Berlin Jews, Business, and Bourgeois Feminism 1890-1914: Commerce and the Making of a Cultural Moment?

Abstract

ABSTRACT The article explores the relationship between commercial capitalism and the first European women’s movement through the lens of Jewish business activity in the fashion-related industries of Wilhelmine Berlin. The analysis centers on Kaufhaus N. Israel, a department store and clothier. Between 1899 and 1914, the firm issued a series of prolifically illustrated albums, several featuring explicit ‘feminist’ elements. Through its elaborate publications, the author argues, the commercial company crafted its image as a cultural institution, relying on associations of the department store as a ‘women’s paradise,’ while venturing into political visions of egalitarianism and ethnic diversity in image and text.