Land Of Desire
''Land of Desire'' is a book by William Leach (historian), William Leach about the development of consumer capitalism in the United States from 1890 to 1932. It was a National Book Award Finalist for 1993. The title of the book comes from the statement by store owner John Wanamaker that "everyone who starts a new thing has to stand where Columbus did when he set sail. Few had faith that he could ever reach the land of desire." Synopsis ''Land of Desire'' opens with the premise that American democracy shifted fundamentally after the American Civil War, Civil War as land tenure, land ownership became concentrated in fewer hands and the population urbanization in the United States, moved to cities to become wage laborers. In the accompanying cultural transformation money gained importance as the good life came to be defined no longer by control over production (economics), production but by the power to Consumption (sociology), consume (pp. 3–8).Elliott J. Gorn, "Selling Ur ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Random House
Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the following decades, a series of acquisitions made it into one of the largest publishers in the United States. In 2013, it was merged with Penguin Group to form Penguin Random House, which is owned by the Germany-based media conglomerate Bertelsmann. Penguin Random House uses its brand for Random House Publishing Group and Random House Children's Books, as well as several imprints. Company history 20th century Random House was founded in 1927 by Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer, two years after they acquired the Modern Library imprint from publisher Horace Liveright, which reprints classic works of literature. Cerf is quoted as saying, "We just said we were going to publish a few books on the side at random", which suggested the name Random ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Market (economics)
In economics, a market is a composition of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations or infrastructures whereby parties engage in Exchange (economics), exchange. While parties may exchange goods and services by barter, most markets rely on sellers offering their goods or services (including labour power) to buyers in exchange for money. It can be said that a market is the process by which the value of goods and services are established. Markets facilitate trade and enable the distribution and allocation of resources in a society. Markets allow any tradeable item to be evaluated and priced. A market emergence, emerges more or less spontaneous order, spontaneously or may be constructed deliberately by human interaction in order to enable the exchange of rights (cf. ownership) of services and goods. Markets generally supplant Gift economy, gift economies and are often held in place through rules and customs, such as a booth fee, competitive pricing, and source of goods for ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Filene's
Filene's was an American department store chain founded in 1881 by William Filene. The historic Filene's Department Store in the Downtown Crossing district of Boston, Massachusetts housed the flagship store and headquarters, while branch stores operated throughout New England and New York. Filene's was a founding member of the Federated Department Stores holding company in 1929. It was acquired by The May Department Stores Company in 1988, and expanded with the mergers of G. Fox & Co. in 1992 and Steiger's in 1994. Filene's and Kaufmann's were merged into a single division in 2002, although they maintained their individual brands. May was acquired by Federated in 2005, which dissolved Filene's and converted stores to Macy's in 2006. The former flagship store was divested after Federated retained the adjacent, existing Macy's that was converted from Jordan Marsh in 1996, however, the building was designated a Boston Landmark in 2006. , current tenants include advertising ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lincoln Filene
Abraham Lincoln Filene (April 5, 1865 – August 27, 1957) was an American businessman and philanthropist. Biography Born to a Jewish family in Boston, Massachusetts, he was one of 5 children of William Filene and Clara Ballin. His parents were German Jewish immigrants - his father from Posen, Prussia and mother was born in Segnitz, Bavaria - who immigrated to the United States in 1848. His father founded Filene's department stores. Known by his middle name, Lincoln, together with his older brother Edward, built his father's store into a highly successful business. A social reformer, Lincoln Filene supported the American women's suffrage movement and went against the position taken by most members of the American business community when he publicly supported President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal agenda. Filene had a keen interest in educational issues and served as a member of the Executive Board of the National Committee for the Department of Education. A philanthropist, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Edward Filene
Edward Albert Filene (September 3, 1860 – September 26, 1937) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He is best known for building the Filene's department store chain and for his decisive role in pioneering credit unions across the United States. Early life Born in Salem, Massachusetts, Edward was one of five children of William Filene (born May 8, 1830) and Clara Ballin (born December 13, 1833). Both his parents were German Jewish immigrants, his father from Posen, Prussia, and his mother was born in Segnitz, Bavaria. William immigrated to the US in 1848 after abandoning law school in Berlin. Reputedly Edward Bernays claimed that William was born with the surname "Katz" but upon entry changed it to a misspelling of "Feline", though more likely it was the toponymic "Filehne", the German name of Wieleń a town 90km from Posen. It was some time in the 1850s that William and Clara met while Clara was visiting relatives in Hartford, Connecticut. They married in New ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Siegel-Cooper Company
The Siegel-Cooper Company was a department store that opened in Chicago in 1887 and expanded into New York City in 1896. At the time of its opening, the New York store was the largest in the world. First store in Chicago Siegel-Cooper began as a discount department store on State Street (Chicago), State Street in the Loop (Chicago), Loop. It was founded by Henry Siegel, Frank H. Cooper and Isaac Keim in 1887. Four years later, the store moved into the eight-story Second Leiter Building at State and Van Buren Street, designed by William Le Baron Jenney, where it stayed until 1930, after a 1914-15 reorganization into Associated Dry Goods Corp., but keeping the Siegel-Cooper name in Chicago. The building was then occupied from 1931 to 1986 by Sears, Roebuck & Company. It continues in use, most recently in the 21st century as a Robert Morris University Illinois, college campus. Second store in New York City In September 1896,Abelson, Elaine S. "Siegel-Cooper" in , p.1182 the com ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Henry Siegel
Henry Siegel (March 17, 1852 – August 25, 1930) was an American businessman and co-founder of the Siegel-Cooper Company. Early life Siegel was born on March 17, 1852, to a German Jews, Jewish family in Eubigheim, Kingdom of Württemberg. In 1867, he immigrated to the United States where he worked as a clerk by in Washington, D.C., Parkersburg, West Virginia, and Parker, Pennsylvania, Lawrenceburg, Pennsylvania. Career In 1876, he co-founded Siegel, Hartsfield & Company in Chicago. In 1887, he co-founded the Siegel-Cooper Company, also in Chicago, with Frank H. Cooper and Isaac Keim. In 1896, Siegel-Cooper opened a store in New York City in the Ladies' Mile Historic District. In 1902, Henry Siegel sold the company to one of his major stockholders, Captain Joseph B. Greenhut and his son Benedict J. Greenhut, who merged the store with B. Altman across the street in New York City creating a mega-store. In the same year, Siegel bought the Simpson Crawford Company (with one store i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Marshall Field's
Marshall Field & Company (colloquially Marshall Field's) was an American department store chain founded in 1852 by Potter Palmer. It was based in Chicago, Illinois and founded in the 19th century, it grew to become a large chain before Macy's, Inc. acquired it in 2005. The company's flagship Marshall Field and Company Building on State Street in the Chicago Loop is a National Landmark for its importance in the history of retail. It was officially branded ''Macy's on State Street'' in 2006, when it became one of Macy's flagship stores. History Early years Marshall Field & Company traces its antecedents to the P. Palmer & Company, a dry goods store opened at 137 Lake StreetPDX History of Marshall Field's Retrieved August 20, 2006. in 1852 by [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Marshall Field
Marshall Field (August 18, 1834January 16, 1906) was an American entrepreneur and the founder of Marshall Field's, Marshall Field and Company, the Chicago-based department stores. His business was renowned for its then-exceptional level of quality and customer service. Field is also known for some of his philanthropic donations, providing funding for the Field Museum of Natural History and donating land for the campus of the University of Chicago. Early life Marshall Field was born on a farm in Conway, Massachusetts, the son of John Field IV and Fidelia Nash. His family was descended from Puritans who had come to America as early as 1629. At the age of 17, he moved to Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where he first worked in a dry goods store alongside his brother Joseph Field. and (includes brief biography of Marshall Field). He left Massachusetts after five years of working in the dry goods store in search of new opportunities in the rapidly expanding West. In 1856, at age ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Wanamaker's
Wanamaker's was an American department store chain founded in 1861 by John Wanamaker. It was one of the first department stores in the United States, and peaked at 16 locations along the Delaware Valley in the 20th century. Wanamaker's was purchased by A. Alfred Taubman, who previously purchased the Washington, D.C. department store Woodward & Lothrop, in 1986. The store was acquired from bankruptcy by The May Department Stores Company in 1994, and converted all remaining Wanamaker's stores to Hecht's in 1995. Wanamaker's was influential in the development of the retail industry including as the first store to use price tags. History 19th century John Wanamaker was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1838. Due to a persistent cough, he was unable to join the U.S. Army to fight in the American Civil War, so instead started a career in business. In 1861, he and his brother-in-law Nathan Brown founded a men's clothing store in Philadelphia called Oak Hall. Wanamake ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Retail
Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and then sells in smaller quantities to consumers for a profit. Retailers are the final link in the supply chain from producers to consumers. Retail markets and shops have a long history, dating back to antiquity. Some of the earliest retailers were itinerant peddlers. Over the centuries, retail shops were transformed from little more than "rude booths" to the sophisticated shopping malls of the modern era. In the digital age, an increasing number of retailers are seeking to reach broader markets by selling through multiple channels, including both bricks and mortar and online retailing. Digital technologies are also affecting the way that consumers pay for goods and services. Retailing support services may also include the pro ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Department Store
A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic appearance in the middle of the 19th century, and permanently reshaped shopping habits, and the definition of service and luxury. Similar developments were under way in London (with Whiteleys), in Paris () and in New York City ( Stewart's). Today, departments often include the following: clothing, cosmetics, do it yourself, furniture, gardening, hardware, home appliances, houseware, paint, sporting goods, toiletries, and toys. Additionally, other lines of products such as food, books, jewellery, electronics, stationery, photographic equipment, baby products, and products for pets are sometimes included. Customers generally check out near the front of the store in discount department stores, while high-end traditional d ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |