Antique 'Farrow's Mustard' enamel sign
A bright and glossy antique enamel sign advertising Farrow's Mustard, with deep navy blue typography on a punchy yellow ground and a blue pinstripe border.
Established by Joseph Farrow Sr. in 1840, the company intitially produced mushroom ketchup (a popular Victorian condiment) from a small factory in Parson Drove near Wisbech, Cambridgeshire. Later expanding into other factories in the area and with Joseph Farrow Jr. as head of the business, the production of mustard commenced in 1888. Farrow Jr. was keen to break the duopoly on the mustard trade, which at the time was controlled by J & J Colman of Norwich and Keen of London.
At the end of the 19thC, Farrow & Co claimed to be the first business in England to sell dried peas in packets and after opening factories in Boston & Holbeach (Lincs), most of the production was centralised to a large 5 storey factory in Fletton Avenue, Peterborough in 1902.
In 1912, Farrow and Co was acquired by J & J Colman and became a limited company. At the time, Farrow was the largest mustard manufacturer in Britain and Colman was likely motivated by the desire to control the market. The company then went on to acquire all it's other leading market competitors and production of Farrow's mustard was relocated to Norwich in 1931. Marketing of the mustard ended, and the product was then discontinued.
Circa 1910 and a rarely offered enamel sign in such lovely condition, it was produced by the Patent Enamel Co Ltd. Birmingham and features their manufacturers label at the bottom in black.
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