Life — July 18, 1930 — page 10: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "The Ultimate Store" by Don Herold This satirical article mocks the trend of upscale retail stores removing merchandise from display to emphasize exclusivity and "service." The author ridicules stores that hide products behind partitions, forcing customers to ask clerks for items—mimicking high-end tobacconists and haberdasheries. Herold proposes opening a deliberately absurd counter-store: no merchandise visible anywhere, no window displays, and no actual sales—only consultation services (like a garter "diagnostician"). The joke targets the pretension of modern retail culture, where the *perception* of exclusivity matters more than actual goods. The accompanying cartoons show exaggerated figures embodying this snobbish shopping experience—the satire suggesting this trend had become laughably extreme among Fifth Avenue establishments.