GROCERIES OF 1888

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 11, Issue 23, 2 May 1947, Page 7

GROCERIES OF 1888

AMAZING TO MODERN HOUSEWIFE SUGAR AT TWOPENCE A POUND For the 1947 housewife a glance at the grocery prices of last century would convince her that those certainly “were the days.” A price list belonging to a well-known South Island firm which was established in 1880, shows that in 1888 it was surviving comfortably, while retailing goods at surprising prices. Flour, for example, and of the best quality, sold at 251 b for 2s sd, 501 b for 4s 7d, or £8 a ton. Pearl barley at 2d ! a lb would be something of a shock to present-day retailers. Brown sugar was also 2d a lb, and white tapioca a penny dearer. Soap was lgd, 2d, 3d 4d and 5d a bar, with large bars at Bd. The 1888 housewife set great store on her candles as her means of lighting. She was offered them in three varieties, in this list, sperm at 4d a lb, adamantine at s£d and London wax at Bd. She could also order bominy which seems to have passed the ken of today’s honje makers—five bags for Is. One pound of lunch biscuits would cost her the modest sum of 2£d. Brooms appeared to be in good supply, American ones being priced at Is 2d each. Hairbrushes ran from Is 3d to 5s 6d, and galvanised buckets were priced at Is.

Surely this was the golden age with English pickles at 6d a bottle, and a tin of jam for sd. Bloaters, sardines and honey, too, were there for 'the asking, the first at 4£d and B£d a tin according to size, and the honey bringing 9d a bottle. Perhaps the concluding lines of the price list would warm the heart of Mrs 1947 more than any other. There is such a suggestion of pleasant co-operation about its choice of words. It runs “Families waited on and goods delivered daily.”