B. Altman & Co.
New York City, NY, United States
The department store B. Altman & Co. was founded by Benjamin Altman in 1865 in New York City, New York, U.S.A. In 1906, the department store moved its headquarters to 361 Fifth Avenue, New York's fashion center par excellence. The exclusivity of the offered merchandise was reflected in the higher prices of the catalog goods. The department store went bankrupt in 1989 due to poor management and was dissolved in early 1990.
Bellas Hess & Co.
New York City, NY, United States
The mail order company Bellas Hess & Comany was founded in 1888 in New York City, New York, and distributed clothing for the entire family and household textiles in the United States. In the summer of 1927, the company merged with National Cloak & Suit Company to form National Bellas Hess Inc.
Charles William Stores Inc.
New York City, NY, United States
Charles William Stores Inc. was founded in 1913 in New York City, New York, U.S.A., and within a few years developed into a large mail-order company with a full range of products, supplying mainly the densely populated eastern parts of the country. In early 1929, the company was acquired by National Bellas Hess Inc.
Chicago Mail Order Co.
Chicago, IL, United States
The Chicago Mail Order Company was founded in 1889 in Chicago, Illinois, and was one of the most successful mail order companies for ready-to-wear fashion for the whole family in the United States. In the mid-1930s, the company expanded its product line. C.M.O. was renamed in Alden's about 1945. The company existed until 1985.
Hamilton Garment Co.
New York City, NY, United States
Hamilton Garment Company was a department and mail order house located on New York's Fifth Avenue that published its first catalog in 1915. Hamilton Garment specialized in women's fashions. In May 1936, the department store was acquired by Chicago Mail Order.
M. W. Savage Co.
Minneapolis, MN, United States
The mail order enterprise M. W. Savage Company was founded around 1902 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and served exclusively the northwestern territorial states of the USA. Accordingly, in addition to a limited range of women's, men's, and children's fashions, the merchandise assortment focused on farm equipment, agricultural implements, household supplies, and automotive accessories. Savage suffered severely from the Great Depression and was bought out by Chicago Mail Order in 1935.
Modehaus Thomas Rupp
Nürnberg, Germany
The fashion house Thomas Rupp had its place of business at Allersberger Strasse 69/71 in Nuremberg, Bavaria (date of foundation and end unknown). The owners of the department store were Siegfried Levite and Ella Gruenwald in the early 1930s.
Montgomery Ward & Co.
Chicago, IL, United States
Montgomery Ward & Co. was founded in Chicago in 1872 and was the second largest mail order company in the U.S. after Sears, Roebuck & Co. in the 20th century. The last seasonal mail-order catalog was published in 1985. In 2000, the company finally went bankrupt after 128 years in business.
National Bellas Hess Inc.
New York City, NY, United States
The mail order company National Bellas Hess Inc. was formed in 1927 by the merger of the two companies National Cloak & Suit Co. and Bellas Hess & Co. In the late 1920s, it was the third largest mail order company in the U.S. and specialized in fashion for the whole family. The company survived until its bankruptcy in 1972/73.
National Cloak & Suit Co.
New York City, NY, United States
The New York City mail-order house National Cloak & Suit Company was founded in 1888 and was very successful in selling mainly women's and children's fashion and to a lesser extent men's fashion. In 1927, the company merged with Bellas Hess & Co. to form National Bellas Hess Inc.
Perry Dame & Co.
New York City, NY, United States
The Perry Dame & Company mail order establishment existed in New York City until its dissolution in early 1923 and was one of the smaller mail order houses in the U.S.A. The product range was limited to women's and children's ready-to-wear clothing and household textiles.
Philipsborns
Chicago, IL, United States
The U.S. mail-order company Philipsborn's, Inc., was founded in Chicago, Illinois, in 1890. The mail-order company's merchandise range was exclusively devoted to women's, children's and men's ready-to-wear fashion and textiles. The company went bankrupt after horrendous losses in July 1925.
Spiegel, May, Stern Co.
Chicago, IL, United States
The Spiegel, May, Stern Company mail order company was one of the more exclusive mail order companies in the United States in the 1920s and 1930s. The company was founded in 1865 as a retail store and published its first mail order catalog in 1905. The company went bankrupt in 2003. After reorganization and restructuring it continued its business until final dissolution in late 2019.
Stern Brothers & Co.
New York City, NY, United States
The department store Stern Brothers & Co. was founded in 1867 by Isaac, Louis and Benjamin Stern in Buffalo, New York. In 1868, the business moved to New York City. In 1913, a new headquarter was opened on 42nd Street near Fifth Avenue, which remained in operation until 1969. Stern Brothers became part of a department store chain in 1951 due to acquisition by Allied Stores. In 2001, the department store chain was dissolved and the remaining stores were closed or continued by Macy's and Bloomingdale's.
Die Schöne Wienerin
Vienna, Berlin, Austria
The illustrated fashion magazine Die Schoene Wienerin (eng. The Beautiful Viennese) was the Austrian counterpart to the German Modenschau and was published between 1914 and 1943 by Leopold Misner, Vienna. Gustav Lyon, Berlin, was responsible for printing and publishing. In terms of content, the two magazines were identical.
Die Schuhmode
Munich, Germany
The German shoe trade magazine Die Schuhmode (eng. The Shoe Fashion, subtitle: Fashion Magazine for Elegant Women's, Men's, Children's and Sports Shoes) was issued quarterly from 1924 to 1939 by the publishing company Muenchner Buchgewerbehaus M. Mueller & Sohn, Munich, Germany.
Die Wienerin
Vienna, Austria
The fashion magazine Die Wienerin (eng. The Viennese) was published by the Austrian publishing house Bachwitz A.G., Vienna (III. District, Loewengasse 47). Apart from an introductory text providing an overview of fashion novelties, the magazine contained only fashion illustrations mainly in black and white and partly in color. The magazine appeared from 1920 until the Second World War.
Hänsel-Echo
Forst (Lausitz), Germany
The company magazine and information bulletin of Haensel & Co. Corporation was distributed to men's tailors throughout the German Reich from 1927 to 1941. In addition, the Haensel-Echo was also published in various language editions in several European countries.
La Coquette
Paris, France
The French fashion magazine La Coquette was the counterpart to the German fashion magazine Modenschau and ran from 1923 to around 1941. It was published by Léon Claude, 4, rue Rochambeau (Square Montholon), Paris, 9th district. Printed by Gustav Lyon, Berlin, Germany.
Le Miroir des Modes
Paris, France
The French magazine Le Miroir des Modes (eng. The Mirror of Fashion) was the counterpart to the U.S. magazine Delineator (1873-1937) and was published from 1902 to 1937 by the French branch of the Butterick Publishing Co. in Paris. While the fashion section was identical to the U.S. edition, the editorial content was adapted to the French audience. A Spanish edition ran under the title El Espejo de la Moda. A German edition called Butterick's Moden-Revue was also published from 1899 to 1915.
Modenschau
Berlin, Germany
The German fashion magazine Modenschau (eng. Fashion Show; subtitle: Illustrated monthly magazine for home and society) was published by the publishing company Gustav Lyon in Berlin, Germany, from 1914 to 1943. After the war, a new edition of the magazine ran from 1947 to 1962. The magazine was publish internationally and in different languages. In Austria, the magazine appeared under the name Die Schoene Wienerin, in France under the title La Coquette, in Poland as Przegląd Mody and in Hungary as Magyar Úriasszonyok Lapja.
Smart
Paris, France
The biannual seasonal fashion album Smart was published by the French branch of the Austrian publishing house Société Graphique Aktiengesellschaft fuer Modeverlag or S. A. Editions de Mode. The album presented a wide selection of women's and children's fashion.
Star
Paris, France
The biannual seasonal fashion album Star was published by the French branch of the Austrian publishing house Société Graphique Aktiengesellschaft fuer Modeverlag or S. A. Editions de Mode. The album presented a wide selection of women's and children's fashion.
The Designer
New York City, NY, United States
The US women's and fashion magazine The Designer was published by the Standard Fashion Company in New York City, New York, U.S.A. The first issue was published about 1871. Several title changes followed. The magazine ran under the title The Designer from 1898 until it was discontinued in October 1926.
Wiener Record Mode
Vienna, Austria
The Austrian fashion magazine was published from about 1920 until World War II by the Viennese publishing house Société Graphique Aktiengesellschaft fuer Modeverlag, Vienna. The extensive fashion section was supplemented by fairly straightforward editorial content.
