Books for Sale
Robert Sakowitz has recently published two books. One that tells the story of the Sakowitz stores through the 60s, 70s and 80s. Another that brings the Sakowitz Christmas catalogue and the Ultimate Gifts back to life in a lay flat oversized coffee table book.
Both books are avaiable for purchase here or in Houston at Brazos Books or Kuhl-Linscomb.
More Than a Store
Three Decades of
Tumultuous Changes
1960-1990
More Than a Store tells the story behind one of Houston’s most distinctive retail legacies, tracing the people, places, relationships, and decisions that made Sakowitz more than a traditional department store. Written by Robert Sakowitz, the book offers a history of launching European Fashion Designers
ready-to-wear in America, expansion of the European wine trade, initiating early businesses with Asia (including opening China trade in late 1960’s and esrly 1970’s) with private label design and the Global Supply Chain). Explaining the strategies of working with multiple cultures of people and countries, It delineates the Editing, Education, and Entertainment necessary for successful retail distribution, while providing a personal view into family business, retail history, community, and the culture of service that shaped generations of customers.
$40
Ultimate Gifts
From the Golden Age
of Christmas Catalogues
Ultimate Gifts from the Golden Age of Christmas Catalogues is a coffee table book celebrating the legendary Sakowitz Christmas catalogues and their unforgettable series of theme-oriented “ultimate gifts.” The book details how some of the outlandish offerings were created and obtained, some of their
purchasers, and the international publicity that those stories generated, and nation-wide competition. Sized to echo the original catalogues, the book is organized by catalogue year from 1968 to the late 1980’s. Each chapter introduces the moment, then presents the catalogue cover followed by the original facing pages featuring the ultimate gifts exactly as they appeared.
$40