Charles Oakford and Sons model hat store nos 826 and 828, Chestnut Street, Continental Hotel. Philadelphia. Hats, caps and furs, wholesale and retail, (ca. 1860) (4625136480)

Advertisement showing the ornately furnished interior of the hat store established by oakford in 1827. Fitting tables adorned with lavish free standing light fixtures in front of glass display cases filled with men's hats line the sides of the room. In the foreground, oakford assists a patron seated at one of the tables on top of which a number of hats lie. Behind the men, a clerk pulls a hat from one of the cases. In the background, in front of another fitting table on which hats sit, a clerk and gentleman patron stand and discuss hats in their hands. A third gentleman patron watches the exchange from across the aisle. Arches extend toward the visible rear of the store and are labeled "charles oakford & sons"; "gent's furnishing goods"; and "wholesale department. " tiles line the floor and the ceiling has minimal molding. Oakford admitted his sons to the firm in 1856 and relocated his business to the continental hotel in 1860.