Timoléon Marie Lobrichon, the toy shop showcase, 1880

I saw this and it reminded me of my childhood and looking into the magic of display. There was a department store which did a full front and side windows of Christmas Splendor. There were the regular things: a doll, a train, a wagon, and all of the other toy fashions of the day. And there would also be the extraordinary, maybe a horse and cart that moved, or an animated drummer. Crowds would gather to watch the display done up in snowy enchantment. Children dreamed and wished as they stood in amazement in the snow of winter, looking into a department store window.