What is a "Light Sample Room"?

I was thumbing through a June, 1911 Official Guide earlier today and it has pages of hotel ads. Nearly all of them boast that they have “Light Sample Rooms”. Anyone know what that was?

I worked in a Dye House years ago. We had a light sample room where we could compare various shades of a color on a material to check for differences. We had several different bulbs in there, like Sun Light, Florecent, Incandecent, UV, Black Light, etc. Not sure why a hotel would have one. Maybe for meetings where product samples are exchanged or veiwed.

Back in that era when traveling salesmen were a sizeable percentage of the rail passenger trade, it would be a nice feature for a hotel to have such a amenity, as it would enable fabric and clothing salesmen to have a place to display their wares to customers under controlled conditions.

RWM

Reminds me of an old family story…

A couple of ancestors (names long since lost to our collective memory) had gotten married and, after a evening of celebrating, went to the hotel for their honeymoon night. Something had gone wrong with the reservations and, since they were the last guests to arrive that night, had to take the only space available, which was the hotel’s sample room-which everyone else in the family thought was an appropriate enough accomodation.

Honeymoon suite, SAMPLE ROOM [:D][(-D][:D][(-D] What were they thinking(the rest of the family) ? Thats Funny ! Thanks for sharing that !

It’s hard for me to imagine those rooms being dedicated to just fabrics. Could it be that “light” means portable as opposed to “heavy” as in say, machinery?. I think salesmen still use small non-bedrooms to display their wares for trade conventions or where there is a concentration of local retailers to invite. Some would have wet bars and snacks.

My grandfather would’ve known. He was the midwest salesman for our family’s hardware factory and home was Detroit. He covered everywhere between Pittsburgh, Oklahoma City, Kansas City, and the Twin cities. Some older restored buildings may still have Penn Hardware locksets and hinges. Our factory had a room with revolving panel poles that held copies of key “trees” for many of these buildings. Keys from master master down to room service and maintenance.

Grandpa lost a pinkie in Cincinnati…streetcar door!!! Rode a lot of interurbans too.

Ah, for a time machine to let me travel with him!!!

Rix

I spent a night in a “salesman’s room” or “sample room” about twenty years ago. It was in Edmonton, Calgary, at [CP Rail’s hotel], and the clerk asked me about three times if was sure I’d like it. I kept saying yes, and got (or so I was told) the last room in the house that night.

It was cavernous! And high-ceilinged! With provision made for natural light. Also lots and lots of pipe-rack style clothing racks for the “drummer” to display samples.

Made for a memorable bit of nostalgia, and I didn’t mind the huge room a bit! - a. s.