William Maxwell Race, in the doorway of his shop in the Market Place; the original ‘Race’ between the Camel (in reality Cammell – the name of the next shop in the Market Place) and the Lion. The lion being the Golden Lion which is to the right in this image. Dating the image places it well before 1923 (William’s death) and is probably about 1900. William Maxwell Race was the uncle of Mervyn Sherwood Brown who sent the Archive this series of images.
Image courtesy of Mervyn Sherwood Brown (via Dean Gibson).
My grandmother Gertrude Cammell was unpaid staff/buyer (until she married aged 30) of this drapers shop owned by her father.
She recalled a meeting with a travelling rep who was promoting a new product: disposable sanitary products. Her father refused to discuss it obviously, but Gertrude thought her ladies might like the idea. The products were kept out of sight, the lady customers given discrete information and told to ask for ‘drapery’ or to write the word on a shopping list.
A very early (approx 1900) mention of this ‘modern’ idea.
Any pics of this store out there?
William Maxwell Race’s son (of the same name–known as ‘Uncle Max’) was married to my father’s Auntie Mabel. Uncle Max later sold the shop to the company which built the Regal Cinema. When this closed, the present shop was built, making it a bakery again.
Mervyn Brown (my father’s cousin) sadly died a couple of years ago.