The sign with the coat of arms between the ground and first floor is displayed by shops that have acquired the status of "Hofleverancier", roughly translated to "purveyor to the court". While it is unlikely that every shop displaying this sign actually supplies their wares to the court of the monarchy is a sign of status nonetheless.

The moor is often depicted with an open mouth and was refered to as a "yawner" or "gaper."

The following story was supplied by an "Internet friend".
"Jan van der Pigge is a famous name in Haarlem. Around 1924 the Dutch department stores business of Vroom & Dreesmann had bought up the whole block in which Van der Pigge had his drugstore, with the exception of the Van der Pigge premises. V&D, as colloquially called, put up a stiff fight and Van der Pigge stubbornly refused to sell out, thereby probably forcing one of the biggest retailers in the country to stoop to having its new Haarlem department store redesigned, so as to have it built around Van der Pigge’s place. Peace has been signed since that time and there is now a plaque on Van der Pigge’s shop front, probably dating from around 1979, to commemorate 75 years of good neighbourly relations. The V&D building is a fine example of Dutch 1920s architecture by the way. Up to around the 1960s each floor had an open space in the middle and in December they put in the tallest (reaching to the roof) and most beautiful Christmas tree in the world. These open spaces are now useful vending areas. From my childhood I remember a wonderful special smell in Van der Pigge’s shop, difficult to describe but something spicy. Perhaps all drugstores had it, but in that case it was nowhere as strong as at Van der Pigge’s, but at heart I think it was unique to that place. I bought some thyme there a couple of years ago and I think the smell was still there but of course it was more special in the 1950s."