March 4, 1920 



The Florists' Review 



69 



Th« aoriat* whoa* card* avpMtf on Che paeos caminc tbim hoMl. aro proparod to fl U ordoro. 

 .. iroiBofborflorlato for local doll vcnr on tli«naiiallMauu — - 



adjoining windows, and street lights, 

 will compete for attention on the baaia 

 solely of the attention-eompelling power 

 of light itself, regardless of the relative 

 merits of the goods displayed. The ad- 

 joining — and therefore competing win- 

 dows — may perchance be devoted to the 

 display of goods possessing but a frac- 

 tional part of the attention value or 

 popular appeal of the florist's window, 

 but if the competing window be better 

 lighted then it will attract greater at- 

 tention. _ ,- rsj 1 ^ 

 Consider Display. 



The next step should be to consider 

 carefully the light-reflecting and light- 

 absorbing power of the display, stipu- 

 lating that the lighting equipment prove 

 equal to supplying a range of illuminat- 

 ing intensity suitable for the maximum 

 and minimum demands for light as made 

 by the displays themselves. 



Consideration next should be given to 

 the color requirements in the lighting 

 as dictated by the colors and character 

 of the display. The effect of the color 

 in light rays upon the appearance of 

 merchandise was touched upon in last 

 week's article and need not be men- 

 tioned further here. 



Those three prime points — the effect 

 of competing areas of brilliancy, the in- 

 t tensity and volume of light demanded 

 by the displays themselves, and the 

 choice of color screens — having been de- 

 termined, the conditions imposed by the 

 purely physical aspects of the window 

 can be taken up and solved properly and 

 in order; to attempt to do so before the 

 three prime points have been worked out 

 is no more to be commended than the 

 attempt to prepare a funeral design in 

 advance of information as to the flowers 

 and quantity to be used. 



Just here it may be well to point out 

 that vision is most comfortable when 

 the object viewed is at eye level and 

 also that people look downwards more 

 readily and habitually than upwards. In 

 fact, tests will show that goods dis- 

 played at any considerable height above 

 eye level frequently are not seen at all 

 by a surprisingly large percentage of 

 people. So it should be recognized that 

 the most valuable display portion of the 

 window is from the floor to a point on 

 a line with, or not much above, the level 

 of the average observer's eyes. 



Arranging Lights. 



The light sources, then, must be so 

 situated that their maximum lighting 

 service will be rendered on what we 

 may call the "selling plane" of the 

 window. But the light sources, on the 

 other hand, should be concealed from 

 the view of the observer, as is done in 

 good stage lighting, and so that the un- 

 pleasant effects created by exposed bulbs 

 will not be present. 



It may, for instance, be decided that 

 the window is to be in truth a minia- 

 ture stage, with footlights to cut the 

 shadows occasioned by the overhead 

 lights, and with light coming from con- 

 cealed sources at the sides or corners of 

 the window to insure plenty of illumi- 

 nation on the vertical, as well as the 

 horizontal plane. Well, there are facili- 

 ties available for accomplishing each of 

 those results and more besides. It mat- 

 ters not whether the window ^as a hijjh 



lisV 



Speaking of Heads 

 Which Way Are You and I Headed For? 



Wednesday afternoon. Bob Davis droppedlin. 

 Of course, you know Bob. 



Everybody knows him, just like everybody knows Phil. 

 Breitmeyer of Detroit; Gude of Washington: or Dunlop 

 of Toronto. 



As usual, Bob looked prosperous. 



But somehow he didn't auite have the snap and go he had 



when I saw hiui last year. 



What's the matter, Bob. says I, had the flu? 



•"Whit do you mean, what's the matter?" became back 



Quicker than a flash. 



Oh well, nothing in particular. Bob; just several things 



in general. 



At that he started pinning me down, 



'i hen I out with it. 



Trouble with you. Bob. is that you need some one to take 

 the bobs out of you, like we took the jims out of Jimmy. 

 You need some one to stand you in the comer and say: 

 "Look a here, old chap, stop feeling so all-fired chesty about 

 the HEKK AND THE NOW. 

 Start looking at the THEN AND THE THERE. 



Stop being so content over the fine business you are 



doing novn. 



That's nothing. Everybody is doing a fine business 



NOW. 



But doing a fine business, isn't always doing busioess 



tine. 



When you do business fine, you go over it everj- so of ten- 

 or oftener— with a fine tooth comb. 



After which you say to yourself, 'Bob, stop being near- 

 sighted. 



You are not doing a dog-gone thing for this business of 

 yours, 'I, 3 or 5 years from now. 



What you've got to do is get wise to those three words, 

 "LOOKING FURTHER FORWARD '; or when business 

 starts slowing up, yours may run down.'" 



NevfT York's 

 Favorite Flower Shop 



Fifth Avenue at S8th Street 



ceiling and a shallow depth, or whether 

 it has a low ceiling and an unusually 

 great depth from glass to background, 

 or whether the background is solid or 

 completely or partially open. Any good 

 illuminating expert can lay out and in- 

 stall an equipment that will be right in 

 every respect, handling his facilities so 

 that the light will be as mobile and re- 

 sponsive to the control of the window 



dresser striving after a certain effect 

 as is the piano under the touch of a 

 master. Such achievements in lighting 

 can be seen on the stage any day, and 

 it is generally conceded that the display 

 window is a stage in miniature. 



To explain in detail just how any par- 

 ticular type of window should be 

 equipped for maximum lighting results 

 would be entirely at variance with the 



