Special to the Sun-Gazette
PHOTO PROVIDED
The Bush and Bull Company operated a store at 43-47 W. Third St., Williamsport.
“We are not selling, but almost giving away ladies capes and jackets,” reads a newspaper ad placed by the Bush & Bull Dry Goods store in 1896. The rise of department stores in the latter half of the 19th century was to contribute to some new life style choices for women.
Women as customers
Toward the end of the 19th century, ladies began to leave the protection of their homes to shop in establishments that offered merchandise in departments designed just for them. The Bush & Bull Company of Williamsport (originally known as Bush, Bull, and Diehle Company), which eventually expanded to 43-47 W. Third St., was one such store. This thriving business began in Easton in 1871. Plenty of advertising and good customer service were a recipe for success, and soon the store had spread to other cities, including Williamsport in 1884. A vast array of merchandise came from around the world, and shoppers wondered why they would ever again need to travel to New York City for their needs — or so the store proclaimed. Women could view merchandise as never before, as new ways of displaying products showed off the latest fashions attractively. Advertisements lured shoppers with one-day-only and half-price sales. What woman wouldn’t want bargain napkins and the best line of dress goods? Middle-class women were experiencing a new kind of freedom as well as becoming an increasingly important consumer group.