ABSTRACT
The “boutiques” of industrial novelties and the courtesan houses were more exclusive spaces of consumption than old-style stores and the teahouses. In such exclusive spaces the new visual culture of commodity economy would eventually captivate the consumers by offering them a dream that they could all enjoy a world of fantastic displays like the “magnates and kings.” The city’s irresistible seduction derived precisely from the illusion that this dream of exclusivity was within the reach of every individual. This illusion then brought together the city’s “magnates” and masses, not only on the streets and in open-style teahouses but also in a range of interior spaces sealed off from the surroundings.
