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Wanamaker's Temple - The Business of Religion in an Iconic Department Store (Hardcover)
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Wanamaker's Temple - The Business of Religion in an Iconic Department Store (Hardcover)
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How a pioneering merchant blended religion and business to create a
unique American shopping experience On Christmas Eve, 1911, John
Wanamaker stood in the middle of his elaborately decorated
department store building in Philadelphia as shoppers milled around
him picking up last minute Christmas presents. On that night, as
for years to come, the store was filled with the sound of Christmas
carols sung by thousands of shoppers, accompanied by the store's
Great Organ. Wanamaker recalled that moment in his diary, "I said
to myself that I was in a temple," a sentiment quite possibly
shared by the thousands who thronged the store that night.
Remembered for his store's extravagant holiday decorations and
displays, Wanamaker built one of the largest retailing businesses
in the world and helped to define the American retail shopping
experience. From the freedom to browse without purchase and the
institution of one price for all customers to generous return
policies, he helped to implement retailing conventions that
continue to define American retail to this day. Wanamaker was also
a leading Christian leader, participating in the major Protestant
moral reform movements from his youth until his death in 1922. But
most notably, he found ways to bring his religious commitments into
the life of his store. He focused on the religious and moral
development of his employees, developing training programs and
summer camps to build their character, while among his clientele he
sought to cultivate a Christian morality through decorum and taste.
Wanamaker's Temple examines how and why Wanamaker blended business
and religion in his Philadelphia store, offering a historical
exploration of the relationships between religion, commerce, and
urban life in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century and
illuminating how they merged in unexpected and public ways.
Wanamaker's marriage of religion and retail had a pivotal role in
the way American Protestantism was expressed and shaped in American
life, and opened a new door for the intertwining of personal values
with public commerce.
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