Tuesday, January 21, 2014

A Colossal Establishment

Jeremiah Rotherham & Co. Ltd. was a large mercantile department store in Shoreditch, London. When this 1904 catalog and price list was issued, this enterpising company sold everything from soap to bicycles, clothing, hardware and art supplies. It was described as "a colossal establishment" of it's time, until the store was sadly destroyed by bombing during the Second World War. This entire catalog and price list is made available by the Winterthur Library and the Internet Archive. Especially noted are the nice lettering layouts for various packaging and advertising. 
























Source: English Heritage, National Monuments Record. Photo taken in 1894.

Source: COSGB

3 comments:

  1. Rubber rings for umbrellas? Have you any idea what for? Maybe they had no metal tips to hold them together, or maybe they did have metal tips that were deadly.

    It's interesting that "India" ink is actually blocks with Chinese characters -- the same as those sold now if you learn Chinese calligraphy (you have to follow tradition to grind and mix your own ink).

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  2. No clue about the rubber rings. It is curious why they have Chinese characters on the "guaranteed genuine" India ink. I guess truth in advertising was not their motto.

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  3. I'm trying to find out how to get there, they have stuff I have been looking for for years! I have just run out of rubber rings for my umbrellas :)

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