She looks very real and I betcha they put her there just for the picture.

I absolutely love these old storefronts. I wish I could have lived back then, but with the advances we have now in some technology and medicine. They still had storefronts like these when I was growing up and the towns I grew up in still do have them, but updated. I can still remember the smells of wood and the aromas of the candy and soda counters. Not like that today.

Mr. Vollrath's company is still alive and well, after he launched it in the 1800s. He was from Sheboygan and introduced the porcelain enamel coated cookware we see here.

... domestic helper android line in action again!

The dual nature of this image is a blast! First you examine what's inside behind the window, and then the real fun starts when you begin to see what's outside in the reflection. The photographer, the bystander, the buildings ... and call me crazy, but isn't that Barney Rubble reflecting in the window around the corner?

[I like the white horse and the old man with the mustache. And yes, that is Barney. They were having a sale on granite iceboxes. - Dave]

My still in service 1927 General Electric Monitor Top refrigerator has a plate on it that proclaims "General Electric refrigerating machine." This has always led me to believe that the word refrigerator was coined later. This neat 1923 Shorpy photo proves my notion wrong.

Was the poor girl, who appears to be real, really made to stand in this store's window pointing to the open refrigerator all day?

[As we can see below, the word goes back at least to the 1700s. As for the kid, I dunno. - Dave]