HALL & HOLTZ.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Colour woodblock advertisement for its 1882 Christmas exposition in Japan. An ephemeral souvenir, promising an event that would "excel all previous displays in extent and magnificence" with "useful fancy articles and necessaries for the season arranged together in endless profusion."China's first department store, Hall & Holtz was founded by two British merchants in Shanghai in 1863, offering the city's growing expatriate community the latest fashions and innovations from abroad. It established branches in Kobe in 1871 and Yokohama in 1875. The advertisement plays on one of the biggest news stories of the year, namely the appearance in the skies of the Great Comet and predictions that it would fall into sun. The body fractured in mid-October; in text skirting a smiling comet and smirking sun, readers are assured that they will receive a warm welcome from "the comet, or what is left of it."

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