Ask your grocer for it – and see that you get it!

You would have come across this advice at the end of a page-long column advert printed in the West Cumberland Times in December 1881 in the business announcements section.

The “it” you may have pestered your grocer for was a baking powder which was manufactured by Joseph Fleming at his Pekin Baking Powder Works at Penrith.

According to the advert, you could have bought it in sixpenny or shilling tins – quite expensive in 1881.

I suspect most housewives would have opted for the penny packets which were on offer.

It was a rather long advert because the long list of satisfied customers was preceded by a dialect poem entitled The Village Tea Drinking, all 15 verses of it.

It was a somewhat long poetic advert.

I don’t know who wrote the poem as the poet’s name is not given and must, I suppose, be lost for all time.

Unless, of course, you know any different!

It wasn’t unusual in the 19th century for businesses to resort to poetry or a verse to advertise their products, either in Standard English or in dialect.

But 15 verses? You will be relieved to know I’m only going to quote a couple of extracts from this versified advert:

Ya day last week, mang wind and rain

And t’roads aw like a sea

A few auld wives togedder met

Ta drink a cup o’tea.

After several verses of chat, the tea drinkers started praising the rhubarb cake which had been set out before them.

And then we come to the commercial verse:

Nanny points ta Fleming’s tin ont’ shelf

Says she, “It’s rising powder.”

It seems that anyone using Fleming’s baking powder was able to cut back on the use of both eggs and butter.

This was important at this time – especially for country dwellers – for reasons given by one of the tea drinkers, who claimed that before the family started using Fleming’s baking powder:

Me mudder used to beake awt’ eggs

And leave us nin to sell.

Even in the early years of the last century, it was not uncommon to see women, of all ages, standing in the marketplace clutching baskets of eggs which they were eager to sell.

I know this to be the case because I can recall, when I was a young lad, seeing a faded photograph of my great-grandmother, basket in hand, selling eggs in Llanfairfechan market.

I wonder how many of you can remember any of your elderly relatives doing the same thing.

I was intrigued by the name of Joseph Fleming’s works.

In the advert it is called the Pekin Powder Works and I did wonder if it was a typographical error.

But it seems that Pekin came from his interest in the tea trade.

I find this quite interesting because while I know this area was active in the tea business, I know very little about it.

Something else to be added to my ever-growing to be researched file!

After avoiding the baking programmes on the TV, I was going to see what baking activities were prominent in years gone by.

But it was a matter of sheer serendipity which led me to the activities of Joseph Fleming.

And it was just the same with William Bowness, who was trading as a chemist from his shop at 56 Church Street, Workington.

His adverts appeared in the same newspaper edition in 1881.

Needless to say, I got sidetracked. But that’s the way it goes.

It was a Christmas issue and Bowness was advertising bottles of Vin-Sante, which he described as “the best non-alcoholic beverage” ideal for non-drinkers who wished to celebrate in an ethical manner.

He also sold cigars – another standard Christmas purchase – but not one you would expect to find in a chemist’s shop.

He sold Havanas and other quality cigars, as well as best golden tobacco, for 6s 6d for a 1lb box.

As an ex-cigar smoker, I know he was selling a variety of quality cigars which were unobtainable in this part of the world in the latter half of the 20th century – and after.

Being curious, I checked him out in an 1882 local directory.

He was listed as a chemist and druggist and a drysalter – which seemed to allow him to trade in almost anything chemical.

This included oil, paint, machine oil, tallow and wagon grease – and that’s just naming a few – plus “all chemicals in general used by manufacturers”.

My sidetrack is over. I will have to chase up what early bakers were doing some time in the future!