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Image Not Available for G. Fox and Co. Centennial Celebration Storefront Windows
G. Fox and Co. Centennial Celebration Storefront Windows
Image Not Available for G. Fox and Co. Centennial Celebration Storefront Windows

G. Fox and Co. Centennial Celebration Storefront Windows

Date1947
MediumPhotography; gelatin silver print on paper.
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (image height x width): 7 5/16 x 9 3/16in. (18.6 x 23.3cm) Sheet (height x width): 8 1/4 x 10in. (21 x 25.4cm)
ClassificationsGraphics
Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Schiro
Object number1981.126.3-.8
DescriptionA series of views of the store window displays done by G. Fox & Co. on Main Street, Hartford, in celebration of their 100th anniversary.
.3: Centinel Hill. Two Native Americans on a hill overlooking a river valley - one man kneels on one knee next to a fire, the other stands wrapped in a blanket. A prop tree is in the foreground. A sign in the display reads, "CENTINEL HILL / Centinel Hill / There it stood high above the / valley. In the glow of the fire / men on the watch were etched / against the eternal sky. / G. Fox & Co. has stood on the / hill for a century and like some / unwritten pact with time / the watch goes on...never-ending. / This is Centinel Hill. / 1847 [G. Fox & Co. Centennial logo] 1947"

.4: Hartford waterfront. A waterfront scene has a painted backdrop of a body of water and ships. The prow and figurehead of a prop ship are visible to the left. In the foreground two mannequins dressed as a man and a woman stand by a fence or pier. A prop dog stands on a barrel at left. A sign in the display reads, "HARTFORD 1847 / The wharf at the foot of State Street was a bee-hive of / activity. Here the ships that sailed / the seven seas tied up alongside the / Connecticut River packets. Posters / announced the happenings in the / community... and the dock was piled / high with crates from the Collins Co. / Loomis Tobaccos, Hitchcock chairs. This / is where Gershon Fox first set foot in Hartford. / 1847 [G. Fox & Co. centennial logo] 1947"

.5: Case, Lockwood & Brainard. View of the interior of a printing shop. Two mannequins stand in the room with a printing press, printing equipment, and tables. A sign in the display reads, "HARTFORD 1847 / Case, Lockwood & Brainard Company / then known as Case, Tiffany printers. / Printing a century ago was entirely / a hand trade. In this year, they purchased the plates and printed a / two-volume work, 'The Cottage Bible.' / Over 200,000 sets of this work were / printed. / 1847 [G. Fox & Co. Centennial logo] 1947"

.6: Gershon Fox, Dealers in Fancy Goods. View of what the original store owned by Gershon Fox might have looked like, showing the exterior of a wood frame building with two large windows with clothing items on display. Two women mannequins look on as a girl mannequin walks in the door of the shop. A label in the display reads, "HARTFORD 1847 / Gershon Fox, Dealer in Fancy Goods... / French, German, English and / American fancy goods... particular / attention given to calls from the ladies... / Call and see our fresh goods / arriving weekly from New York. / This advertisement appeared in / the Hartford Courant, April, 1847. / 1847 [G. Fox & Co. centennial logo] 1947"

.7: William Rogers & Company. View of what the interior of the Wm. Rogers & Co. silver shop might have looked like. A female mannequin stands at a counter where a male mannequin shows a silver coffeepot. A display of silver on shelves along the back wall includes tankards, coffeepots, sugar bowls, salts, mugs, footed bowls, and spoons. A prop window is painted with an exterior background view of The Old State House. A label in the display reads, "HARTFORD 1847 / Wm. Rogers & Co., No. 4 State St., / beg leave to call attention to / their large stock of silver spoons. / The superior quality of our spoons / is acknowledged wherever they are known. / We are very particular to make our / Silver Ware of dollars only, and warrant / them to give satisfaction in every / respect ... engraving is gratuitous. / 1847 [G. Fox & Co. centennial logo] 1947"

.8: Oyster Depot. View of what the interior of Barnes & Coats 'Oyster Depot' might have looked like. Two male mannequins stand at a bar that has bowls on it. A basket with oyster shells is in the corner at left, a prop cat climbs stairs nearby. At far right a male mannequin is partially visible seated in a chair around a corner. A mirror and framed pictures and broadsides are on the wall, including, "Gargling Oil for Horses" broadside and two Kellogg prints, "A Favorite Cat" and "..." . A label in the display reads: "HARTFORD 1847 / Honiss' (then known as Barnes & Coats / 'Oyster Depot’) / was where a man could / get the largest, most inexpensive and / best oyster stew in Hartford. / There was an oyster bar and three / tables ... to them came the merchant, / the farmer, the Yankee peddler and / the men of a century ago, to enjoy / a steaming, delicious Water Stew, 25 [cent] / or Milk Stew, 35[cent]. / 1847 [G. Fox & Co. centennial logo] 1947"

Collections
Status
Not on view
Gift of Sam Stout, 2013.90.2  © 2013 The Connecticut Historical Society.
G. Fox and Co.
1946-1952
Gift of Sam Stout, 2013.90.1  © 2013 The Connecticut Historical Society.
G. Fox and Co.
1946-1952
Pin
G. Fox and Co.
1947
Gift of Paul Accarpio, 2005.158.7 © 2006 The Connecticut Historical Society.
G. Fox and Co.
1947
Lapel Pin
Beatrice Fox
1947
Pin
Beatrice Fox
1947
Gift of Mrs. Houghton Bulkeley,  1969.48.4  Photograph by David Stansbury. © 2009 The Connectic ...
Virginia Grover
1942-1945
Gift of Theresa R. Shapleigh, 1993.35.2a,b  © 2009 The Connecticut Historical Society.
G. Fox and Co.
about 1947