Tag Archives: Frederick & Nelson
Native Americans Selling Baskets Outside Frederick & Nelson, Seattle, ca. 1912
Native Americans Selling Baskets Outside Frederick & Nelson, Seattle, ca. 1912
A number of Native American families earned money by selling baskets to Seattle’s tourists and residents. In this postcard, several women and a boy sit by their baskets on Second Avenue, outside the Frederick & Nelson department store. This style of twined basket is still made by the Makah people of Neah Bay and the Nootkan people of Vancouver Island.
Caption on image: Indian Basket Sellers, Seattle.
Caption on verso: From the writing room of Frederick & Nelson, Seattle.
Postmarked April 8, 1912, from Seattle; one-cent stamp.
Handwritten on verso: Isn’t this a typical scene? Have been down taking lunch with Millie and have just put her on the car. Aren’t you dying for school to start? I am not. Heaps [of Love?] Rowena.
Addressed to Mrs. A.D. Foster in Quincy, Wash.
Photographer: Unknown
Image Date: ca. 1912
Image Number: 2002.50.41.1
To order a reproduction or to inquire about permissions contact us on our website or phone us at 206-324-1126. Please refer to the Image Number and provide a brief description of the photograph.
…French Cuisine
In the early 1970s, Julia Child, the greatest American chef to ever have a TV show* came to Seattle twice, once in 1971 and once in 1974, according to the records we have in our Frederick & Nelson collection. Julia Child is widely recognized as bring traditional French cooking to the American masses, first through her cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking and later her television show, The French Chef. Julia Child had the good luck to be writing a cookbook about French cuisine just as American interest in French culture became a trend. In the early 1970s the companion cookbook to her show was releasing an addendum, which brought Ms. Child to Seattle on two promotional book tours.
This collection includes some great descriptions of what Ms. Child required when doing these promotion tours. One of her “foodstuffs list”s includes such things as
3 dozen eggs (excuse the omission)
Cream of Tartar
Salt (in salt box — original container)
Dry Mustard (in original container — open)
and concludes with two great requests: “7. One final thing — it would be a great help if you could locate a 7½” European Frying Pan for Julia’s omelettes — although she does bring her own pan along. However, a frying pan cover is essential.” and the one that made me giggle: “P.S. Julia is over 6 feet tall… we would like to be certain that her working space is at a convenient height.”
Of course, I’m mostly just jealous that a letter to Verna Thompson of Frederick & Nelson survives, inviting her to a exclusive cocktail reception for Julia Child the night before she was to have done a demonstration and book signing at the store. I want to have cocktails with Julia Child!
*This is completely unverified.
[Edit] And we’ve found a photo of the 1971 event! Enjoy!
…In the Arcade
Like many department stores of the era, Frederick & Nelson had a bargain store in its underground level, (hence the term “bargain basement”) This outlet store existed in Seattle from the mid-1950s remodel of the main store until the early 1980s. Think of Nordstrom Rack, but nationally renowned. Continue reading »
Christmas Decorations at Frederick & Nelson, Seattle, 1943
Seattle’s Frederick & Nelson had a talented staff of designers who worked year around to create the department store’s decorations and displays. The store was most famous for its Christmas windows. Over the years, these colorful windows showcasedtoys, moving electric trains, live reindeer, a functioning skating rink, and Santa Claus himself.
Photographer: Webster & Stevens
Image Date: 1943
Image Number: 1983.10.14524.21
To order a reproduction or to inquire about permissions contact photos@seattlehistory.org or phone us at 206-324-1126. Please refer to the Image Number and provide a brief description of the photograph.
…A Large Man in a Red Suit
Thursday Hidden Treasure
Frederick & Nelson always had a special place in their heart for Santa Claus. Throughout the first part of the 1900s, Santa made special visits to the store and his image was frequently part of window displays. (see this past post) Continue reading »
Santa Claus at Frederick & Nelson, Seattle, 1945
Frederick & Nelson always had a special place in their heart for Santa Claus. Throughout the first part of the 1900s, Santa made special visits to the store and his image was frequently part of window displays. Today, Santa still visits Nordstrom, which bought the building where Frederick & Nelson was and continues to make the corner of Sixth Avenue and Pine Street Santa’s workshop during the holidays.
Photographer: Webster & Stevens
Image Date: 1945
Image Number: 1983.10.16067.5
To order a reproduction or to inquire about permissions contact photos@seattlehistory.org or phone us at 206-324-1126. Please refer to the Image Number and provide a brief description of the photograph.
…Holiday Icons
Thursday Hidden Treasure
The Christmas season is an important one to American retailers. But retailers soon realized that it wasn’t just about making money, but in creating an experience for their shoppers, they could create an emotional bond with the store, their shoppers and the season which would be difficult to break. Continue reading »
…On Display
Thursday Hidden Treasure
Window displays were (and are) a great way to catch a shopper’s eye. Starting in the early 1900s, Frederick & Nelson became a world-renowned leader in their holiday window displays. Continue reading »
…a Souvenir Plate
An 1897 souvenir plate of Mt. Rainier from Frederick & Nelson
This plate is from the time when the company was called Frederick, Nelson, & Munro. After acquiring the inventory of the Pacific Carpet Company in 1897, D.E. Frederick and Nels B. Nelson consolidated their operations with another merchant, Silas Munro, who owned the New England Furniture Company on First Avenue. The new company, Frederick, Nelson, & Munro took over the storefronts from 1213 to 1223 Second Avenue, only to move again in 1897, this time to Second Avenue and Madison Street, where they leased both floors of the center two stores in the new Rialto Building. The partners installed an elevator, one of the first in the city, which quickly became a novelty.
After their new store opened on 5th Avenue and Pine Street in 1918, Frederick & Nelson became noted for their specialty shops such as the Rarety Shop and the Old World Shop that imported rare and valuable gifts for their Seattle patrons. This plate would have been right at home there.
…Electro-Mechanical
Telephone Switchboard Panel
Frederick & Nelson was a big store. It took a lot of systems to keep it humming. In the second Frederick & Nelson location, in the Rialto building on Second Avenue, a complex serious of pulleys were used to carry wire baskets from different parts of the store to the one cashier. Continue reading »
