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Washington, D.C,, circa 1920. "People's Drug Store, soda fountain, 11th & G Streets." Another look at PDS #7, also seen here, here and here. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.
Also a big fan of the fans in these photos. It appears that the ceiling fan designs have not changed much over the past 95 years!
The legal butterfat minimum was 3.5% which is about what is in whole milk today. Skim milk wasn't sold for human consumption until after WWII
I've often wondered these eight years and four weeks I've been a Shorpy "member" perusing the wares in photos of general stores, groceries, druggists, pharmacies, apothecaries, purveyors of dry goods and sundries, 5 and dimes, and soda fountains, why they stack their goods so darned high on the shelves.
I realize floor space is scare and expensive, but it seems to me the high shelves may also be a deterrent to shoplifters or a loss prevention measure to prevent breakage. Perhaps in the days before "self-serve" convenience, the clerks earned their wages by doing the reaching.
In this photo, above the sign extolling the butterfattery goodness of their sundaes there appears to be stacks of Cadbury powdered cocoa and bottles and jars of chocolate syrup. Maybe these are ingredients for the exclusive use of the soda jerks and are not intended for sale to the public.
The crowd-sourced wisdom of sharp-eyed Shorpyites never ceases to amaze me. Let the conjecturing begin.
Goober Pea
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