Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-07-02
REDUCED,

The Magic Word Is Now in Full Bloom.
Following the lead of the 'sleading dry
goods house." it is likely Pittsburg and
Allegheny merchants will crowd the news
paper columns, and as well placard the
| aisles of their stores with the magic word
reduced" until buyers are made to fairly
| believe that unless immediate clearance"
| is effected every storekeeper in the two
| cities will go at once into bankruptcy.
The keynote of the great summer bar
| gain season was given by JOS Horne & Co.
| in extensive advertisements for their Penn
avenue stores. A curious reporter, curl
| ously enough, was curious to know what
| effect such announcement would have The
| advertisements announced that on July
| the ''great annual midsummer, ETC., etc,
| clearance sales would begin. The effect
was marvellous. At an early hour of the
| day, and as we'll upon several calls later in
| literally packed with ladies, mainly of the
middle and better classes, and also found
that the single inquiry of all was for the
s'goods that have been reduced The
stereotyped reply was, "Madam, every
thing has been reduced. To which depart
ment may we direct you?"
"Eyerything reduced" Veteran shop
pers seemed to understand it, but the re-
porter pondered: Hundreds of thousands
of dollars worth of goods gone over in
night, and prices pruned until they would
not know themselves. No, not changed
in a night-rather in month. At least for
weeks the prices to be have been known.
Up to the closing hour on June 80 the
prices to all were the same. The great
work of preparation took effect at the OPEN
ing of the store on July 1. Though but the
interval between two days lay between the
purchase of Tuesday evening and that of
Wednesday morning, yet by no manner of
means could the smallest article have been
bought on the evening of the former day at
the price at which it would be sold on the
morning of the latter. ''It would not be
fair and that was the all-suficient reason.
Everything reduced?" Yes. In the
big cloak and suit department ladies' sum-
mer blazers, REFER jackets, flannel and per-
Gale waists, and even fine wool suits were
sold for half former prices. Children and
misses wool and wash goods dresses were
similarly marked down, and children's and
misses jaunty jackets, just on purpose for
seaside and mountain wear, as well as even
ings at home, were marked away below
what they had been.
Summer silks, in the brightest and most
beautiful colors, and certainly the very
prettiest patterns ever printed, had been
mercilessly marked down from 81 and 81 25
W SuCH pIiCcS ds ooC, ooC, ioC anu ooC- anu
the most stylish dress goods, some domestic
and some (the greater part) imported
fabrics, marked from SOC to 25c a yard and
from 81 to SOC yard, and through endless
grades and styles were to be found similar
reductions. In wash dress goods the same
ruthlessness and sangfroid were manifested
prices reduced to mere fraction of their
once proud selves. Anderson's 40c, SOC
and 6Oc ginghams at 25c blazed the way.
A clean half was knocked off the prices
of parasols. One-fourth of former prices
was the order in untrimmed straw hats,
millinery, ribbons and flowers. Laces, en-
broideries, white goods and linens were
marked down 4 and 4. Hosiery, under
wear and gloves suffered reductions ranging
from quarter to a half of former prices.
Lace curtains, upholstery and drapery ma
terials prices were mangled to mere shadows
of what they had been.
Thus it went throughout the entire store.
Buyers were overheard to remark that
Horne's had even exceeded themselves by
the magnitude of their July, 1891, sales,
and as well by the lowness of the prices on
every hand