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H. B. McCalla, Successor to the Late Andrew McCalla. Number 252 Market Street. First Hat and Cap Store below 8th Street, South Side, Philadelphia

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H. B. McCalla, Successor to the Late Andrew McCalla. Number 252 Market Street. First Hat and Cap Store below 8th Street, South Side, Philadelphia
This circa 1852 chromolithograph is an advertising print showing the three-and-one-half story storefront located on the 700 block of Market Street in Philadelphia. The building is covered in advertising text, reading: "The Cheapest Wholesale & Retail Hat and Cap Manufactory in the World. Fashionable Styles. Caps. Hats." The attic window of the building also displays signage that reads, "Hat and Cap Store," and a large model hat and cap adorn the roof of the building. Boxes, hats, and milliners at work are visible in the upper windows. A male patron enters through one of the two open doorways to the establishment. Inside, a clerk surveys stacks of hats across from a flight of stairs. At the other end of the store, another clerk assists a patron, standing in front of a mirror, as he tries on hats next to shelves of merchandise. In a display window between the two entryways, hats and caps for men and boys are displayed, flanked by cases of hats and caps outside. In the street, a horse-drawn dray is positioned to receive a delivery opposite a laborer retrieving a crate labeled "M. Dormitzen Middleport Sch. County" from the store cellar. Labeled crates line the sidewalk with addressees that include: "Heitner & Shay Augusta Northumberland Co. Pa."; "T.L. Mitchell Jefferson Co. Pa."; "Young & Lee Allentown Pa."; "Geo. L. Reppler St. Clair Schuylkill Co."; and "Geo. Far... Centre Co. Pa." Partial views of adjacent businesses can be seen; one business displays blankets and a trunk near its entry and another contains signs reading: "Deposi...Roots...Every" and "Branch Americ..." H.B. McCalla took over from Andrew McCalla, assuming operation of the hat manufactory in 1852; he remained until 1855. This chromolithograph was created by Robert F. Reynolds, an artist born circa 1818 in Pennsylvania, and known for his fine-detailed architectural advertising prints. The printing firm was Wagner & McGuigan, which specialized in the production of advertising prints.

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