Gifted: a look at the Christmas ads in the Cork Examiner in 1920
Children's toys were a little bit different 100 years ago.
A few superbly organized people manage to get their Christmas presents all bought and wrapped up by the beginning of December, some not even bothering to go out but ordering their gifts with a click. Others wait until the sales begin to get the best discounts â something unheard of until recently: in older times nothing was reduced before the big day. Then there are the last minute dashers along Patrick Street on Christmas Eve, in panic mode. Research has shown that men are more likely to fall into this latter category: 14% compared with 6% of women, according to one recent study.
What on earth shall I give them for Christmas? All too familiar words today; but a hundred years ago our forebears were facing precisely the same headache. "To think of Christmas is to think of gifts", said Fitzgeraldâs, âthe famous shirtmakerâ of 14 Patrick Street.
Today, a lot of people simply tell their loved ones what to buy for them, so as to avoid being given something which is doomed to be tossed into a drawer and forgotten. Safer, certainly, although less exciting â and not at all magical. Or they plump for a cop-out voucher, redeemable at a particular shop. This wouldnât have done at all in the past. You had to provide a gift, properly wrapped up to conceal its identity and to maintain the element of surprise.
Although the fires of 11 December 1920 destroyed a significant part of the city centre, shopkeepers quickly prepared themselves to help the Christmas shopper. With no radio or TV, let alone online promotion to plug their wares, they placed adverts of varying sizes in the newspapers from the second week of December onwards.
James Mangan Ltd, 3 & 4 Patrick Street, claimed that "for many years we have made the Xmas present trade a special study", and boasted an "unrivalled selection" of gifts from its stock of 10,000 items.
Other shops followed suit and announced a "charming variety" or a âdelightful arrayâ, to âinspectâ, or âviewâ (âbrowseâ, I guess weâd say now), including âall the latest designsâ.
Exactly a hundred years ago today, 15 December 1920, J. W. Dowden & Company paid for a half-page advertisement on the front of the Cork Examiner. Lavishly illustrated with eighteen pictures, and with details of fifty-four gifts, it reminded readers about its time-honoured, âlargeâ Christmas present department at the back of its Patrick Street shop.
British craftsman and textile designer William Morris (1834-96) once said: "If you want a golden rule that will fit everything: Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful".
Morris would doubtless have been delighted with what was on sale in Cork shops â goods that would enrich any home.Â
Shop windows in the city simply bulged with dazzling gifts: "Exquisitely designed jewellery" and solid silverware could be bought at W. Egan and Sons, who, following the fires, were based in temporary showrooms on the first floor of the Victoria Hotel; bracelets, brooches, pendants and signet rings, silver chain bags and silver purses, could all be acquired at M. Roche, 61 Patrick Street; while fur coats and stoles made from coney, mole, opossum, musquash and skunk were available at Roches Store, Merchant Street.
Better still if the present was âsomething requiredâ and practical, such as a watch. âLet your Xmas Gifts be Useful This Yearâ, urged the Belfast Linen Company. Readers "will have no need to fear the cold frosty nights" if they ordered (carriage-free) woollen blankets and down quilts, all of guaranteed quality â or money back. J. W. Dowden offered umbrellas, tea cloths, and table centres. J. Waters & Sons Ltd, 4, Winthrop Street, sold vacuum flasks and rubber hot water bottles. The Cork Hardware Company listed its "useful Christmas presents", which included electro-plated tea and coffee sets, kettles on stands, cruets, biscuitaires, butter and jam dishes, cutlery, pocketknives and scissors. "Men will appreciate the utility gift", said Fitzgeraldâs, as they tried to push their matching handkerchiefs and ties. But if it was something more for the home that was needed, D. Sheehanâs, 109-110 Patrick Street, was the place to head for: its display cabinets were resplendent with china, glass and lamps.
For a lady, Browne & Nolan Ltd, Stationers and Booksellers, 14 Winthrop Street, offered "a large and varied stock" of handbags, writing cases, fountain pens, diaries and 1921 calendars. The Eagle Stationery Warehouse sold fancy bags, purses, large companion bags, and manicure cases. The ladiesâ department at J. W. Dowden stocked cotton lawn and Irish linen handkerchiefs (embroidered or printed), silk tubular scarves (striped or plain), seal and crocodile handbags, and Georgette and hand-made Crepe de Chine blouses, âbeautifully designed with stitching and embroideryâ in ivory, sky, flesh, lemon, mauve, grey, champagneâŠâ
For a gentleman, warm waistcoats, ready-made suits and overcoats could be purchased from William OâConnor & Son at the Goodwear House, 40 Washington Street; Fitzgeraldâs had dressing gowns and golfing jackets; toilet sets and safety razors were on offer at James Mangan; and ties and muffs made from fox, wolf and natural skunk were for sale at J. W. Dowden.
Christmas is especially for children!
J. J. Aherne, tool merchant, 24 Castle Street, recommended Meccano (described as "Engineering for Boysâ) as "a most suitable present⊠training the eye, brain and hand".
New, all-the-rage teddy bears (3 inch tall for 6 shillings eleven pence, 20 inch tall for 30 shillings) and "a choice selection" of dressed dolls (from 1 guinea to 4 guineas) could be bought at J. W. Dowden.
Other shops in Cork advertised painting books, paintbrushes, childrenâs annuals and beautifully bound classic novels.
O'Learyâs Gramophone Depot, 49 Grand Parade, sold "charming old-fashioned nursery rhymes" on a set of four, 12 inch double-sided, 78 rpm gramophone records. Each rhyme was sung by Miss Marjorie Montefiore, "who has specialised so successfully in the difficult art of entertaining children". Disc 1 comprised âGirls and boys come out to playâ, âPat-a-cake, Pat-a-cakeâ, âLittle Bo-Peepâ and âLittle Jack Hornerâ.
Gifts needed to suit every pocket, and many stores offered "value presents" at âmoderateâ or âpopularâ prices. Usually, the quality remained as high as ever. But not so at Power Brothers in Winthrop Street, who advertised "slightly damaged" overcoats, hats, caps and hosiery, breeches and suits at half price. Well, with some luck the recipient might not even notice!
But if you were looking for something different you might consider nipping round to 143 Barrack Street, where you could buy one of Lucy's award-winning anti-rheumatic woollen blankets. Available in all weights and sizes, they have been "bleached by a special process and chemical which is a cure for rheumatism..." What more could you ask?
It seems that a century ago Cork's shopkeepers had Christmas down to a fine art. They offered gifts galore and customers were spoilt for choice, provided they were willing to put in the legwork. "Efforts to solve the annual problem have not been in vain", pointed out James Mangan with great satisfaction. And with Christmas done and dusted, heads could now turn to the New Year sales.
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