Shopfronts represent a transient genre. Whenever fashions and demands change or the shopkeepers are replaced, shopfronts are also changed or rebuilt.
Shopfronts faithfully reflect the state of trade and the prevailing tastes in different periods. From them one can judge their makers` expertise, skill and care - or lack of it.
The shopfronts of Budapest tell the story of about a century and a half. During this time trade underwent periods of growth, had its golden age and reached frighteninghly low points more than once.