Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1886-03-04
DRESSING WINDOWS.
The Fine Art of Attra citing Customers by
q Display OF Wares.

The Fine Art of Attra citing Customers by
q Display of Wares.
The arrangements and combinations
of goods in the windows of retail
establishments, known technically as
"window-dressing,n has become q fine
art, and persons displaying skill and
ingenuity in the production Of novel
and pleasing effects can always COM
mand good position and salary.
Every large dry-goods and fancy-goods.
establishment constantly employs men
whose sole duty tits to place goods in
the windows in such manner as to at
tract the attention of passers. Here it
is not yet looked upon as an art, as in
many foreign cities. In Paris there
are men who earn very comfortable
livings going from one jewelry store to
another, in Palais Royal, to arrange the
windows in their most attractive way.
Such a profession requires good
knowledge of the diverse tastes of
the people, prevailing fashions and of
the class Of goods which the house is
most desirous to sell. Besides this
artistic skill, some knowledge of colors
and the effect of the juxtaposition of
decided tints, natural good taste and
mechanical skill are all necessary.
The hardest task of the window
dresser is that of making the show
window of restaurant look inviting
and appetizing. The really first-class
restaurants do not ordinarily indulge
in this sort of advertising, and disdain
to tempt passers-by, by any indication
of the contents of their larder. On the
contrary, the evident desire with which
the tastes of the large majority of their
patrons coincide is to withdraw the in
terror of the dining-room as far as pos
sible from the public gaze by the erec-
ton of wire, silk, velvet Or plush
screens before the lower parts of the
windows, The restaurants of q lower
grade, however, all want to place in
their show-windows such articles of
food and such dishes as are likely to
attract customers and induce them to
enter. Large and intensely yellow
pumpkins, of gigantic proportions, sug-
gestive of vast quantities of pie, with a
statement of the place of growth and
weight duly attached is favorite ex-
hibition piece. Unusually large fish of
finer varieties, such as brook and lake
trout, salmon, striped bass, shad and
.errapins lying on their backs, with a
label pasted on the frontal bone attest
ing the weight; choice cuts, or often
whole carcasses of venison, bear, ante.
lope, buffalo, English mutton, huge po.
tatoes, tremendous Holsters, very large
oysters or other shellfsh, and, abnor.
mally large fruits, are some of the ar.
ticles shown. One of the plainest and
neatest, yet most effective show dishes
is big, red porterhouse steak, with an
edge of snow-white fat, laid in the cen
ter of wreath of green parsley or eel
cry. A haunch of venison in the sug
gestive neighborhood of small dishes
filled with currant or wine jellies, il
also calculated to entice the appetite o.
the hungry.
In the show-window of an uptown
oyster saloon large red lobster, stand
ing with outstretched legs amid bet
of gigantic oysters, is the central objec
of exhibition. In the window of /,
Broadway restaurant. chiefly frequentet
by ladies, are shown the components O
a dainty repast. On large fruit ant
pound cake are laid small slices of tn,
same, rich with raisins, almonds an(
citron, while snow-white cream cakes
or Charlotte russes, crown the whole
Other confectionery, fanciful in shape
variety and material, is placed around
all in a way to please the most delicat
in taste. Meats are never shown, ant
the suggestion of anything so gross
studiously avoided. This is left to tn
restaurants patronized by men, VIII,
are supposed to find a stronger appea
in more solid and healthier food.
While the custom of showing food il
this manner may seem of doubtful
taste to the gourmand, and to thos
who can afford to dine in first-clas
restaurant, there can be no doubt tina
large custom is attracted to the res
taurants that resort to this form of ad
vertisement,-N Y. Commercial Id
vertiser .......