Malcolm Campbell's fruit shop in Gordon Street, 1911. Staff stand outside the shop next to baskets of strawberries piled high to make an eye-catching display. The windows contain advertisements for fresh tomatoes grown at the firm's own nurseries.
Malcolm Campbell (1848-1935) began work for the greengrocer Mark Walker in his Gordon Street fruit shop in 1864, and purchased the business in 1878 when Walker retired. He built up a famous chain of grocery, fruit and vegetable shops across Scotland, and diversified into wholesaling. The firm became a limited company in 1899.
The George Street shop, near Central Station, remained the jewel in the Malcolm Campbell crown, with extravagant window displays and promotions to grab the attention of shoppers. Campbell (who was knighted in 1922) became an arbiter of popular tastes, popularising such fruits as the tomato and imported melons and grapes. He is credited with introducing the banana to Scottish customers, displaying a banana tree in the Gordon Street window in the 1880s.
Reference: 1220.82.359
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Museums
Keywords:
bananas, fruit, fruit and vegetable shops, fruit shops, greengrocers, grocers, Malcolm Campbell, melons, shopping, shops, strawberries, tomatoes, vegetables, women
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