Decoration, Holiday
Object number2019.46.1
MediumWood; Plaster(?); Paint; Synthetic hair; Fabric; Rubber; Metal; Plastic
Credit LineGift of John Shur
DescriptionAnimatronic angel Christmas decoration.DimensionsHeight x Width x Depth: 38.5 × 25.5 × 22.5 in. (97.8 × 64.8 × 57.2 cm)Length (of cord): 50.75 in. (128.9 cm)
Historical NotesThis angel decoration was purportedly part of the Christmas window displays at Gimbels. The donor, Jonathan K. Suhr, purchased the decoration at an estate sale near Sewickley, Pennsylvania, circa 2017.Label TextThis animated angel once graced a Christmas window at Gimbels, a major downtown department store beloved for its toyland displays. The angel symbolizes a wider tradition. Pittsburgh once enjoyed a downtown filled with the Christmas windows of six department stores, including Frank & Seder and Rosenbaum’s, plus Boggs & Buhl on the North Side. By the late 1940s, the stores jointly advertised each November, encouraging shoppers to get into the Holiday spirit by heading downtown. Alas, a first round of store closures in the 1950s reduced the number to three. Then Gimbels closed in 1986 and Horne’s (operating as Lazarus) in 1998. When Macy’s (Kaufmann’s) closed in 2015, a chapter of Pittsburgh history ended.
Previous owner
Gimbel Brothers
Terms
On View
Not on view
1966-1970
Erwin Schofer
1965
