Pregled posta

Marketing

Fortnum, meet Mason

In 1705 Hugh Mason had a small shop in St James’s Market and a spare room in his house. The Fortnum family had come to London from Oxford as high-class builders in the wake of the Great Fire, helping to establish the St James’s and Mayfair areas as the most fashionable in London. William climbed another rung by taking a post as footman in Queen Anne’s household - and the room at Mr Mason’s.

The Royal Family’s insistence on having new candles every night meant a lot of half-used wax for an enterprising footman to sell on at a profit – so while the Queen’s wages paid the rent, William’s enlightened sideline melted down into enough to start a respectable business. The rest, as they say, is grocery.
Waterloo

Having been integral to morale since the Peninsular War, Fortnum & Mason – the foremost establishment in a “nation of shopkeepers” - helped the army march on its stomach to final victory over Napoleon.

Honey, dried fruits, spices and above all preserves were ideal for the campaigning soldier and were advertised as such in The Times. The handsome packaging first helped, then hindered, as everyone at the front caught on to the rare treats contained inside.
WW1

All staff serving in France and Flanders were guaranteed to have kept their jobs on their return – which a surprising number managed. In the meantime, the women of London kept things buzzing along brilliantly - while the usual quantity of tuck found its way to the trenches, where we soon learned that only metal tins were any use against the ever-present gourmet rats.
Everest and other Expeditions

Fortnum’s is the only store to have a department dedicated to “Expeditions”, at a time when huge consignments of home comforts accompanied the English into the heart of Africa and up the Himalayas, right down to such essentials as butter knives and sauce boats. The 1922 Everest expedition, for example, simply couldn’t start without 60 tins of quail in foie gras and four dozen bottles of champagne (the appropriately-named Montebello 1915).

The 1933 team, including a young Tensing Norgay, was dismayed to find several of the delicacies replaced by stones - presumably by inquisitive customs officers. Only the Stiltons remained - their covers pierced but the fragrant contents, clearly not to the Nepalese nose, left untouched.

In warmer climes Howard Carter's Tutankhamun expedition used Fortnum's wine boxes to help catalogue the rare antiquities, including a statue of the boy-king as Aten, the Sun - representing tacit approval from yet another monarch.
WW2

A mainstay of the Officers’ Mess since before Wellington, Fortnum’s opened a special Officers’ Department dedicated to providing a respite from bully beef. As well as comestibles it dealt in insect powder, exotic cigarettes and anything else the modern soldier might require, such as an EPNS tip for a bayonet (so much more elegant for spreading Gentlemen’s Relish at El Alamein) and the “Spork”, the combination knife-and fork which, naturally, came silver-plated.

Arbiters of decorum even in wartime, the company also patented the ”Fortknee’, a short stocking to cover the knees and lower thighs of lady drivers in the services.

2005: Last week I bought this Writing Slope as a present to myself for finishing the book project which I've been working on since the beginning of the year.
When i got it, it was completely black, covered with dirt and muck! I could feel metallic bits with my fingers, so I spent a few days cleaning it up ... lo and behold, this is what i found! A wooden writing slope with brass, silver and ivory decorations. The silver rectangular bits bear an inscription that says that the writing slope was presented to a "Color Sergeant William Berry, 1st battalion 14th regiment" as "a slight mark of the respect and esteem in which he was held".
It is not dated but his regiment and battalion date between 1795 and 1860.

The brown parts of the slope are wood. The large rectangular plates are silver. The long strips and diamond shapes are ivory. The round pieces are a mixture of brass, copper and iron.
The long rounded piece on the right hand side flips up, and then the other section flips the other way, like opening a book ... to reveal a felted writing surface. Inside, are also a compartment to keep paper, pens, a ruler and two ink bottles.

2010 Research Update: I have found WIlliam Berry! He was born 1829 in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England. He served in the 1st Battalion 14th Regiment (commonly known as the Buckinghamshire regiment) for 25 years, in Malta, the Ionian Isles and in the West Indies. He retired from his West Indies post in 1868, returning to England with his wife and two sons. This writing slope was a gift to him by his fellow officers and friends. William was 5'7" tall, had hazel eyes and dark brown hair. By all accounts, he was a very well liked fellow.
Re: Color Sergeants - Historically, Colour Sergeants of British line regiments protected Ensigns, the most junior officers who were responsible for carrying their battalions' Colours (flag or insignia) to rally troops in battles. For this reason the Colour Sergeant rank was considered a prestigious one given normally to courageous Sergeants who had attained accomplishments in battles.