Sign of the times

During my visit to a nearby Victorian Town museum I took these shots of a selection of old enamel advertising signs which were commonly used up until the 1950’s due to their vibrant colours and durability. But how many of these names are still in existence?

Wem ales: Founded in 1898 by the amalgamation of three breweries as the Shrewsbury & Wem Brewery Company Ltd. Bought out by Greenall Whitley in 1951 but closed in 1988.

Players: John Player bought an existing business in 1877 and it became part of Imperial Tobacco in 1901. It still trades in Nottingham today under the John Player Special (JPS) brand.

Bovril: A meat extract paste developed in 1870 and now part of the Unilever group.

Rinso: Originally Hudsons Soap, it was bought by Lever Brothers (now Unilever) in 1908. The brand name is still in use overseas (Indonesia, for example).

St. Bruno: A tobacco conceived in the 1890’s by Thomas Ogden in Liverpool, England, and whose success was partially attributed to his use of colourful and descriptive enamel advertising signs. Imperial Tobacco took it over in the early 1900’s but it is now in the hands of a Danish company.

Reckitts: Advertising a bluing agent for laundry, most people will recognise the name from Reckitt & Coleman who make a multitude of cleaning products today, such as Dettol, Durex, Harpic and Airwick. Reckitt & Sons was founded in 1879 in Hull, England, and merged with J&J Coleman in 1938.

Shell: The Shell brand of kerosene oil was created in the 1890’s but it is perhaps best-known now for it’s petrol & diesel.

Cadbury’s: Another famous name still very much known today founded when John Cadbury opened a grocers shop selling drinking chocolate in 1824 in Birmingham, England.

Premier bicycles: This all started in 1857 when bicycle manufacturing commenced in the Premier Works in Coventry, England. Bicycle production ceased in 1927 but one of the founders, William Hillman, went on to produce Hillman cars.

Zebra: Another Reckitt & Coleman brand (see above).

Robin starch: Another Reckitt & Coleman brand (see above). Interesting to see that it claims to be “Equal to Reckitts Blue”, made by the same group.

Ideas: Unfortunately I can’t find any definitive history of Ideas illustrated weekly.

Cherry Blossom: Created by Dan & Charles Mason in 1906 in Chiswick, London, the shoe polish brand still exists today (and has lasted better than its sign).

Wills: Founded in 1786 in Bristol, England and, along with John Player (see above, became one of the founding companies of Imperial Tobacco. Wills pioneered the use of cigarette cards in their packets but the brand name ceased to be used in 1988.

Fry’s: A long-standing family company which produced its first chocolate bar in 1847. It merged with Cadbury’s (see above) in 1919. Fry’s chocolate cream can still be bought today.

Colmans: A mustard manufacturer from Norwich, England founded in 1814 which became part of Reckitt & Coleman (see above) but demerged and joined Unilever in 1995.

Brasso: Another Reckitt & Coleman brand (see above).

Watsons: Joseph Watson & Sons was a soap manufacturer from Leeds, England which eventually became part of Unilever.

So that’s a brief history of some common (and not-so-common) brand names. It’s interesting to see how many still live on today and I wonder how many of todays start-up companies will be household names in 100 or more years time.