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VINTAGRAPH • WPA • WWII • YOU MEAN A WOMAN CAN OPEN IT?

People's Persons: 1924

Washington, D.C., circa 1924. "People's Drug Store group, 11th & G Sts." Including one People's non-person. National Photo Co. glass negative. View full size.

Washington, D.C., circa 1924. "People's Drug Store group, 11th & G Sts." Including one People's non-person. National Photo Co. glass negative. View full size.

 

On Shorpy:
Today’s Top 5

Just wondering

Which number store is this Peoples crew from? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

[LOC title of the exterior photo below of #7 identifies it as being at 11th and G. - tterrace]

And a cootie in every garage

The young lady at front left is sporting those earphones-of-hair that were dubbed "cootie garages" in the slang of the day. The book "Cheaper by the Dozen" does a great job of describing the generational turmoil brought on by the bobbed hair fashions of the day. As I understand it, this style enabled the young lady to have the shorter hair "look" without actually having her locks shorn (frequently at the barber shop---around all those men---- just not appropriate for a young lady to be in there). The hair was rolled up into these tufts seen here, a la Princess Leia. As the twenties roared on the bobbed hair won out. Likely this was due as much to the greater ease of care as it was to any negative connotations of the slang name.
(And I have been informed that not everyone knows that cootie = lice, yet another colorful generational term on the scrap heap of history).

An Abundance of Labor

14 people to run a tiny (what looks like 700sq ft) drug store that was probably only open for 6 hours a day. I bet their are 24 hour, 10,000 sq ft Walgreen's that don't have that many employees today.

Earie

Six of the men in this photo look ear-ily related.

Fred Massie behind the counter

Here is a picture of my father at the drugstore he managed in Norfolk, Virginia which I posted on Shorpy a few years ago:https://www.shorpy.com/node/6153

Old name product

Thermos is still going strong today and it looks like this small store has given the bottles and fillers a fair amount of display space. Thermos was only 20 years old in 1924.

Thermos bottles sold here

The Roaring Twenties saw Thermos become a household name; aviators were sure to pack one, they were great for an auto trip, and for the adult beverage they were more acceptable than hip flasks.

Purr-fect employee

They seem to have captured all 15 of their employees: the 14 humans and the feline who worked their rodent control department.

Phizz

No broken noses for this bunch (looks like at least four in the 7th & K photo and at least one pair of matching non-aerodynamic ears). But the young lady in front makes me think they might want to check the laudanum and paregoric stocks.

88 years from now?

It's pretty hard to imagine anyone carefully perusing any pictures of ME (and/or wondering what's up with my bizarre clothes/make-up/hair etc.) but if they do, I hope I look a bit like the woman on the far right who sports both a warm smile and a nice kitty. That's not a bad way to go down in posterity.

Rubber goods & Trusses

You need 'em, Peoples has 'em.

Saying "cheese" not invented yet

What an intimidating bunch!

Looks like Mrs. black necklace is holding the eyeliner pencil that she experimented on the guy sitting right next to her.

Hiring Policies

Judging from these folks and the group from 7th and K, it looks like People's had a firm Affirmative Action For The Undead hiring policy.

[The zombie effect is due partly to the unflattering light of magnesium flash powder and partly to the eye-blinking caught by such exposures, which Dave explains in his response to a comment about the other photo. Plus it can't be denied that the final sentence of his response also applies here. - tterrace]

Is it my imagination

Or is there an awful lot of eyebrow grooming going on, with both men and women in this picture? Not to mention some kohl under the eyes for Mr. Front and Center. Who said Keith Richards did it first? Not according to this picture. Wonderful shot. Wish I could shop those shelves.

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