The book builds an original argument for the department store as a significant site of design production, and therefore offers an alternative interpretation to the mainstream focus on consumption within retail history. Emily M. Orr presents a fresh perspective on the rise of modern urban consumer culture, of which the department store was a key feature. By investigating the production processes of display as well as fascinating information about display-making's tools and technologies, the skills of the displayman and the meaning and context of design decisions which shaped the final visual effect are revealed. In addition, the book identifies and isolates 'display' as a distinct moment in the life of the commodity, and understands it as an influential channel of mediation in the shopping experience. The assembly and interpretation of a diverse range of previously unexplored primary resources and archives yields fascinating new evidence, showing how display achieved an agency which transformed everyday objects into commodities and made consumers out of passersby.

When Adam Smith wrote in 1776 that England was a nation of shopkeepers, he meant that commerce was a major factor in political decisions. Smith's observation was even more on-target for Victorian England: shopkeepers, shops, and shopping were a vital part of life. Those Victorians with resources could shop often and had many choices. Industrialization and their imperial connections gave them an almost unprecedented array of goods. Even the poor and working classes had more to eat and more to spend as the century progressed. Here, Graham explores the world of Victorian shops and shopping in colorful detail. She offers information on the types of shops and goods they offered, the people who owned and operated them, those who frequented them, and the contribution of shops and shopping to the Victorian lifestyle and economy. Shopping in Victorian England reached a level of importance not wholly appreciated even by Victorians themselves. New types of shops appeared, offering an expanding array of goods inventively packaged and displayed for an expanding group of shoppers. As the shops grew, so did the activity — part excursion for provisions, part entertainment. Women shopped most often, but men, too, had their shops. Victorians could, by the end of the 19th century, shop without even leaving their homes: orders could be placed by mail, telegraph, or telephone. Shops catered to all classes — the rich, the poor, and the in-betweens. This book will help modern readers envision the Victorian shopping experience by taking them inside the shops and up to the counters. Readers will learn how the shop was organized, what services and goods were available, and how goods made their way from the shop to the home. Graham's compelling account provides a vivid glimpse into a vital—but largely unappreciated— aspect of Victorian life.

Now in its 179th edition, Laxton’s has become a firm favourite in the UK Building Industry. With more prices and more in-depth build-ups, Laxton’s offers more practical and complete information than any other price book available This new edition takes into account major price variations that stem frm raw material costs in the last few months. * Higher-fuel costs have impacted on prices across the board, in particular costs of non-ferrous metals in increased * Copper sheet and pipe show prince increases of well above 50% in the last year, while zinc, lead and aluminium prices have also risen significantly * There are savings in plaster and drainage goods, prices are down All the prices in Laxton's are based on the new 3 year Construction Industry Joint council wage rate agreement that came into force at the end of June 2006 *Saving you time - comprehensive basic price and approximate estimating sections make putting together outline costings quicker and easier *Saving you effort - all the information you need on each measured item is clearly set out on a single page, with a full break down of costs *Saving you money - all 250,000 prices are individually checked and updated to make sure that your tender costs are precise

This book provides the first comprehensive history of window display as a practice and profession in Britain during the dynamic period of 1919 to 1939. In recent decades, the disciplines of retail history, business history, design and cultural history have contributed to the study of department stores and other types of shops. However, these studies have only made passing references to window display and its role in retail, society and culture. Kerry Meakin investigates the conditions that enabled window display to become a professional practice during the interwar period, exploring the shift in display styles, developments within education and training, and the international influence on methods and techniques. Piecing together the evidence, visual and written, about people, events, organisations, exhibitions and debates, Meakin provides a critical examination of this vital period of design history, highlighting major display designers and artists. The book reveals the modernist aesthetic developments that influenced high street displays and how they introduced passers-by to modern art movements.