This advertisement from around 1860 shows the ornately furnished interior of the hat store established by Charles Oakford in Philadelphia in 1827. On each side of the long room are fitting tables with lavish freestanding light fixtures. Both sides of the room are lined with glass display cases filled with hats for men. In the foreground, Oakford assists a patron seated at one of the tables. On the table are a number of hats. Behind the men, a clerk pulls a hat from one of the cases. In the background, in front of another fitting table, a clerk and a gentleman patron stand and discuss the hats they hold in their hands. A third patron watches the exchange from across the aisle. In the rear of the store, arches extend, labeled "Charles Oakford & Sons"; "Gent's Furnishing Goods"; and "Wholesale Department." The floor is tiled and the ceiling has minimal molding. Oakford admitted his sons to the firm in 1856 and relocated his business to the Continental Hotel in 1860.