A Royal Customer
Staff -- Gifts & Decorative Accessories, 11/1/2000
England's Queen Mum, whose 100th birthday has been the cause of much celebration this year, made an appearance in Gifts & Dec nearly half a lifetime ago, in 1954. During a visit to New York, the Queen Mother engaged in that favorite pastime of travelers: shopping for gifts to take back home. While back then we took her shopping expedition as a "royal endorsement indeed to the potent appeal of American gift merchandise," today we just sit and ponder the fact that even a customer with a royal budget and ladies-in-waiting is hard-pressed to find gifts for the men in her life.
It rained, so the Queen went shopping. She was to have visited the Cloisters, the branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in upper Manhattan, but ended up buying Christmas gifts instead-in Hammacher Schlemmer, Saks Fifth Avenue, and FAO Schwarz.
Queen Mother Elizabeth of Great Britain, in New York on the first leg of her unofficial tour through the United States and Canada, selected an array of bar gadgets for the men on her holiday list, some clothing and accessories for her daughters, and toys for her grandchildren.
She appeared to derive immense enjoyment from her shopping trip, and performed her role of goodwill ambassador to perfection. At one point, looking around at china, glass, and decorative accessory displays in the Hammacher Schlemmer store, she remarked, "I can see that Christmas is not going to be any trouble." Another time, in the Schwarz toy store on Fifth Avenue, she asked to see "some toys for a girl of four and a boy, six, and I would like them to be very American." The children to whom she referred, of course, are Princess Anne and Prince Charles, daughter and son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.
"She was terribly enthusiastic about American gadgets," said Georgette Aurora, a Hammacher Schlemmer saleswoman. "She said she was glad to see so many of them, because men are so difficult to buy for. When she decided on something, she would say, 'May I have this?'.as if she couldn't have had anything in the store."
Hammacher Schlemmer was the Queen's first stop. She splurged on home entertainment accessories, though asking the cost of each item. Her purchases included a thermos ice bucket shaped like a large red apple, a magnetic bottle opener, a combination can and bottle opener, a dozen raffia-handled whiskey sour glasses with red circle motifs, several plastic trays, a whisky decanter with an automatic pourer, and a star-engraved cocktail mixer.
The order amounted to $300, royal endorsement indeed to the potent appeal of American gift merchandise. The names of the brands the Queen selected were not made public-a nod to diplomatic courtesy and protocol.
At Saks Fifth Avenue, the Queen's second stop, her presence drew such large crowds that she was taken to La Boutique, a first-floor accessory corner, where items were brought to her. She selected some $400 worth of clothes gifts for her daughters, Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret, and her granddaughter, Princess Anne. Her purchases included two jewel-trimmed cashmere sweaters (white for Elizabeth and pink for Margaret); two cashmere skirt and sweater sets (blue for Elizabeth and red for Margaret), and a print blouse for each. She bought several skirts and jersey blouses for Princess Anne, plus a pink and a blue dress. She also selected a carrying case with cigarette lighter, compact, and lipstick, but did not specify who was to receive it.
The royal visitor was guided through the store by Allan Johnson, Saks' general manager, and Mrs. Helen Newell, a saleswoman in the store's international shopping department.
At FAO Schwarz, the Queen Mother's last and briefest stop, she came away with a children's baking set, an electric drink mixer, a plastic tea set, some pots and pans, and a toy power shovel which she spent some moments playing with herself. She also bought a small headrest pillow and a Scrabble set on a revolving table, commenting as she chose the latter that, "I'm just learning to play the game."
The Queen was accompanied by Lady Jean Rankin, one of her two ladies-in-waiting; F. B. A. Rundall, British consul general; and Mrs. Rundall. It was explained that the Queen Mother, like other members of the British royal family, does not customarily carry money with her. Payments are usually handled by her ladies-in-waiting, but in this case Mr. Rundall directed the salespeople to charge the purchases to the British consulate in New York.
-Gifts & Dec (then calledThe Gift and Art Buyer), December 1954
