Brilliant messages from the late physician and writer
Eager customers trying on shoes in a crowded shop during a sale. Actually, not much has changed. Footwear today remains as fashionable and as desirable as it did a century ago.
Sales trainees at a department store are reminded of the finer points of dress etiquette.
A wife at the wheel of a convertible watched by her hubby and a car salesman, hoping to close the deal.
A well-stocked general store in the late 1930s. Note how well-groomed both customer and clerk appear.
The milliner's trade flourished in the first half of the 20th century, and hats were all the rage. Here, a customer tries on a tribly for size.
A dapper looking grocer in a crisp white shopkeepers' coat takes down orders from two customers.
With one of them pressing hands and nose against a bakery window, these two youngsters are each yearning for a freshly baked cake, but appear to have no money to make a purchase.
Shoppers mingle at the counters and in the aisles of a covered market, which has a delicatessen air about it.
This grocery department is a thriving business during the daily rush hour when housewives arrive to stock up their pantries. There are electric lamps in the store, but the shop owner plays it safe by keeping old oil lamps in reserve, just in case of a power outage.
Women shopping for irons and other household appliances at Montgomery's Store on Jamaica Avenue, Jamaica, Queens, in New York.
Ringing up the purchases on a cash register at a supermarket checkout. Some of the goods look familiar, don't they?
Shoppers browse a discount appliance showroom for bargain ovens, refrigerators, and washing machines. Note the salesman on the right of the photograph. He looks more like a chef!
A potential buyer is given an engine specs lowdown by a salesman in this Dodge car showroom. His wife looks on, clutching a brochure.
A little girl tries on a new pair of shoes while her brother and their mom look on.
A family does their weekly shopping at this supermarket, the walls and ceilings of which are festooned with ads for cookies, crackers, pickles, and salad dressing. Can you see the sign for S&H Green Stamps? These were a line of trading stamps popular in the United States from the 1930s until the late 1980s, and were an early example of a customer loyalty program.
Did you know that the first color television models reached American stores at the end of September 1951? The technology was crude, and few could afford the luxury. By the following decade, however, color TV was standard in many households, with sales booming.
A couple seeking to purchase a new sofa get the sales pitch from a shop assistant, who's obviously pointing out the quality of the upholstery.
Remember the LP, the long-playing record? What about the 45, and even the 78? Yep, back in the good old days, music lovers purchased vinyl. As it goes, this old-fashioned analog sound storage medium is making a bit of a comeback. Stand aside, all you streamers.
At the height of his fame, English professional cricketer Jack Hobbs (1882–1963) opened a store selling cricket bats, which became a real hit with the public. Pictured are gentlemen fans of the game, weighing up the willow.
If you think unruly behavior and mob mentality is a product of 21st century sales conduct, just take a look at this image from the mid-1960s where bargain hunters attack a display of china at Selfridges in London, with little regard for manners or decorum.
This is the workman-like interior of Phillips Tire Shop in Los Angeles, California in 1924. This was the height of the Roaring Twenties, a period of economic prosperity that saw the automobile become a major source of freedom and adventure as well as travel, and kept tire shops like this one revved-up year round.
A customer visiting a pharmacy store surrounded by pharmaceutical and personal care products, some brands of which are still familiar today, names like Listerine, Schick, and Gillette.
Patient but bored-looking customers line up at a Star Market premises in Cambridge, Massachusetts with their shopping. Queues and consumerism go hand-in-hand.
In the early 1950s, there was one item you didn't have to queue for—nylons! Some clever marketing exec came up with the idea of the automate for nylon hoses, a vending machine that dispensed a pair like bubblegum for a few cents.
A couple oblige a youngster with a Davy Crockett flashlight in a variety shop. His purchase is now a valuable collector's item.
A smiling teenager tries on a long dance dress in the Junior Miss Fashions department of a London department store. The printed ball of wool fabric design is unusual to say the least.
Lamb and Scottish beef on open display at a London meat market. Today, health and safety officials would choke on their clipboards at such a sight.
A sale at a Davega store in New York City. A popular consumer durables, appliance, sporting goods, and apparel chain, Davega operated 27 stores in the metropolitan New York City area in 1954.
A proud dad purchases a convertible peddle car for his son. Toy cars were hugely popular in the 1950s, a pivotal time for the American automobile industry, and every kid wanted their own mini version of a Chevy, Caddy, or Studebaker.
Judging by the smiles on everybody's faces, it looks like this couple have just bought themselves a swish new automobile.
Besides the obvious need to restock and replenish, we shop to acquire goods that provide enjoyment, assist with everyday life and activities, or meet a cultural expectation (for example, gift-giving). And we've been doing this for centuries.
Check out this gallery for a nostalgic throwback to the 20th century, and take a look at how we shopped then, and the goods and services available.
Exploring 20th-century shopping experience with vintage photos
Shopping in a bygone age
LIFESTYLE Shopping
Besides the obvious need to restock and replenish, we shop to acquire goods that provide enjoyment, assist with everyday life and activities, or meet a cultural expectation (for example, gift-giving). And we've been doing this for centuries.
Check out this gallery for a nostalgic throwback to the 20th century, and take a look at how we shopped then, and the goods and services available.