Yesterday
was Black Friday!
Have
you recovered yet?
I
love the Victorian American Era, and constantly study original, vintage sources
for the fiction I write. Why? Because an accurate, true-to-history backdrop for
fiction makes all the difference.
Not
long ago, I came across an article that made me laugh. So much has been the
same about Christmastime and Holiday Celebrations in the United States over the
last one hundred and fifty years--and so much is drastically different.
Throughout
the Victorian Era, Americans enjoyed (can anyone truly enjoy?) Christmas
shopping...without "Cyber Monday" or any online shopping at all. Most
of us associate "catalog" shopping with the nineteenth century, so
you're likely to be surprised how late such an option came into being.
Through
most of the era, Americans did their Christmas shopping the old-fashioned way.
Store by store. In December's bone-aching chill. Without climate-controlled
malls and certainly without central heating.
To
make matters worse, merchants knew how to guilt women into finding "just
the right gift". Merchants probably do the same thing today--I just
haven't noticed.
I
did notice, however, this charming newspaper advertisement in the Clinch Valley News of Tazewell,
Virginia, published on December 18, 1896.
Because certainly, if that young wife whom the Harrison, Surface & Company
targeted in their advertisement precisely one week before Christmas Day, hadn't
yet found that perfect gift, then shame.
Shame on her! She'd better hurry in and spend a full twenty-five cents on a
men's handkerchief. If that's not enough, she might splurge on shirt studs
ranging from 25 cents to a full 75 cents.
Before
we chuckle at how very little wives had to spend on their husbands in 1896,
let's compare a dollar value then vs now.
What cost $1.00
in 1896 would cost $29.25 in 2016. (latest year offered)
The Silk Umbrella (Best) offered by this clothing department store at
$3.75 (ouch!):
What cost $3.75
in 1896 would cost $109.67 in 2016. (latest year offered)
The
offerings of the fine clothing department at Harrison, Surface & Company is
best taken in full context. The ad itself, given it is roughly 121 years old
and is now digitally scanned (and who knows whether the poor quality is due to
age or a failure of newfangled technology)... so I've provided a transcription
of the article as well as the original (I mean, the facsimile.).
 |
| Clinch Valley News of Tazewell, VA. 18 December, 1896. |
Now,
the careful transcription, everything spelled in context [sic], keeping as close
as possible to the same run-on paragraph structure.
GOT
A HUSBAND?
Of
course you have, or you would not be reading this ad. What are you going to do
to make his Christmas happy? Do you know that lots of men dread the coming of
Christmas? yes, indeed, they do. And it is all because they are so often
remembered with something that they do not want. Don't let anything of that
kind mar your husband's Christmas.-- Here's a store full of things for men,
bought to sell to men, bought to delight men, bought for men to wear. Want a
happy place to come to, if you have a husband or brother on your Christmas
list. We've bought to sell to "him" and that we know what
"he" needs and wants are here and waiting for you. What a happy man he'll
be who discovers his wife try to hide a HARRISSON, SURFACE & CO. bundle
from his sight. Not many misgivings can that lucky fellow have about his
Christmas.
Men's handkerchiefs, 10c., 15c., 20c.,
25c.
Silk handkerchiefs, 50c., 75., $1.00.
Walking Sticks, 35c., 50c., 75c.
Silk Umbrellas, $2.50, $3.00, $3.75.
Cuff Buttons, 25c, 50c, 75c, $1.00,
$1.25, $1.50, $2.00.
Fine Neckwear, 25c, 35c, 50c, 60c, 75c.
Dongola and Patent Leather Slippers,
$1.00, $1.25, $1.50, $1.75.
Fine Gloves, 75c, $1.00, $1.25, $1.50.
Shirt Studs, 25c, 50c, 75c.
Scarf Pins, 25c, 50c, 75c, $1.00.
Collar Buttons, 10c, 25c, 50c.
Harrison, Surface & Company.
Clothing Department.
TAZEWELL, -- --
--
-- -- VIRGINIA.
Do you feel the same type of pressure while Christmas shopping for
loved ones today?
Does anything about Christmas shopping in 1896 surprise you?
I love writing books about holidays--well beyond "the holidays" of Christmas and New Year's (though I do write those, too).
Copyright © 2017 Kristin Holt LC
