A history of visual merchandising and American firearms
Journal of Historical Research in Marketing
ISSN: 1755-750X
Article publication date: 8 October 2024
Issue publication date: 15 November 2024
Abstract
Purpose
This article presents a history of the visual merchandising of American firearms from the mid-19th century until the present day. Although the scholarly literature has investigated visual representations of guns in advertising and popular media, it has paid far less attention to how sellers have displayed these objects at or near the point of purchase.
Design/methodology/approach
Primary sources include frescoes, engravings and photographs, plus papers, advertising and illustrations in popular newspapers and trade magazines. These and other period visual data are supplemented by secondary sources from a variety of fields, especially retailing and firearms history.
Findings
Evidence shows that American firearms were merchandised visually by Samuel Colt at three world expositions in the 1850s, by gunmakers and retailers in the latter 19th century, by Winchester and Remington dealers in the 1920s and 1930s, by high- and low-end retailers in New York in the first half of the 20th century and by gun stores, auctions and shows up to the present day.
Originality/value
The history of visual merchandising generally has focused upon major department stores, their alluring street-front windows and their fancy interior displays. This research explores past and present visual merchandising of firearms by manufacturers and smaller retailers. To the best of the author’s knowledge, it is the first such history of the subject.
Keywords
Citation
Witkowski, T.H. (2024), "A history of visual merchandising and American firearms", Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, Vol. 16 No. 4, pp. 416-444. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHRM-05-2024-0029
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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