Selling
What do these photos tell you about what sales jobs were like?
Stanley's Store In Keota
This photo shows the interior of Stanley's Store in Keota, Colorado.
Photo: Denver Public Library, Western History Collection
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In the small towns of Colorado, general stores survived well into the 20th century. The goods displayed in this photo of Stanley's Store include books, fruit, canned goods, and soap powder.
Their Own Words
“I came here to Craig in 1908. . . . Well, next year, after we came here, you see, he had the J. W. Hugus Company down here on the corner [in Craig], across from our old bank. That was a general store. They had everything from toothpicks to binders and plows and everything. Then [Dad] got a chance to haul freight from Steamboat [Springs] to help pay our grocery bill. They let us have groceries—anything we needed—and he’d haul freight.”
Source: Julia Biskup Kawcak quoted in Julie Jones-Eddy, ed., Homesteading Women: An Oral History of Colorado, 1890-1950 (New York: Twayne, 1992): 19.
Poates Barber Shop (1930's)
This is Poates Barber Shop in Denver. The photo was taken during the 1930s.
Photo: Denver Public Library, Western History Collection
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Haircuts were cheap during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The signs in the window of this barber shop say: "Hair Cuts 15 Cents, First Class Work," "Children Hair Cuts 5 Cents," and "3 Barbers."
A Pueblo General Store (1910)
This is a liquor store and delicatessen in Pueblo. The photo was taken about 1910.
Photo: Denver Public Library, Western History Collection
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This store did two kinds of business. The woman on the left side of the isle is standing behind a delicatessen counter. The sign above her says: "Sandwiches and Lunches." The rest of the store is a food, cigar and liquor store. The items on sale include canned and bottled food, boxes of cigars, and bottles of wine and liquor.
Rio Grande Hardware Store (1928)
This is the interior of the Rio Grande Hardware Store in Monte Vista. The photo was taken in 1928.
Photo: Denver Public Library, Western History Collection
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Every city had at least one hardware store. This one in Monte Vista displayed scissors and knives, axes, files, saws, metal pots, and toy wagons.
Their Own Words
"The Simpson-Esterday Dry Goods Company owned by Robert Simpson and my father stood on the west side of Eighth Avenue.... The interior of the store was one big room, nearly two stories high.... The shoe department, especially, used high wall space to stack the many boxes of shoes.... A movable ladder attached to a high rail allowed easy access to the boxes."
Source: Robert Esterday, A Kid's-Eye View of Early Greeley (Greeley, CO: The Author, 1993), p. 35.
Main Street Stores (1920's)
This is Main Street in Grand Junction. The style of autos indicates that the photo was taken during the 1920s.
Photo: Denver Public Library, Western History Collection
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A city's main street was also its main shopping district. The stores on Grand Junction's Main Street included an auto tire shop, a bakery, a hardware store, and a Piggly Wiggly grocery store.
