Feb 22, 2024
They didn't have Black Friday in 1955, but they did have Washington's Birthday (before his and Lincoln's, on Feb. 12, were combined to form Presidents' Day). This big sales event began in 1954. On February 22, 1955, crowds of bargain hunters waiting to get into Hearn's, a department store on 14th Street, watched as Stanley Walenciej of Brooklyn triumphantly carried off a used (?) TV set he'd bought for $99. The price of a new one would have been around $1,000.
Photo: Associated Press