The design of shop exteriors
In the past, shops usually had large openings at the front. At night the shopkeeper could draw shutters across the opening. In Victorian times many smaller shopkeepers still traded through open windows at the front of their shop. Larger stores put elaborate displays in their shop windows to encourage customers inside their shop. They put advertisements and slogans in the windows and outside on the walls.
This picture shows the outside of Sainsbury’s Kentish Town shop in London in 1913. Sainsbury’s had developed a striking style for their shop fronts. They had big windows framed with polished wood. In the entrance were coloured tiles. Above the shop was a black glass panel. This had ‘J. Sainsbury’ painted on it in gold. Above the panel was an iron railing. This had huge gold wooden letters hung on it spelling out ‘J. Sainsbury’ again.