Jarrold's History - 1900s-1920s

• Einstein introduces Theory of Relativity • First aeroplane flight across the British Channel  • Norwich's Royal Arcade completed

 

A fresh period of development began when the business was handed down to Samuel's sons: William and Herbert (his first son, Samuel John James died in 1890).

By the early part of the 20th century, Jarrold had developed into a substantial retail business, with a branch opening in Cromer in 1881 (below right), later to include a subscription library, and a shop with printing works acquired in Yarmouth in 1888 (below left). Further branches in Sheringham and Lowestoft followed within a few years.

Jarrold opens stores in Cromer and Yarmouth

Luggage, sports goods and stationery were sold alongside art pottery and glass made in Britain and also imported from Japan and Germany (right).

Norfolk's Poppyland becomes popular as a holiday destination when Clement Scott, a widely read journalist and theatre critic, coined the phrase Poppyland, East Anglia quickly became a popular summer resort. The company responded by publishing a series of guide books and postcards (left).

Jarrold shop assistants at the beginning of the 20th century

Shop assistants (above) were rewarded for their hard work at the 130th annual outing held at the Bell Hotel in St Olaves, Great Yarmouth, to which they travelled by train from Norwich (below right).

(Left) Jarrold was registered as a limited liability company with shareholders in 1902.

The printing activities were moved to the buildings around St James Mill, which is now the company headquarters.

(Above) A view of the Norwich store in 1909.

1910s

• First men reach the South Pole • Outbreak of the First World War • Norwich floods; 6 inches of rain in 12 hours

Jarrold granted a Royal Warrant for stationery in 1911

In 1911, in first year of the reign of H.M. King George V, Jarrold was granted a Royal Warrant for stationery (above right).

The Royal stamp was proudly displayed on the illustrated cover of the first gift catalogue produced by the company in 1914 (above left). Spot the policeman with a whistle keeping the city's streets safe! 

Crowds of people flocked to London Street to see Father Christmas arrive at Jarrold (above).

The printing activities were moved to the buildings around St James Mill, which is now the company headquarters.

The first motorised vehicles used by Jarrold sales representatives, or "commercial travellers" as they were called, were motorbikes, as this picture of Mr Herbert Seaman in 1915 shows (left).

Jarrold's advanced printing division at Cowgate since 1902 (now Whitefriars), supported by a general publishing house in London (below right), saw the company become one of the premier printing operations in the world. At its maximum it employed approximately 1,500 people.

The London Street store had its own circulating library on the second floor, enabling its users to enjoy the latest fiction at the "moderate cost" of 14/6 per year (below left).

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