shoppingprocess early
20th century weights
and
measures old bakers
shops old butchers
shops old
fishmongers old grocers
shops old
Co-op shops old
dairies old
greengrocer
shops old sweet
shops
Early Co-op shops
Co-op shops in the early years of the 20th Century. From the previously unpublished written recollections of the webmaster's mother, edited by the webmaster.
The Cooperative Wholesale Society and its regional divisions
Strictly speaking, all Co-op were members of the Cooperative Wholesale Society or CWS. This had regional divisions. Ours was the London Cooperative Society of LCS, but in everyday speech it was always referred to as the Co-op.
Dividend: why Co-op shops were so popular
Co-ops would issue chits as receipts. These were tiny perforated sheets listing the amount you spent at any given visit to the shop. Customers had a Co-op number which was written onto each chit. Every quarter of the year, the Co-op gave its customers what was called a dividend, which was a certain amount back for every pound spent.
Dividend was given on everything that the shop sold, including deliveries of milk, bread and coal. Even clothes and shoes could be bought at the larger Co-ops. Shoes were sold under the brand name of 'Wheat sheaf'.
There is much more about dividend on the page about Co-ops later in the century - and the dividend paid then.
Photos of Co-op deliveries in the early 1900s
These are images from original photos from the early 20th Century. So apologies for the poor quality of two of them. They are here because, poor as they are, they do give a flavour of Co-op deliveries at the time.
A Co-op delivery horse and cart, early 20th century
Co-op delivery bicycle. Photographed in the Museum of Nottingham Life
The images here are from original photos from the early 20th Century. So apologies for the poor quality of the following. It is included because it does give a flavour of Co-op deliveries at the time.
The Co-op making a horse-drawn delivery across a stream, Edmonton, 1910
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