Shop Talk

What could be more amusing to hang over your bar than Abraham Lincoln’s saloon license? If you want to get several leaps ahead of your bar-equipping friends, go to the Louis XIV Shop at 154 East 58th street, and there it is. Dusty with years, it will add flavor to your new whiskey. You won’t want to leave with just that license tucked away in your bag. The place is bulging with things you’ve long wanted and never expected to find. Mr. Miller, the collector, goes to all the far-flung places of the globe and, with the sure knowledge of a connoisseur, picks up a silved incense lamp which was on duty in a Gothic Cathedral for over 400 years. A wax impression of a bust of Madame DuBarry dates its birthday back to the French Revolution. Authentic jades, priceless porcelain and jewelry intriguingly designed and lovingly wrought. I know of no better way to spend a rainy afternoon, and if you get Mr. Miller in the right mood, he will tell you fascinating tales of his travels, adventures and friends. He is a raconteur of no mean ability.

Always a cop fancier, I was devastated by a policeman’s jacket of navy-blue flannel—complete to the fitted back. Topped off by this on shipboard, you should cause, instead of relieve, traffic on the high seas. It comes from Martha West’s.

One of Abercrombie and Fitch’s executives holidaying in the Catskills made a super-find. He stumbled upon a colony of self-exiled French Canadians who cling to old customs, forgetting all others. Their women knit for their men-folk, mittens — unbelievably warm ones—like nothing to be found in this country. They are of white yarn with individual designs on the back. These women were finally persuaded to click their needles more rapidly and give this surplus to Abercrombie and Fitch. They cost under $4, but you’ll have to hurry, because these Canadian knitters won’t.

The Italian Village Tavern, at the Hotel St. George in Brooklyn beckons to the cavalier in every man. Here in a truly continental setting, against a delightful background, you can really enjoy dining and dancing. From early evening until the small hours of the dawn you may ease the cares of the day listening to the enchanting music of Eli Dantzig and his Caveliers. In short, the finest of food and beverages are served at the Tavern and the watchword is Eat! Drink! and be Merry!—at a modest cost.

Christmas comes to B. Altman & Co. on November 19 this year, when various shops devoted to timely merchandise will open. Santa Claus will inaugurate the season’s festivities by dropping down the chimney at ten-thirty o’clock that morning and will oblige with daily performances at ten-thirty, one and three-thirty. Coincidentally, B. Altman’s Toy Fair will make its bow, enticing the children with its gay array of games, toys, dolls and gadgets for kids. All this on the sixth floor. On the third floor the Gift Shop will assist harassed shoppers who have problem relatives or friends for whom to select unusual presents.