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John Wanamaker store ephemera

Creation: 1928
 Collection
Accession: 1995-287

Abstract

In 1875, Philadelphia merchant, John Wanamaker, bought a freight railroad depot at 13th and Market Streets and made it Philadelphia’s first department store. In 1909, Wanamaker bought a huge pipe organ and installed it in Grand Court of the new building. Octave Denis Victor Guillonnet (1872-1967) was a French painter and medallic artist. This collection is a folded momento with of a reproduction of "Adoration of the Magi" triptych painted by O. D. V. Guillonnet which was exhibited in the Organ Loft, Grand Court of the John Wanamaker store, Philadelphia.

Dates

  • Creation: 1928

Creator

Extent

1 item(s)

General Physical Description

1 item : duotone ; 5.5 x 7 in.

Historical Note

In 1875, Philadelphia merchant, John Wanamaker, bought a freight railroad depot at 13th and Market Streets and made it Philadelphia’s first department store, the Grand Depot. He built a grander, more spacious store at that same location in 1911, which was called Wanamakers. Wanamaker was in the vanguard of many areas of retail, including merchandising, employee relations, and advertising. Over the years Wanamaker’s expanded to sixteen stores before changes in retailing and a series of buyouts led to its demise in the 1990s. Macy’s currently operates a store in part of the building at the 13th and Market location.

In 1909, Wanamaker bought a huge pipe organ that was built for the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. It required thirteen boxcars to transport it to Philadelphia and two years to install it in Grand Court of the new building. Although it had over 10,000 pipes, it was deemed inadequate for the space and over the years more than 18,000 pipes were added.

Octave Denis Victor Guillonnet (1872-1967) was a French painter and medallic artist. He gained his first medal at the Paris Salon while in his teens. At twenty-one years of age, his success continued when the Salon passed that his exhibits did not have to be judged by the committee, but rather were hung as a matter of course. He won a travel scholarship to spend a year in Algeria. He also became an Official Painter of the Third Republic. Through good connections and classical training, he was able to obtain many commissions, some on a grand scale. Important ones include those for the Hotel de Ville of Paris, forty-six panels for the Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Caracas, and the Stations of the Cross in Philadelphia. Guillonnet later created artwork for the John Wanamaker store in 1932.

Scope and Content

This collection is a folded momento with of a reproduction of "Adoration of the Magi" triptych painted by O. D. V. Guillonnet which was exhibited in the Organ Loft, Grand Court of the John Wanamaker store, Philadelphia.

Location

GL Box 2.

Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research.

Language of Materials

English

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title:
John Wanamaker store ephemera
Date:
2015
Description rules:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description:
English
Script of description:
Latin

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Audiovisual Collections Repository

Contact:
PO Box 3630
Wilmington Delaware 19807 USA
302-658-2400