Interview
with Dr Tanner

1. Dr Tanner thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. You are Fortnum & Mason’s archivist. What does this role entail? 

I look after the history of the company, so I have the written archive under my care, as well as digital records, the artwork in store, and a growing collection of artefacts. I conduct inductions for new members of staff, liaise with our PR company, help buyers with queries as to products in the past, give Delicious History tours every 2 weeks to customers – and write the jokes for the Christmas crackers. The assistant archivist is in charge of the digitisation projects. 

2.  Within Fortnum & Mason’s  company structure where does the archivist sit?  

I am directly reportable to the Director of Customer Experience. 

3.  As you interpret history how do the stories of commercial value differ from those of historical value?  

I am not sure that they differ as much as one might think: archivists determine what is remembered, and everything feeds into the story of the company. There are obvious stories of direct commercial value, such as our long relationship with Heinz, which has resulted in several very successful commercial campaigns, and the beef tea we sent out to Florence Nightingale in the Crimea being the inspiration for concentrated beef extract. However, with stories being used so extensively in social media, it might be a reference to the suffragettes, or to Shackleton’s expedition, that persuades someone to become a Fortnum’s customer. 

4.  You are referred to frequently as  Ebay’s queen. When searching online for relevant artefacts what criteria determine the piece’s importance, and eventual purchase?  

Firstly, it has to be from Fortnums (there are a surprisingly large number of Ebay artefacts that claim an association and aren’t). If I don’t have it already in the collection and it is of an interesting design, I will try to get it. Occasionally something on offer is already in the archive, but the one for sale is in better condition, so I will bid for it. It also has to be good value for money: I know to the last penny how much everything is worth, and I keep to my limits. If I don’t succeed this time, another one will come along. 

5. Fortnum & Mason’s archive was destroyed  in WWII, an immense loss.  How  does an archive ever recover  from something like that?  

 I am not sure it can, to be honest, and I try hard not to think about what we lost. That said, archival digitisation has increased dramatically in recent years, so it is getting easier every day to discover references to Fortnum & Mason, and people associated with the company, in archives, libraries and museums across the world. By keeping alert, and revisiting these repositories on a regular basis, it is now possible to recreate some of the stories that would have been lost in the bombing. For example, I discovered that the general manager of the New York store that opened in 1931 was a survivor of the  Lusitania  sinking. I got in touch with the person who manages the history of the vessel’s website, and he very generously sent me his comprehensive research. In return, I sent him details of the Madison Avenue store, and also press cuttings from digitised US newspapers relating to the individual. This would have been impossible a few years ago. 

6. Does a city like London pose a challenge for archives like  yours? And, how do you advise brands to look into facilities that enable the evolution and sustainability of a brand’s archive? 

Space is a constant pressure: archives only grow over time, and it is important to think ahead, if you can. You can start with a secure cupboard, and digitisations does mean that you can now make the images and metadata available, and keep the physical archive elsewhere, which will be cheaper than renting space in central London.

There is a lot of help out there for businesses that are considering what to do with their archive: the National Archives has a dedicated business liaison officer who will come and see you to offer advice, the Business Archives Council offers mentoring and advice. Archivists are a friendly and generous bunch, and reaching out to them will always result in help and advice. It needn’t be daunting, and it needn’t be expensive, and you will find that – if you look after your archive – it will reward you again and again. 

7.  What is your favourite artefact in the archive? How did you get your hands on it? And, what can we deduce from it?  

My favourite piece is a 1920s patented Cocktail Calculator – it is only as big as a 6 inch ruler, and has recipes for 100 cocktails on it. It is a very pleasing economical design, and Fortnum’s produced it. I got it on Ebay, and was thrilled when it arrived. It is early for a piece of cocktail paraphernalia, so it tells me that Fortnum’s was ahead of the game in the Roaring Twenties in offering its customers something new and exciting. It’s also a brilliantly economical design – almost like a slide rule and I love that form and function work so well with it. 

8.  Conservation is pivotal to such pieces. How can a contemporary archive balance  conservation and sustainability?  

It is important that an object or item in the archive does not deteriorate on one’s watch, but an unused archive is of no value to a business. This is where digitisation is so important – for most purposes – the image and metadata are enough for those on a particular project. Occasionally it is necessary to see the original, in which case this can be done under supervision. If an object  or  an item in the archive needs conservation, there are many good accredited conservators who will provide estimates for the work. When the work is completed, the piece in invariably in a stronger state than before, and generally has had housing made for it to ensure that it remains in perfect condition. 

9. With 300 years of history, Fortnum’s has borne witness to many challenging times for British retailers. How has the company responded to these, and how did it pivot in order to survive for so long?  

You don’t survive for 313 without adapting, and Fortnum’s has been very good at anticipating customer needs and changing in advance of those. When it began, it was a small shop selling tea and candles. It expanded its offering, and by the late 1730s was making up travellers’ baskets. Over time, it has introduced new products and services to customers: it has served as a Post Office, supplier of goods to colonial officers and expeditions, had an invalid department, interior decorating department, travel agency, outside catering, haute couture, sportswear and sports equipment, had a working carousel in the children’s department, had a hair dressing salon specialising in long hair… To name but a few. During crises, the company adapted – shrank when needed, expanded when times were better. During the current pandemic, we were in a very good position to expand the online business – Fortnum’s was one of the first companies to have a selling website, and we have invested in it very heavily in recent years. While the Piccadilly and satellite stores were closed, the online business continued in an expanded form. 

10.  The company’s history commences in the early 18thcentury with a candlestick maker and a grocer. But by the early 20th  century you’d become a department store closely associated with fashion. If I recall correctly you were the first to stock  Ferragamo shoes in the UK. What conclusions can you draw on the evolution of London’s fashion retail scene?  

We started to sell couture in the 1920s, and many famous names are associated with Fortnums: Schiaparelli, Mainbocher, Molyneux, Angele Delange, Bunny Roger, Mary Quant, Zandra Rhodes, Ferragamo and Jean Muir. We opened up a ready-to-wear department in 1970 with exclusive designs by Rhodes, Muir and Bill Gibb, as haute couture was losing favour, but pulled out of fashion in 2004, as customer behaviour was changing, and we felt we could not offer the same exclusivity and range in the future. Fashion retail is very uncertain and volatile – we had 80 years of great success with it – but no longer view it as a core part of our business. 

11.  Even with such a rich fashion history, Fortnum’s remains loyal to its grocery legacy. How will you document new products entering the shop floor, and what can food choices tell us about our consumer behaviour? 

I work closely with the buyers and the packaging manager. The CAD files find their way into the archive, and I also keep a selection of tins, boxes etc as artefacts. Consumer behaviour is at one and the same time the same and different. Customers want what they have always bought form us, but they also want new things.  Choice and the ability to compare have never been so great and so simple, but we have always found that price is not the main driver for our customers. They are interested in provenance, in quality and in innovation, and that is what we have always offered. What is different today is that the packaging is more important than ever: we buy with our eyes, and so beauty and functionality are important. In addition, sustainability is a very important consideration for our customers, so recycling, less plastic, unbleached paper etc are assuming an importance that they did not have even 20 years ago. 

12.  Would you like to see any past items resurrected?  

Oh yes – I have been campaigning for a return of chocolate and honey preserve, that we made in the 1930s. 

13.  Finally, what is your favourite Fortnum’s product? 

Currently, it’s the concentrated beef extract, which is hugely versatile. I am also rather fond of the sparkling tea, which looks like champagne, but means you can drive home after dinner.