Sorting out receipts for petrol, books, firelighters, oatmeal stout etc. today, I thought about how terrifyingly bland and uninteresting these irritating pieces of thin paper are. Just digital print-outs reminding you of everything you don't want to know about transactions, other than how much an ink cartridge is (criminal). "Thankyou. Please Call Again" they say, or in the case of Sainsbury's "Try something new today". Hmm. Think I will, thanks. I'll put the gas on and not bother to light it. So I unearthed this for you, just to show how much better these items of print were, equally how much time there apparently was to do a job properly. B.C.Tipper & Sons were veterinary chemical manufacturers in Balsall Heath, and in March 1900 took four pounds four shillings and ten pence from Mr.E.H.Roberts for unspecified 'goods'. What could they have been? Once in November 1899 and again the following February. Flea powder? Artificial insemination lubricant? We shall never know, but we can see that Mr.Roberts got a receipt for it, and Tippers endorsed the slip with two Queen Victoria halfpenny stamps. Right, why have I got a receipt for £9.40 from Ely Cathedral?
Kelsale, Suffolk
2 days ago
9 comments:
Have a look at this then!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/post_everything/
You cut a dashing figure on tonight's "Between The Lines", excellent programme. I'd just been watching some wonderful old BTF films and hadn't noticed this gem had been scheduled for the usually barren saturday night telly slot. I must check out Andrew Martin's work. Now back to my Sheppy's Kingston Black, cheers.
22nd March just happens to be Vinogirls B-day. Showed V1 and V2 your receipt, just after their monthly bath, and pre-flea treatment. They were not impressed. Now if you had any dog biscuit receipts they may pique their interest.
H'm. £4-4s-10d – that must have bought quite a lot of something back in those days. And, to thank a good customer, they knocked the 10 off and made it a 'round' 4 guineas. Those were the days.
Thankyou for the link AF-A, how extraordinary. What beautiful boxes and advertising Tipper's produced.
I am fortunate enough to have the original documents to the house I sit in right now. All hand written in that same beautiful script, back in 1880. The big difference between these old ones and the new, as with proper photographic prints and the digital form, is that they will last forewver. With 6x4 photographic reprints costing virtually nothing we have no excuse. I'm off to Jessops with a hundred or so today!
Will watch your starring role on iplayer later.
Oh blimey I'm not on that am I?
Nice tie Peter.
Thankyou Toby. Only Daughter is giving me stick about not wearing a blue shirt with it. Thing is I thought I was.
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