論文
ロンドンの家具会社（1840－50年代）と製造の理念
―ショールーム会計簿と広告の分析をもとに―
2015 年 50 巻 1 号 p. 3-26
詳細
2015 年 50 巻 1 号 p. 3-26
The history of retailing in the early modern England has found new evidence of the advanced nature of retailing during the period, challenging the conventional view of James Jefferys (1954) that regards the mid-nineteenth century onwards as the starting point for modernisation of retailing systems and the development of stores. Instead of showing a development of shopping space and advertising, this article focuses on the role of showrooms as a space for discussing a long-term use of products and London furniture-makers' pursuit of quality and durability in the 1840s and 1850s, using showroom account books and advertisements.
Recent studies of luxury shops in eighteenth-century London emphasise the separation of production space and retailing space to explain the existence of ‘modern’ spaces for retailing. However, as some furniture-makers' trade cards emphasised, having workshops and showrooms in the same premises or in close proximity was furniture-makers' strategy to support the originality and quality of their products and to attract visitors.
Furniture-makers provided a wide range of services, partly because they were aware that the services formed lasting relationships with customers. This is proved by the existence of regular customers shown in the use of the customer number system introduced in Gillow's London showroom account books. Records of house-letting also suggest the role of the London showroom as an information centre.
Heal and Son made the best use of advertisements, which offered convenience for customers and brought about more standardised taste. Nevertheless, the words ‘large workshops’ came together with ‘showrooms’ in their circulars, and ‘quality’ and ‘workmanship’ sometimes appeared in circulars and price lists to prove the genuineness of the products. Thus, behind sophisticated showrooms and growing advertisements of ready-made items for middle-class markets, both furniture-makers and consumers continued to care about the expected longevity of domestic goods and houses.
