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ABSTRACT
Compared with America, there is a relative paucity of written archival sources for some aspects of the history of retailing and consumption in Britain during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, such as records of advertising policy and strategy, whereas millions of advertisements and other examples of advertising ephemera have survived. This short article uses window dressing as an example of the necessity to look beyond traditional written archives to a rich array of sources that can help to widen the scope of research, thus contributing to the historiography of advertising and retail history in general.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 The National Archives, Kew, UK, ‘COPY 1’ catalogue description - https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C5349 [accessed 8 April 2021].
2 Bodleian Library, ‘John Johnson Collection of Printed Ephemera’ - https://www2.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/johnson [accessed 10 April 2021]; History of Advertising Trust - https://www.hatads.org.uk/ [accessed 10 April 2021]; Hagley Museum and Library - https://www.hagley.org/ [accessed 10 April 2021]; John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History - https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/hartman [accessed 10 April 2021]; Smithsonian Institution, ‘Advertising’ - https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/subjects/advertising [accessed 10 April 2021].
3 Unilever Art, Archives and Records Management (UARM), Port Sunlight, Wirral, UK, holds the records for the overall global management of the company and of its former subsidiaries in Europe.
4 Exceptions include Emily M. Orr (2020), Designing the Department Store, that includes a chapter ‘Window Display’, 57–96; Louisa Iarocci (2013), Visual Merchandising, with a chapter entitled ‘The Art of Draping’, 137–53; and Susan Lomax (2006), ‘The View from the Shop’, 265–92.
5 ‘Shop window dressing’, Bexley Heath and Bexley Observer, 24 August 1889, 5.
6 ‘Our Christmas Window Competition’, Exeter and Plymouth Gazette, 8 December 1903, 5.
7 Harman's Journal of Window Dressing, first published in Chicago in 1893.
8 Explore York Archives, Harding Linen Drapers, HDG/5, HDG/10/2.
9 ‘Shop window education’, Sheffield Telegraph, 17 December 1904, 12.
10 The journal began life as The Window Dressing and General Trade Review in November 1905, changing to the shorter title the following year.
11 ‘Chemists’ Windows', The Chemist and Druggist, 45:763, 782–3.
12 Walgreens Boots Alliance Archive, The Merchandise Bulletin, 1924–39, WBA/BT/11/38/1/1 and The Bee, 1921–69, WBA/BT/27/39/2/2.
13 Sainsbury Archive, Branch Rule Books, 1923–30, SA/BRA/3/1/1/7, and Branch Management Department Memoranda, 1924–5, SA/BRA/3/1/2/46/1.
14 M&S Company Archive, Weekly Bulletins, 1927–30, HO/3/2/2/1 and Display Guides, 1930s, PI/1/186/29 & PI/1/221/16.
15 Borthwick Institute for Archives, Rowntree Archives - https://www.york.ac.uk/borthwick/holdings/what-we-hold/rowntree/ [accessed 24 March 2021].
16 The British Newspaper Archive - https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/ [accessed 19 March 2021]
17 ‘Shop window dressing’, Hereford Journal, 9 August 1862, 6.
18 ‘Here and there’, Evening Telegraph, 9 December 1901, 4.
19 ‘New local patents’, Northampton Mercury, 9 March 1894, 8; ‘New inventions’, Belfast Newsletter, 14 June 1897, 8.
20 Daily Telegraph, 20 November 1869, 8; Daily Telegraph, 8 June 1869, 8.
21 Find My Past, 1901 England, Wales and Scotland Census, ‘Ellen James’ - https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=GBC%2F1901%2F0003667359 [accessed 29 March 2021].
22 University of Glasgow, House of Fraser Archive, ‘Gosling & Sons Ltd’ - https://www.housefraserarchive.ac.uk/company/?id=c1407 [accessed 29 March 2021].
23 Find My Past, 1901 England, Wales and Scotland Census, ‘Florence Robinson’ - https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=GBC%2F1901%2F0009132228 [accessed 29 March 2021].
24 ‘A new occupation for ladies’, Exeter Flying Post, 2 May 1891, 6.
25 Archive of Art and Design, ‘British Display Society: records’ - https://www.vam.ac.uk/archives/unit/ARC40923 [accessed 22 March 2021].
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Jeannette Strickland
Jeannette Strickland is a qualified archivist and was, latterly, head of Unilever Art, Archives and Records Management. She holds a PhD on the advertising and marketing of Lever Brothers, soap manufacturers, from the University of Liverpool, where she now holds an honorary research fellowship. Her research interests include the history of advertising and marketing, particularly the early use of cinematography as an advertising and marketing tool, and social and cultural aspects of business history.