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Story: Shops

Window display

Image
Window display

The window display of Christchurch booksellers Whitcombe and Tombs in 1912 featured this range of playing cards. Clever displays encouraged customers to gaze in the window – a crucial first step in luring them through the door.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, Steffano Webb Collection (PAColl-3061)

Reference: 1/1-003979; G

by Steffano Francis Webb

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Carl Walrond, Shops – Chain stores, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/21205/window-display (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Carl Walrond, published 6 April 2010, updated 19 February 2026.