J White and Sons Ltd the Furniture Specialists Chesterfield

1905
Silent
1m

Step inside a local Edwardian store.

From workshop to showroom to shopfront, here's a thorough initiation into the many departments of an early 20th century local business. Think of it as an Edwardian infomercial - an early, small-town demonstration of the close historical links between documentary and promotional filmmaking. Particular emphasis is placed on White and Sons' piano-making business, for which it was renowned in its day.

Near Your Local Cinema

Local goods for local people! Screen advertising wasn’t all national brands and chain stores.

Purpose-built cinemas began appearing around Britain shortly before WWI, booming in popularity during the War and developing into the ‘picture palaces’ of the 1920s - when adverts jostled for space alongside newsreels before the main feature. Local businesses were quick to see the potential of a big screen and a captive audience to promote their wares.

While they didn’t have access to the budgets of the national brands, regionally-specific businesses had the benefit of that personal touch. Products and services evolved over time, but that scratchy ad for your local Indian restaurant, so integral to the cinema-going experience into the 1990s, had its roots in the booming entrepreneurship of the industry many decades before.