Daily Honolulu press. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1886, 1886-04-28

WHICH PREVAIL IN THE DEcoRA-
TON OF STORES AND SHOPS.

rs Representing Certain Branches of
Commemorative Red and Green Tell
ot--Blue, Red, Dead Black.
eConventionality, my dear sir" re-
marked an old New Yorker to young
companion the other day, "does great
many more things than you might i'm
agine. 1t settles the rank of families, the
style Of carriages, the price of luxuries,
and even thelpainting of stores.r The COM
panion looked incredulous, but wisely
maintained silence, and the old New
Yorker went on Eyes, even the colors
used in painting places of business are
conventional Perhaps you might not
have noticed it, but certain colors are in
stinctively recognized by residents Of this
city as representing certain branches of
commerce. Take, for instance, red Think
of street and try to call up all the places
painted that color What do you seer Tea
and coffee storesf Right. Wherever you
go insNew York or its surroundings, and
also in a great portion Of the United
States red and green tell of tea and cot
fee. Maybe it's the similarity of colors to
the article sold that caused the painting,
or perhaps it was first adopted as dis
tinctive mark by some importing COM
pany. But dealer in those goods nova
days is pretty bold when he uses aught
but red and green for the painting of his
establishment. Going with the painting
is invaribly collection Of colored lights,
giving remarkably brilliant appearance
to the place. 1t is conventional but beau
tiful Then, again, who ever saw a Chi
nese laundry that was not announced in
great red letters, and that was not
screened from the vulgar gaze by red
curtain across the window and doors A
blue laundry is absurd, and so is green
one; but red, that is the color they grow,
and don't believe Chinaman would
think he could have success with any
other color but red.
aAnd how about blue! In imagination
you can see a number of localities with
bright blue signs and lettering. All Of
them have a multitude of wires running
into their upper portions while from their
doors below dart little boys in blue. Tel
egraph offices, they are. The origin of
this custom is as queer as it can be. 1t
was started by the Western Union COM
pany as trademark but it was promptly
initiated, and now all the telegraph COM
panies use it. 1t is cold, bright color,
well suited for electricity, and that is per-
haps reason why it is used so enten-
sively.
ESTABLISHMENTS OF VARIOUS KINDS
aFor another conventional color 90 into
any street and by and by you will see
store front painted a dead black, black
curtains on bar across each window,
few plants, and a sign: 'Pinking done
here What is its An undertaking es-
Enlistment. The elements of gloom
seem to have conspired to make death
hideous instead of pleasant, and. conven-
tionality perpetuates the horrid idea. Ac-
cordingly an undertaker's Office is
trimmed with black, deep, lustreless
black, his wagon is plain black with a
little silver plate and he looks like an at
tendant at funeral. Did you ever notice
that an undertaken generally has black
eyes and hairf Very few red heads among
them. ALI is gloom and duskiness.
"The undertaker's twin brother, the
hquor-seller, has his color, too. He can't
use black, so he tries rich, warm red
the blood of life with shadow upon it.
Liquor stores are fitted up outside in rich
woods, polished and grained, and brown
hue invariably accompanies a drinking
room. The signs are usually gold-colored,
and the tall, bedsteadlike arrangement in
the window is of rosewood or cherry, and
suggests bed of state for the departed.
Liquor dealers don't use gloomy colors,
but their conventional tints are sugges.
tive.
"In combinations of colors, also, there is
the mark of custom. Look at the BARRIERS
They use two combinations in New York
red, white, and blue, and red, yellow and
black. The colors alone frequently indi
cate the shop, as poles have gone out Of
fashion. The doors will be painted in
stripes, or a square wooden box on the
sidewalk will have checkers of the three
tints No one ever asks what these colors
signify. They know it must be a barber
shop and can be nothing else. The drug
gists, also, reveal their uses to the inlet
tered by their globes of red, yellow, blue,
and green. They are understood when
mortar and pestle would be mystery
and these same people are adopting the
custom of putting piece of red glass in
the lamp-post nearest to them as an ad.
ditional sign. New York Tribune.