The Grand Emporiums: The Illustrated History of America's Great Department Stores

viii, 488 pp. Black-and-white photographs throughout. "...the illustrated story of the rise of the great department stores, the merchants who made them, the customers who patronized them, and the crooks who preyed upon them. A monumental social history of the whole spectrum of selling in America, this fascinating romantic, nostalgic, and documentary epic covers everything from yesterday's pack peddler to the mail-order houses and discount marts, to the most elegant stores you can name."--blurb page