.THE 



WHERE ARE THE 



i^ SUMMER WINDOWS? 



By its articles, bajun six years ac/o, on i^'indow drcoratitiy, The Re 

 view aroused much activity in retail stores, 7vhich resulted in striking 

 displays of many kinds. What is the reason for the feivness of icindow 

 displays of late — the high price of flowers or the increased cost of labor? 



ONG ago in France tlu-re 

 livc'il ;i jiof't, l)y namo 

 Francois Villon, better 

 known to vis through Rob 

 ert hoiiis Stevenson's 

 brief essay concerning 

 him, and Justin Huntley 

 McCarthy's vivid novel, 

 "If I Were King," than 

 through his own poetry. 

 One of his verses, however, lives in the 

 luthologies of today. And the constnnt 

 refrain is, "Where are the snows of ves- 

 teryear?" 



(Quoting liini, we are just now inclineij 

 lo ask, "Where are the window displays 

 'if yesteryear f" It comes up with par- 

 ticular force at this season of the year, 

 ^vllcn the slackening of trade offers more 

 time for the artistic arrangement of the 

 ilorists' windows ;it ;i time when adver- 

 tising at low cost is espe 

 ci.'illy desirable. 



About six years ago 

 only a few florists, out- 

 standing except ions, used 

 tlieir display wiiulow for 

 anything else than ii 

 place to store plants and 

 l>crha])s show a vase or 

 two of seasonal flowers. 

 Kecognizing the immense 

 possibilities to the flo- 

 list, the number of a<l 

 vantages for staging 

 striking <lisj)lays tlic 

 trade jiossesses. The Ke- 

 view advocated the wider 

 use of this means of ad- 

 vertising. 



Results of Hints. 



The results were more 

 than had l>eon expected. 

 ]{etailers all ovr the 



• •onntry took up the ide.i. 

 Those who had never 

 made an attemiit to 

 decorate, found the op- 

 portunities awaiting 

 their hnnds. Those who 

 had done much in win 



low display found ideas 



• ind suggestions present 

 <^({ in the articles of The 

 Review valuable in add 

 ing variety and improve 

 ments in their decora- 

 tions. Those who acte<l 

 as window decorators in 

 various firms found 

 stimulus to jiroduce (>hib- 

 orato effects. Ing'-nious 

 construction and pic- 

 torial a r r a n g c in en ts 



gathered crowds on the sidewalk before 

 many a florist '.s store. .\iid jiroprietors 

 saw additions to their sales directly re- 

 sponsible to the attractiveness of their 

 windows. 



Then a Slump. 



Hut in the last two years stores which 

 formerly had good displays in their win 

 dows devoted less ami less eft'ort and 

 flowers to such decorations. There was 

 a reasonable, nay a strong excuse. 

 "When stock is as high in price as it 

 is," was a reply during the last season, 

 ■'we can't afford to waste even oiU' 

 flower; \\i\ can sell anything that comes 

 into the store, and at a good price, too.'' 

 There came also the similar answer, 

 ''Everybody around the ]ilace has all he 

 or she can do. When we lia\'e to pay as 

 much as we do now t'or lielp, we can't 



Florists' Telegraph Delivery is the Message of this Window. 



afTord to spend time on anything except 

 taking care of the orders that come in." 

 When business was as good as that, 

 nobody cared much, or had time to think 

 much, about the display window, so long 

 as it had a few ferns and foliage plants 

 to All it. And quite naturally. Every- 

 body was busy picking up the money 

 t hat rolled his way. 



Hut now, although business is keeping 

 iij) unusually well during the hot weath- 

 er, so well indeed that the staffs of some 

 stores, reduced by vacations, are almost 

 as busy as they were in the spring. Yet 

 there is a period of slackness now and 

 then. That may well be consumed by 

 jiutting some thought and work on the 

 show window. Various flowers in their 

 short season during the summer are 

 plentiful enougli to be used generously 

 ill the window. No iii.atter how many 

 vears jiass, the mill-pond, 

 wit h its fish, t iii\ ducks, 

 or turtles or crocotliles, 

 still draws the crowd 

 of jiassers by. A little 

 m of i o n — mill-wheel, 

 windmill or other device 

 --attracts the throngs as 

 of yore. Rustic effects, 

 devised with moss, small 

 evergreens or boxwoods, 

 ;nid a gravel bottomed 

 )io(d, have the same old 

 charms for those who 

 <-;ime from the farm and 

 for those who, on sultry 

 days, wish they were 



there. 



Easy for Us. 



The readily a\ailable 

 drawing cards are easily 

 worked out for florists, 

 and now is tlie time to 

 undertake them. There's 

 but a little time re- 

 cpiired, and results have 

 been found of v.alue in 

 dollars and cents by 

 many florists in former 

 years. If retailers will 

 make the effort through 

 .•idverlising of various 

 kinds to maintain the 

 level of sales of the last 

 season, there is no rea- 

 son wiiy they should not 

 lia\e another like it next 

 ve.ar. Hut if tli<' florist, 

 ill the crowd of heavy 

 liiisiness loses sight of 

 the need of advertising 

 for the future, he may, 

 when lie sees his sales 



