Defunct Store Socks
Description: Remembering the great Marshall Field’s Department Store. Marshall Field's was a department store in Chicago, Illinois, founded in the 19th century that grew to become a large chain before being acquired by Macy's, Inc in 2005. Marshall Field's great six-story merchandising emporium catered to urban women with leisure time. Rather than "buyer beware," Field's motto was "Give the lady what she wants." He had that motto displayed on a sign above his desk.
Description: Price Club was a warehouse store chain, founded by Sol Price in San Diego, California. Price devised the Price Club concept in 1975 after being forced out of FedMart, another retail chain he founded. Price and a few of his friends put up $2.5 million in capital to open the first Price Club on July 12, 1976, in San Diego. Price Club would eventually merge with one of its competitors and the combined company would go on to become the global leader in the wholesale shopping club space with more than 800 warehouses worldwide as of 2021.
Description: Ghostly International is an American independent record label founded in 1999 by Samuel Valenti IV and currently headquartered in Brooklyn, New York City. Chief artists include Matthew Dear, Dabrye (a.k.a. Tadd Mullinix), Com Truise, Tycho, Gold Panda, School of Seven Bells, Mux Mool, and Shigeto.
Description: At least five record labels with the name Bullet Records have existed. The earliest Bullet Records was a record label based in Nashville, United States, which was started in 1946 by Jim Bulleit and C.V. Hitchcock. Bulleit was an early partner in Sun Records. Its only national hits were by orchestra leader Francis Craig. The pop hit "Near You" made in early 1947 was a monster, topping the charts for seventeen weeks and having a chart run of twenty-five weeks. Craig also made the charts at #3 with "Beg Your Pardon", but no further hits were forthcoming.
Description: Honest Ed's was a landmark discount store in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was named for its proprietor, Ed Mirvish, who opened the store in 1948 and oversaw its operations for almost 60 years until his death in 2007. The store continued to operate until it closed on December 31, 2016. By 1968 the store was grossing $14 million annually and gained fame for its marketing stunts, including loss leader specials. Mirvish's annual turkey giveaway before Christmas always received a lot of attention, and the birthday parties he threw for himself became neighborhood events with free cake, hot dogs, candy, and giveaways.
Description: Burger Chef was an American fast-food restaurant chain. It began operating in 1954 in Indianapolis, Indiana, expanded throughout the United States, and at its peak in 1973, the chain had 1,050 locations, including some in Canada. The chain featured several signature items, such as the Big Shef and Super Shef hamburgers.
Description: Remembering Modell's Sporting Goods. Modell's Sporting Goods was an American sporting goods retailer with locations in the Northeastern United States. Modell's carried both sporting goods and related apparel. Modell's had more than 150 retail locations in ten states and the District of Columbia. Their flagship store was at 234 West 42nd Street near Times Square.
Description: Musicraft Records was a record company and label established in 1937 in New York City. Musicraft's catalog encompassed many different musical styles, including classical music, folk, jazz, Latin, popular vocal, and calypso. Artists who recorded for Musicraft include singer Mel Torme, vocalist Sarah Vaughan, vocalist Mindy Carson, Duke Ellington, bebop comic Harry "the Hipster" Gibson, pianist Teddy Wilson, blues pioneer Lead Belly, poet Carl Sandburg, Dizzy Gillespie, Georgie Auld, Artie Shaw, Buddy Greco, Billie Rogers, and others.
Description: I got my I.O.U. at Merry-Go-Round. Starting out as a single boutique selling only blue jeans in Atlanta in 1968, the trendy teen retailer Merry-Go-Round expanded quickly in the 1990s, to eventually 1,500 stores nationwide. By January of 1994, the company filed for bankruptcy and just months later, it closed all 1,500 locations, making it one of the largest retail bankruptcies in history.
Description: Casablanca Records, Inc. was formed in 1973 by former Buddah Records executives Neil Bogart (who named the label as a homage to the classic film Casablanca), Cecil Holmes, Larry Harris and Buck Reingold. The label was initially distributed by Warner Bros. Records until September 1974, but Bogart decided to distribute the label independently after being disillusioned with the lack of success under Warners.
Description: Sonic Unyon is an independent record label based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The label has put out releases by bands including Tristan Psionic, Sianspheric, Shallow North Dakota, Eric's Trip, Hayden, Chore, Frank Black and the Catholics, A Northern Chorus, Raising the Fawn, Teenage Head, Simply Saucer, and Voivod. The label’s current artist roster includes Big Wreck, Danko Jones, Terra Lightfoot, and Basement Revolver.
Description: In 1865, William G. Herpolsheimer and Charles G. A. Voigt, two young businessmen, established the Voigt, Herpolsheimer & Company, a dry goods and carpet store in Michigan City, Indiana. The partners would eventually relocate to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1870 where they would really make a name for themselves. The partnership between Voigt and Herpolsheimer ended in 1902 with Voigt taking over the flour mills they owned, and Herpolsheimer taking control of the store. Changing the name to Herpolsheimer's, William was quick to reimagine the store as an upscale shopping experience more like those found in Manhattan, stocking the latest fashions, gorgeous window displays, french chandeliers, and even an authentic tearoom.
