Show P I In Inthe nth the e Beg Beginning inn i n 9 B I. I Cecil Alter I The First Window Shopping Window shoppers as well as bona bonafide bonafide bonafide fide shoppers shoppers' in Salt Lake City inthe in inthe inthe the early days only played at the diversion in make make- make They had not even the adventures of a amail amail amail mail order catalog But the wish- wish tree ing-tree grew up in every home its branches spreading to the marts of the world and its top to touching ching i the Source of ot all supply The imagination imagination imag imag- had no limitation and nearly nearly near near- ly everything conceivable was recorded recorded recorded re re- re- re corded on the public want want list list for forthe forthe the tho especial attention of ot the godmothers godmothers godmothers god god- mothers to the the genies to the and the Santa Claus Clauses 5 to every everybody ody The first inventory of ot the things they didn't have however was not exactly addressed to Santa Claus Glaus North NorU Pole but to his next door neighbor The Hudsons Hudson's Bay corn com com company pany through its agent Captain John Grant of Fort Hall HaIl Pocatello Pocatello Pocatello Poca- Poca tello tenderly soliciting the privilege privilege privilege of ot doing a little shopping somewhere on Main street Salt Lake City and guaranteeing an interesting interesting interesting in in- patronage Your judgment and experience will readily suggest to you that there will be many articles of ot trade we shall ne need d and be obliged to buy bur from some quarter before we can manufacture the same at home and it will be obvious to you that from rom our inland nd position it will be difficult to bring goods to us us and from the same cause our produce will avail ns us b but t in tin exchange I for lor your any ri y further urther than your establishment in our vicinity might require and th the supply of the western emigration the thc presidency and high council of ot the church wrote December 7 1847 Price Argument Used Still there Is and will arid be more orless or orless less money in our midst and probably probably ably no inconsiderable able share sharo of ot peltry Wo We therefore at tho the request requestor of or Captain Grant respectfully solicit solicit so so- licit you your honorable board to furnish fur fur- ur- ur nish us as soon as convenient a list of articles of use and necessity in our position with the prices annexed annexed an calculated for this cit city or Fort Hall Hail according to which place you ou may choose send them To 70 o lr id W-n W to m making ou list for our tra trade e we take the lib- lib eray of ot specifying a few lew articles viz Sugar coffee tea bleached and unbleached domestic or cot cotton ton cloth dolli cotton drillings unbleached and colored calicoes broadcloth full cloths moleskin blankets iron steel powder powder powder pow pow- der hollow ware leather and such other articles as may occur to you of use me and that will warrant so lengthy a land carriage We would remark that in case you saw fit to send your goods direct to this place we feel to write you that we will use iise our influence to turn the channel o of trade in your favor to the utmost extent that your prices will warrant when compared with what can be done in other directions Signed John Smith president Charles C. C Rich Richand Richand Richand and John Young counselors Albert Albert Al Al- bert Carrington clerk That invitation tation n was responded to 10 b by return mail only the mails were yearly as usual to Kris Kringle land Pack Train Arrives Sure enough on Sunday November November Novem Novem- ber 19 1848 came out of or the crisp northland not good old Saint Nick with his iny reindeer but Captain Gra Grant Grat t leading several pack horses laden with skins goods and gro gro- ceries This first stock of general merchandise to be opened in Salt Lake City to the shoppers shoppers' delight not counting the trappers' trappers summer trading rendezvous with the Indians In I or Antoine Antoino Robidoux chain stores Mores In was placed in one of ot the rooms on the south side of the Old Fort on Fourth South street between Third and Fourth West streets Captain Grant sold brown sugar and coffee at 1 per pint and calico calicoat at 50 and 75 cents a yard and other articles in proportion writes one who traded there The prices were rather high but nevertheless the tho cash cosh and carry plan a emed satisfactory sat for tor the people stood for hours in long lines waiting to be served and many gro groceries were doled out at only a pound t to the customer It was hut but the drop of or a bucket In of oC want ant and as department store manager Captain Grant was wasa a first class pack pedlar his goods goods' coon n gone 00 So also abo th the h. h miniature v stocks of or goods brought in September Septem Septem- ber 1848 by Gibson Cahoon and perhaps other saints Then came the sense of ot impoverishment and want through the second winter that led to President Kimballs Kimball's prophecy concerning the forthcoming ing surplus of states' states goods and the fulfillment o of that prophecy the summer of ot 49 In those private sales and exchanges and public auctions of special goods the people peo pIe of ot Utah were greatly aid aided but they still pined for the five and ten ten cent cent stores of Egypt like the Israelites of ot old Competitors Invade Field Fjeld Then came Livingston Kinkade Col Colonel mel Reese and others with stocks 01 general merchandise selected carefully with a view to meeting g the he entire needs of ot an isolated iso iso- people Livingston Kinkade Kinkade Kin Kin- kade Kinkead Kincade Kincaid I how will we ever know for lor instance Instance instance in in- stance came with the intention of tra trading ing for five years eaTs and then returning to Egypt which they did Prices were were scientifically based on first costs interest expenses and future designs of the proprietor and from the start were eminently satisfactory Sugar and coffee sold for 40 cents a pound and good calico for 25 cents a yard They went full handed to California Call Cali fornia forma and thence to Egypt at atthe atthe atthe the end of their five years this writer says who was here at the time And to their credit be it known that they never raised above th their lr regular price on an article even when they had all there was in the market never kept incorrect incorrect accounts 18 never never failed to deal dealas as fairly with a child or a person perron ignorant of ot value and price as with the most knowing and influential S Speaking of th this s store another writer says They found a very ready sale and large profits so 10 much so 50 that if you had been beer at Deseret you would have thought the ladles were bees bee and their stores the hives though unlike in one respect for the bee goes in full fulland fulland fulland and comes out empty I am assured b by Mr Pack who rented th the store to Livingston Kinkade that they took in from to to to a day a-day for several l da day at commenced commenced- al M |