No matter what the hurry or the pre-occupation of the pedestrian who is making his way along the north side of East Lancaster avenue in the 100 block, it is almost impossible to pass the Neighborhood League Shop without at least a sidewise glance into the window.

Perhaps the pair of small Staffordshire china dogs that were there last week has now been replaced, or the lovely old Sheffield tray has given up its place to a charming clock a hundred or more years old. In which case, are the small Staffordshire dogs and the Sheffield Tray inside the shop, or have they been sold?

Frequently, the passerby turns aside long enough to find out the answers. However, with her hand on the latch of the door she still has to pause a moment to examine the array of fascinating small objects on the shelves in the side window, the small glass pitchers or vases, the bits of chinaware, antique or modern, the intriguing little boxes. And that passerby may as easily be “he” as “she” – for are not the ranks of searchers after antiques made up of as many men as women?

The Neighborhood League Shop has not only antiques for sale – some of the merchandise is at least as new as yesterday… perhaps a lamp shade that did not look just right in the living room after it was lit… perhaps the bedspreads did not match the curtains, or the table did not fit into the space for which it was bought.

One look at the interior of the shop, as shown in today’s picture, tells the story of the variety of its merchandise, old and new. There is in sight a chest of drawers, a rocking chair and a coffee table. There are table linens and bed linens, curtains, lamps and lamp shades of all kinds and descriptions; pictures and picture frames, electrical equipment, chinaware, glassware, and many pieces of brass, both modern and antique.

All this has been assembled in one small, but attractive shop, to provide a means of buying and selling on a commission basis, with the net profit going to the vitally needed work of the Neighborhood League in this community.

Mrs. Gibbons Tatnall is the present chairman for the Neighborhood League Shop. Mrs. C.W. Hess, assisted by Mrs. George W. Wilson, is its manager. And each day a different volunteer assists these two in the sales end of the business.

Just to the left of the entrance to the Neighborhood League Shop is a door that leads up a flight of steps to a hallway running the length of the second floor. This houses the Commission Shop, of which Mrs. C.H. Whittum is chairman; Mrs. Robert G. Wilson is manager, and Mrs. Kenneth Foster, assistant manager. With the help of interested volunteers, clothing is sold to men and women, as well as to boys and girls over 12 years old, who cannot be fitted in the Children’s Shop on Louella avenue.

The stock of clothing sold here is large and diversified. The front room, pictured below, holds women’s dresses, hats and accessories. A new sales room has been added recently, just back of this first room, where smaller size suits, coats and “formals” are on display. And at the far end of the hallway is the room devoted to men’s and boys’ suits, jackets, overcoats, tuxedos, and dress suits. Sweaters, shirts and shoes are also in stock.

All these articles, many of them practically new and all of them in excellent condition, have been placed here to be sold on commission. The benefit is three-fold. The original owner receives adequate returns on good clothing, the buyers have the advantage of obtaining many excellent articles at very moderate prices, and the Neighborhood League reaps the profits, which, like those from its other shops, go to the work of that organization.

(To be concluded)