Player's Navy Cut, Shepherd's Bush

Earlier today I heard on the radio many people book their holidays on the third week of January. Post-Christmas blues and cold winter weather seem to be the main reasons why we choose to head towards travel agencies, in the high street or online. At least it gives us something to look forward to. I say we because we did book our flight tickets last Friday for the Easter holiday. I couldn't think of any painted sign for a travel agency but here is one with an image of someone who would have travelled to many parts of the world (although that would hardly been for leisure). As for the product advertised, the only place it could send you to is your grave, and faster than you may wish.


Navy Cut was launched by John Player & Son Ltd of Nottingham in the early 1890s and is certainly one of the company's best-known brands, largely thanks to its eye-catching logo representing a Royal Navy sailor framed by a lifebelt (this was a combination of two previous labels). During the early years several designs were used. 'Hero', as the sailor was often referred to, appeared with a beard (as on this painted sign) or cleanly-shaven, with just some clouds or with two battleships in the background: HMS Britannia, launched in 1762 (traces of the hull are barely visible to the left of the sailor), and HMS Dreadnought, launched in 1875. In 1927 the design was standardized using a 1905 bearded figure (the Archives & Collection Society has a couple of early designs). From the 1920s 'Hero' increasingly appeared against a white background or alongside other pictures to fit more modern representational forms.

The image of a sailor had originally two purposes. Not only it denoted a popular smoking tradition, but it was also linked to national pride. A Royal Navy sailor was the embodiement of Britishness and British grandeur, a brave man whose life was dedicated to the safeguard of the empire (this is reinforced on the most common version of the logo by the name of the sailor's battleship on his cap: "Hero", altough strangely enough the letters "HMS" were omitted. On other versions the full name, such as "HMS Invincible", is displayed on the cap). Using such a traditional symbol of Britishness to establish a product was common practice in Victorian times. Additionally a military theme would have appealed at the time to many male smokers. During the inter-war years, Player's began targeting women and the manly sailor turned into a sympathetic, almost uncle-like figure who could offer protection. Such an image that could appeal to both genders, coupled with the effective slogan "Player's Please!", helped to boost sales and to put Player's Navy Cut well ahead of the two other leading brands, Craven A and Woodbine.

But who was the popular sailor modelled on? Looking at The Guardian, it looks like there is no definite answer.


Prices quoted on both sides of this pack of Player's Navy Cut Cigarettes Medium are: (upper left) 10 for 6d, and (bottom right) 20 for 11 1/2d.

Location: Uxbridge Road / Pictures taken on: 27/02/2009

Dairy and bakery, Shepherd's Bush

The backstreets to the east of Shepherd's Bush Road, between Hammersmith and Shepherd's Bush, are essentially residential, with the odd pub here and there. At first sight it doesn't look like an area where many painted signs could be found. However Richmond Way has a few shops and, as I looked back before heading towards the hideous roundabout east of the green and then to Notting Hill, there it was! A large but simple sign for the local dairy and a bakery that for once wasn't linked to Hovis or Daren.

Dairy

Bake...
Pastrycook
A. C.
Cresswell
Noted For
Home Made
Bread
...
Bakery

Location: Richmond Way / Picture taken on: 31/07/2009

Several painted signs for dairies can still be seen on London walls. The development of shops specialized in dairy products was linked to the urban growth of the city in the second half of the 19th century and the growth of milk consumption in the late Victorian and Edwardian periods, due partly to a greater appreciation of its health benefits (even though at least until the milk grading and testing orders of 1922 and 1923, the milk sold across London was of more than dubious quality: water was often added and cream removed, and even worse, a study published in 1918 found that 99 per cent of samples had traces of cow dung while that supplied to schools and hospitals carried bacilli coli, indicating the presence of manure, and several million bacteria per cubic centimeter, a staggering figure at a time when 60,000 was considered hygienically possible). The first dairy shops opened in the West End and in the City, but soon they were found across the capital. By 1883, 1,941 could be found throughout London. In addition to milk, they sold butter, eggs, margarine and some groceries. Even though many dairy shops were independently-owned, most of the sales were handed by those linked to wholesale suppliers such as the London United Dairies Co., founded in 1915, and which by 1920 controlled 80 per cent of the milk supply to greater London and 470 shops. Large concerns were able to offer a steady supply and the same prices throughout the year, in spite of large differences in production costs according to the season. Their quasi-monopoly often led to accusations of inflated prices though. From the 1920s, independent dairy shops also faced increasing competition from co-operatives, whose share of the milk supply and retail market rose from 7 per cent in 1900 to 9 per cent in 1920 and to 26 per cent in 1939.

Dairy shops were part of everyday's life and remained so for a couple of decades after the Second World War. However technological developments, such as the introduction of UHT milk in the 1960s, and new shopping habits, with people switching to supermarkets, led to a sharp drop in their numbers. Only a few survive, often catering for the upper end of the market.