themes of generosity and giving could be powerful motivators for shoppers.
The holiday shopping season was born, and quickly expanded from December to November, even bumping up against Halloween.
While many lamented the drawing out of the season and the appearance of Christmas decorations in mid-autumn, others promoted it on behalf of workers.
Social reformer and labor activist Florence Kelley encouraged shoppers to get their holiday shopping done early, noting that the last-minute Christmas rush led to miserable and dangerous exhaustion for retail clerks and delivery boys — “a bitter inversion of the order of holiday cheer."
For once, business owners agreed with labor, and advised shoppers to beat the rush and do their buying sooner rather than later.
Still, the last weeks of December remained a frenzy of window shopping, trinket-hawking and appeals to charity, as seen here on the crowded streets of New York.
Image: Library of Congress
Image: Library of Congress
Image: Library of Congress
Image: Library of Congress
Image:
Image: Library of Congress
Image: Library of Congress
Image: Library of Congress
Image: Library of Congress
Image: Library of Congress
Image: Library of Congress
Image: Library of Congress
Image: Library of Congress
Image: Library of Congress
Image: Library of Congress
Image: Library of Congress
Image: Library of Congress
Image: Library of Congress
Image: Library of Congress
Image: Library of Congress
Image: Library of Congress
Image: Library of Congress
Image: Library of Congress
Image: Library of Congress
Image: Library of Congress
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