Magazine of the Week

Hi, everyone!

nm-xmas-book-cvr-16

This week’s MoW is the Neiman Marcus annual Christmas Book! We collect Neiman Marcus catalogs, along with many others, and this is their special Christmas shopping edition.

nm-christmas-16-redgold-20161212

Neiman Marcus

Neiman Marcus Blog

The Neiman Marcus department store was founded by Herbert Marcus, Sr., his sister Carolyn Marcus Neiman, and her husband A.L. Neiman. The three had worked for competing department stores in Dallas, Texas. In fall 1907, the three created their own women’s store. Like many department stores, the initial offerings were luxurious and beautifully staged*. But it was unusual for such luxury goods to be available in Texas, and the inventory sold quickly.

 

 

nmchristmas16-jammies-20161212

 

After a fire in 1914, the store opened at its main location today, at Main and Ervay streets. With the new building, the company expanded their offerings to include accessories, lingerie, and childrenswear.

The Christmas Book has been published since 1939. One popular marketing idea is that of offering “His and Hers” gifts and wildly luxurious and quirky gifts, like the current his and hers island cars (i.e. golf carts) in Lily Pulitzer prints and colors.

 

nm-chritmas2010cvrr-20161212

 

This catalog has been immortalized in several books, including:

Over the Top: Fifty Years of Fantasy Gifts from the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book.

The store has been written about often, and we have many books about it in our holdings. Here are just a few:

Neiman-Marcus, Texas, The Story of the Proud Dallas Store.

His and Hers: The Fantasy World of the Neiman-Marcus Catalogue.

Minding the Store: A Memoir.

For more information on researching stores, take a look at this research guide.

This is the last week of classes/finals/work for FIT students and other staff. We’ll be on vacation from Friday, December 23-Monday January 2.

Enjoy the rest of your holiday shopping!

 

*Read Emile Zola’s great novel about early department stores