The old adage that says that the more things change, the more they stay the same is well illustrated by the image in the drawing. "The Commercial Vampire", is a Leon Barritt cartoon from the July 20, 1898, issue of Vim, a short-lived satirical weekly published in New York. The point was simply that the rise of the department stores across the country was destroying the small store that we now refer to as Mom and Pop stores. These new department store chains were moving into areas that were primarily serving small populations and were the basis of small store commerce.
But, the real impact of these department stores labeled with "greed", really did not become ubiquitous until the 1920's and 1930's. With the rapid growth of J C Penney, Sears, and others, the impact on the small store became apparent. It is possible that this cartoon was shown based on an earlier trend. In 1879, the Woolworth brothers opened the first five-cent store in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Well, to be more accurate the first was in 1878 in Utica, New York, but it failed. But, the idea was so good that what we know as the five and dime stores was born.
We could have seen the same cartoon when the first strip malls were opened, the stores like Walmart and K-Mart began to flourish, or the big box stores were said to crush locally owned businesses. And now we have dollar stores. In a free-market economy there will always be a profit motive, so yes, the more things change...
But, the real impact of these department stores labeled with "greed", really did not become ubiquitous until the 1920's and 1930's. With the rapid growth of J C Penney, Sears, and others, the impact on the small store became apparent. It is possible that this cartoon was shown based on an earlier trend. In 1879, the Woolworth brothers opened the first five-cent store in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Well, to be more accurate the first was in 1878 in Utica, New York, but it failed. But, the idea was so good that what we know as the five and dime stores was born.
We could have seen the same cartoon when the first strip malls were opened, the stores like Walmart and K-Mart began to flourish, or the big box stores were said to crush locally owned businesses. And now we have dollar stores. In a free-market economy there will always be a profit motive, so yes, the more things change...
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