Cadbury advertisement: This is a Bournville Workroom

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Date:1910

Description:Bournville Works and village was a social and industrial experiment devised by George and Richard Cadbury that was made possible by the relocation of their company from central Birmingham to rural Bournbrook during the late nineteenth century. Cadbury took every opportunity to promote their model factory, particularly through the use of advertising. Throughout the early twentieth century, Cadbury developed a distinct visual identity which utilised carefully selected images of the Bournville works and its workforce. A series of advertisements published during October and November 1910 illustrate how these images were used to sell Cadbury’s products in conjunction with selling the Bournville ethos. The style and layout of ‘This is a Bournville Workroom’, the first of the group to be published, was typical of the format used in this series. Each design space was divided into three sections containing the following: an image of the Works, a narrative pertaining to the Bournville ethos, and a presentation of two or three principal products. Nearly half of the design space was taken up by a visual and written account of the Works, the products themselves were often afforded no further explanation.

The illustration of ‘Bournville Workroom’ represented a somewhat idealised factory setting. The image featured a small group of women working around a bench. Their working environment is depicted as being illuminated by natural sun-light falling through large windows. Their youthful complexions are emphasised by the lush tree-lined landscape. All these indicators were used by Cadbury to point towards the improved standards of health among their employees at the Bournville Works.<small><sup>1</sup></small> It is interesting to note that although Bournville was becoming increasingly mechanised, Cadbury chose not to depict their employees engaged in mechanical processes or hard physical or dirty labour, illustrating instead women working in a peaceful and tranquil setting. The narrative of the advertisement reemphasised key aspects of the image noting: ‘Wide open windows […] fresh air […] well kept gardens’.<small><sup>2</sup></small>

In an alternative version of this advertisement, also published in October 1910, a wider perspective of the room is offered, in which the workroom still retains the appearance of a small workshop.


<font color="#666633"><small><sup>1</sup> Bournville Work & Play: 1926 (Cadbury Bros Ltd., Bournville, 1926), p.21
<sup>2</sup> Press Pulls: This is a Bournville Workroom, 1910, p.13 [BA&H: MS 466/12]</small></font>

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Image courtesy of: Cadbury

Donor ref:BA&H: MS 466/12 p13 (92/1770)

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