Trade card of Le Bon Marché Stores, c.1900 (colour litho)

Chromo publicitaire des grands magasins du Bon Marche; the Bon Marché Department stores in Paris were the creation of the French entrepreneur, Aristide Boucicaut (1810-77), responsible for the modern revolution in retailing in France, and the creator of one of the earliest department stores in Paris, which soon became the largest in the world; Boucicaut introduced many new selling concepts, innovations and amenities to clients, including catalogues, mail order, home delivery, fixed price labelling, large choice of goods and guarantees allowing exchanges or refunds; families were targeted by giving balloons and attractively produced cards for children; the cards, usually in a series of six and published weekly were extremely popular and acted as an inducement to return frequently to the shops; the illustration shows the stores in the rue du Bac, designed by the architect Louis Charles Boileau and the engineer Armand Moisan; construction begun in 1870 and completed in 1887; the development of department stores was a major force in democratising consumption and making society more egalitarian by giving women the freedom and ability to shop on their own