
Louis Bamberger
Department Store Innovator and Philanthropist
Linda B. Forgosh(Author)
Brandeis University Press
Will be published approx. on 18. October 2016
Book
Hardback
296 pages
978-1-61168-981-5 (ISBN)
Description
Louis Bamberger (1855-1944) was the epitome of the merchant prince as public benefactor. Born in Baltimore, this son of German immigrants built his business-the great, glamorous L. Bamberger & Co. department store in Newark, N.J.-into the sixth-largest department store in the country. A multimillionaire by middle age, he joined the elite circle of German Jews who owned Macy's, Bloomingdale's, and Filene's. Despite his vast wealth and local prominence, Bamberger was a reclusive figure who shunned the limelight, left no business records, and kept no diaries. He remained a bachelor and kept his private life and the rationale for his business decisions to himself.
Yet his achievements are manifold. He was a merchandising genius whose innovations, including newspaper and radio ads and brilliant use of window and in-store displays, established the culture of consumption in twentieth-century America. His generous giving, both within the Jewish community and beyond it, created institutions that still stand today: the Newark YM-YWHA, Beth Israel Hospital, and the Newark Museum. Toward the end of his career, he financed and directed the creation of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, which led to a friendship with Albert Einstein.
Despite his significance as business innovator and philanthropist, historians of the great department stores have paid scant attention to Bamberger. This full-length biography will interest historians as well as general readers of Jewish history nationally, New Jerseyans fascinated by local history, and the Newarkers for whom Bamberger's was a beloved local institution.
Yet his achievements are manifold. He was a merchandising genius whose innovations, including newspaper and radio ads and brilliant use of window and in-store displays, established the culture of consumption in twentieth-century America. His generous giving, both within the Jewish community and beyond it, created institutions that still stand today: the Newark YM-YWHA, Beth Israel Hospital, and the Newark Museum. Toward the end of his career, he financed and directed the creation of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, which led to a friendship with Albert Einstein.
Despite his significance as business innovator and philanthropist, historians of the great department stores have paid scant attention to Bamberger. This full-length biography will interest historians as well as general readers of Jewish history nationally, New Jerseyans fascinated by local history, and the Newarkers for whom Bamberger's was a beloved local institution.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
With dust jacket
Illustrations
29 illus.
Dimensions
Height: 239 mm
Width: 165 mm
Thickness: 28 mm
Weight
590 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-61168-981-5 (9781611689815)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
09/2016
Brandeis University Press
€30.49
Available for download
Person
LINDA B. FORGOSH is an independent scholar and executive director of the Jewish Historical Society of New Jersey.