I Was There
Dynamo Dynasty
Few names in Philadelphia history epitomize success like Wanamaker. For almost seventy years, two generations of Wanamakers ruled over a department store dynasty so incredible, business continued on thirty years after the last active son's death. John Wanamaker opened his first shop in 1861. By his sixtieth business year, the family ran a flagship store in center city Philadelphia, two department stores in New York City, plus outreach posts in London and Paris. John's son, Thomas, was a natural in business mathematics, guiding their growth in columns and ledgers. His brother Rodman was a man of the arts, living in Paris for ten years. There, he picked his path along the Champ d'Élysées, absorbing all that surrounded him. His senses convinced him Paris with all its haute couture would revolutionize the Wanamaker brand. Talent among all three family members was remarkable. But death honors no contract. Thomas died in 1908, then founder John in 1922, and finally Rodman in 1928. Although it sealed the end of a family-run empire, the prestige and wealth these three had created was a testament to human achievement. A Wanamaker world. We enter their lives in the period from 1890 through the Roaring Twenties. Last week's auction included the ephemeral trail of J. Theodore Jensen, Jr., from Jenkintown, Pa. This week's journey is courtesy of his father Theodore and wife Margaret, both employees of and close friends to John Wanamaker and his wife Mary.
Of all the perks employees enjoyed at Wanamakers, the best was recognition and appreciation for a job well done.
Who put the Dash in Haberdashery?
Rodman Wanamaker. Although deeply committed to the business of business, Rodman was curious, forever open to new challenges and adventures. His move to Paris in 1889 added years to his enlightenment. There, he discovered a world of fashion and suavity. An American in Paris years before the first note was scored. From his perch, he tasted the flavors of the city, packaged them, then shipped the goods home, icing on a cake for a hungry America. Perfumes, soaps, cosmetics, and fashion were in high demand from a country brimming with opportunity and newly created wealth. Theodore Jensen enters the play in 1902, hired as a buyer for the Wanamaker cosmetics department. His employment coincides with Rodman's return to America. Mr. Jensen worked with the Wanamakers for fifty-three years traveling to Europe countless times. Retirement letters from the Houses of Arden, Guerlain, and Coty attest to his talent and character. We even have his notebooks listing sales records per month and per year. One thin catalog, an 1899 Annual White Sale has also survived. White sales are a clever sales tool. The newly created department store concept succeeded by selling high volume on low profit margins. In novelist Émile Zola's book, Au Bonheur des Dames, published in 1883, he describes this system and how it destroyed the small businessman. The theme underlying Zola's story is the development of the modern day nineteenth century department store, as run by a family. Paris may have been the seedling for this scheme, now transplanted to America.
Meet Me at the Eagle
Business was exceptional. In 1911, the Wanamakers opened their flagship store in Philadelphia between Market and Chestnut streets adjacent to City Hall. It is the building fond to the hearts of Delaware Valley baby boomers everywhere. Each Christmas season, infants to adolescents joined thousands on a pilgrimage to this mecca of merchandising. There, we rode the monorail around the toy department, revealed our inner most desires to Santa Claus, listened to the Wanamaker organ, gazed in wonder at the eagle sculpture, and then, when we were totally exhausted, sat in the Crystal Tea Room for lunch. The restaurant was elegant, impeccable, home to many special occasions. Even a kid could not miss its extravagance. With the official store opening on December 13, 1911 came endless fetes, orations, celebrations, dedications, and adulation. Ephemera from this event and the Wanamaker's Diamond Jubilee ten years later has survived in brochures, booklets, menus, and autographs. The Wanamaker family was deep into parties honoring just about anything associated with their name.
Boop-Oop-a-Doop
The Roaring Twenties did roar, and one of the loudest lions was Rodman Wanamaker. Here was a man with golden hands. His wealth allowed him to walk endless avenues. In 1924, he, along with the Meadowbrook Club, hosted a Reception and Dinner for the Philadelphia Members of [the] Victorious American Olympic Team. The Paris Olympic Games were immortalized by the film Chariots of Fire. Of course, the dinner was held in the Crystal Tea Room. John B. Kelly, Sr., father of John Jr. and Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco, won a career total of three Olympic gold medals in rowing competition, his third in 1924. He is seated at table number two. John Sr. would become a multimillionaire in construction, bricklaying, Kelly for Brickwork. Rowhouse after rowhouse expanded Philadelphia in all cardinal directions. John Jr. continued the tradition until his death in 1985. Although not a Philadelphian, Johnny Weissmuller earned three gold medals for swimming at the Paris Olympics, with a lifetime total of five. His skill launched a career onto the silver screen as the matinee idol Tarzan.
A dinner to fête the Philadelphian Olympiads, home from the Paris games in 1924. Among the winners was rower John Kelly, Sr., a gold medalist who spent many mornings practicing on the Schuylkill River.
Trail of Cheers
Rodman also possessed an unflagging passion for the preservation of Native American culture. In total, he funded three separate western expeditions: 1908, 1909, & 1913. Employing film, photography, and sound, he captured native rituals, realizing, in a short time, all would be lost. His goal was to save this dwindling diaspora. On the 1909 trip, Rodman organized the Last Great Indian Council, gathering chiefs from reservations across the country and assembling them at Little Big Horn. Beyond exchanging folklore and traditions, they also shared memories of Custer's Last Stand, an event only thirty years in the past. Rodman's book, The Vanishing Race, remains a beacon over a barren landscape, echoes from souls now diminished. The effort he made was noble, revealing a sensitivity and conscience. A legacy in itself.
This, the third edition published in 1925, reinforces the theme of unity between the white and red man under the American flag. It was a grand gesture but a somewhat difficult amalgamation. Around 9,000 B.C. the North American continent was cleaned of all human life from a comet trail strike. Great fires and floods destroyed the Clovis civilization. Ownership of land is the most ephemeral theory of all, eradicated instantly by the force of nature.
I Was There
1927 was a banner year for Rodman's projects. At the close of The Great War, the American Legion was established to aid and support veterans returning home. Housing, assimilation, medical care, the list is still all too familiar. The group held National Conventions and in 1927, the French government hosted the gathering in Paris. This moment marked the ten-year anniversary of Americans joining France in the war against Germany. As an act of thanks, the Parisians rolled out the red carpet. Medals were in abundance and friendships toasted repeatedly. Rodman was in attendance, awarding a special medal, the Thomas B. Wanamaker, Post 413, ribbon, in honor of his brother who died almost twenty years earlier. Death carries an enduring sting.
I Was There American Legion medal, Paris, France, 1927. Awarded to those who fought in the Great War, this medal meant as much to the giver as the recipient. Sponsored by Rodman Wanamaker, this Thomas B. Wanamaker memorial ribbon for Post 413 was an immortalized reminder of what life gives and what life takes. The loss of his brother created a void never to be filled. Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once. William Shakespeare - Julius Caesar.
Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines
1927 saw Rodman's primary ambition succeed. The millionaire was an avid supporter of aviation. In 1913, he financed Glen Curtis who constructed an aeroplane for trans-Atlantic flight. The airship was called America. And it may have worked, but the outbreak of the Great War halted all operations. During the 1920's, aviation engineering developed and this time Rodman backed Richard Byrd in his Fokker Trimotor, also christened America. Crewing five, the plane was delayed just a bit too long at Roosevelt Field, New York. A young unknown pilot took off first and reached Paris thirty-three hours later. Charles Lindbergh had beaten all competitors. But Rodman's project still succeeded. In June, Richard Byrd followed Lindbergh's wake, landing in France and
Double page display from a program for the Twenty-First Annual Indoor Games, Madison Square Garden, New York. Millrose Athletic Association, February 2, 1928. The team was composed of Wanamaker employees.
Good health and proper fitness were central themes in the Wanamaker organization.
history. This second success proved trans-Atlantic travel was not chance, but, in time, would be the norm.
Sweet Talking Guy
Among the papers and photos, we uncovered an unusual book. It is a French Historic Document Replica, published primarily for the purpose of gifting. It contains facsimile copies of three rare French documents penned by Marie Antoinette, Napoleon, and Robespierre. A small note tucked inside sends good wishes and is signed by Lucien Lelong, head of the Paris Fashion House bearing his name. Lelong was active in the 1930's and 40's. Ironically, fashion never immortalized him; his destiny would be far greater. Bravery is measured in many ways, but rarely on this level. Lucien's accomplishment was incalculable in dollar and franc terms.
Christmas gift, 1937...with best wishes for a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, given to Theodore Jensen from Lucien Lelong, French fashion couture. Mr. Jensen's lifelong connections between Europe and the United States built a solid base for the Wanamaker organization. The right man in the right job. His work was much appreciated.
Hitler in Heels
During the Nazi occupation of Paris in the 1940's, the Germans shoplifted all they could carry, including an attempted heist of the entire fashion industry itself. By seizing the ateliers and moving them to Berlin, the Germans firmly believed they would become the hub of worldwide couture. No, said Lucien Lelong. As president of the Chambre Syndicate de la Haute Couture in Paris, he accepted the challenge to stop the Nazis. Here was a group that never asked, they just took, including many innocent French souls. Bronze plaques throughout Paris today attest to the murders. But Lucien was clever, ever mindful of his demise. He explained to the invaders that the fashion industry was fragmented. Seizing the top was only the head. Thousands of skilled artisans supported the hierarchy, each adding a little bit here, a little bit there. They were the immovable feast. Rebuilding such a system in Germany would be impossible. No, he repeated. Your plan would never work. In a rare moment
Another day, another dinner. Examples of the range of events celebrated.
of hesitation, the Nazis capitulated. Lucien Lelong had saved the fashion industry singlehandedly. Its equal was General Eisenhower deciding to use his precious resources to liberate Paris. Both Herculean tasks succeeded. And the world owes an enduring gratitude for these brave decisions.
This week carves an interesting and absorbing ephemeral trail. As they said in Paris in 1924, Let the games begin. Or maybe it was said in Rome around 25 A.D. Or perhaps in the Yucatan before a Mayan Ball Game in 250 A.D. Well anyway, the games always begin, somewhere. This week it will be in Buckingham.
A response letter from John Wanamaker for sympathies extended by Theodore Jensen in the passing of John's wife Mary. The words are succinct, the emotion timeless. This note along with the envelope is neatly framed, a memorial to friendship, respect, and love. A life well-lived has and always will be the best revenge.