Next up is an old Blantyre advert, put into local newspapers on the run up to Christmas, but in 1904! It reads “Before purchasing your Xmas & New Year presents, you are invited to Inspect the Stock of William Izett, who has the largest assortment of Fancy Chocolate Boxes in Blantyre. See Windows”
Three things came to mind reading this.
- The term ‘Xmas’, with an ‘x’. I’ve always thought that was a modern abbreviation and was surprised to see it as far back in written form as 1904!
- Then there’s the thought of “Fancy Chocolate Boxes”, which I’m sure would have been huge given how large confectionary and its packaging was in days gone by! Then finally…
- The thought of these Christmas goods in a Blantyre window to attract passers by. I couldn’t find an image of William Izett’s shop on Glasgow Road, but I did find confectionary signage in Benham’s window on Stonefield Road at a time over 100 years ago.
Days gone by, indeed!
