Please Select a Title
Mustard Club Song
Yellow Label Story
Blue Story
Penny Oval Story
Art & Advertising
Colman's Mustards
Welfare at the Works
Mustard Growing
A Collector's lot
Children's Story
Mustard Club Story
Mustard Club Song
Since Time began, the Englishman Has eaten eggs and bacon,
His firm belief in Pork and Beef Has never yet been shaken,
But though he's got a pepper-pot and salt-cellar round his cluster,
The Nation's meat is not complete Without the Nation's Mustard.
Yellow Label Story
With the advent of the tin, the label came into it's own with the need for brand identity. Colman's produced it's bold yellow label with the now famous bull's head logo during the First World War. It has undergone many subtle changes over the years but still remains one of the most well known and easily recognised the world over.
Blue Story
This smart, almost navy blue label on the Mustard Shop range harks back to earlier times, it's shape having been used for a bath mustard at the turn of the century. The first labelling machine was installed at the Carrow factory in 1910. The first Royal Warrant was granted by Queen Victoria in 1866. Warrants were also granted by Emperor Napoleon III, and the King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel II.
Penny Oval Story
The Penny Oval Mustard Tin was first introduced in 1886 and illustrates how Colman's came to exploit the desire to collect. The first of the tins featured flags: the Union Flag, the Stars and Stripes, and the Imperial Russian Flag. In 1900 the flag motif was established as a series, with 22 national emblems - a modest contribution to a child's education.
Art & Advertising
During the early 19th century Colman's became aware of the enormous dividends to be reaped from investment in advertising. They are perhaps best known for posters by Hassall, Aldin, and Gilroy. John Hassall (1868-1948) is best remembered for his Klondyke posters. Gilroy in the 1920's and Septimus Scott in the 1930's managed to combine a personal style with a flair for communicating directly with the public.
Colman's Mustards
A fine selection of Dried & Prepared Mustards.
Welfare at the Works
The first works kitchen was established by Mrs Caroline Colman in 1868 with Tea and Coffee at 1/2d. and Sausage and Mash at 2d. Later, in 1878 Philippa Flowerday started work at the Carrow factory as industrial nurse, the first such appointment ever made.
Mustard Growing
Mustard has been grown in England since Roman times. Two types of plant are now grown - brown mustard (Brassica juncea) and white mustard (Sinapis alba). The seed is sown in March and April, the plants flower in June and the harvest takes place in September.
A Collector's lot
Many of the early mustard pots were commissioned by Colman's with now world famous potteries. Mappin Bros. of Cheapside (later Mappin & Webb) produced a pot to commemorate the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria 1837-1897. Others included Doulton of Lambeth in 1884, and Copeland, who made many early commercial and commemorative pots that are now very collectable.
Children's Story
These images have been reproduced from delightful little booklets produced by Colman's and given free to children every Christmas from the 1880's to the 1950's. Children treasured these booklets. For many they were the first and only books they ever owned.
Mustard Club Story
The Mustard Club was an advertising campaign that ran from 1926 to 1933. Like many classic campaigns it began with a secret. The first adverts appeared as bus posters asking "Has father joined the Mustard Club?" Later a department with 10 girls was established to deal with the 2000 applications a day to join the club.
