In 1964, presidential candidate Barry Goldwater belatedly acknowledged that he had Jewish grandparents,
drygoods merchants named Goldwasser, but his campaign literature described him as the grandson of "Polish immigrants"--leading to Theodore Bikel's priceless riddle:
Bought corn 381/2cents, drygoods 65cents, hardware 48cents, groceries $1.
An even more telling example of the market's impact on business success can be found in an examination of the drygoods stores that appear in the Mercantile Agency Report for 1880.
Farwell, one of Chicago's leading
drygoods merchants, estimated that it cost him $17,000 a year to replace goods damaged by smoke.
Born in Maine, John Neal, after a scanty education, became a clerk, itinerant drawing teacher, and
drygoods merchant.
Across the street, tiny Trout's
Drygoods & Flyfishing (1077 Old S.
281 on the clothing and
drygoods retailer Petley and Petley: "on the third floor are the workrooms, where the busy fingers of girls and men are kept busily employed all day long.
credit reports, this study reveals that Jews concentrated mainly in the retailing of jewellery and fancy goods, tobacco and
drygoods and in clothing manufacturing.
Built in 1904, this former
drygoods store still has stamped-tin panels on the ceiling and upper walls; it now houses an antique collective.