Chichester: Novium Museum to catalogue historic food adverts

Shippam's made extensive use of advertising from early in its history

The Novium Museum in Chichester, West Sussex, has received nearly £45,000 from Arts Council England to catalogue advertising items from one of the city's former employers.

Shippam's began as a grocery store in 1786, before expanding and setting up a factory specialising in meat and fish pastes in East Street in 1851.

After a series of takeovers, the East Street factory closed in 2001.

The museum hopes to turn the work into an exhibition on the company in 2025.

The company had always made innovative use of advertising, running its first advert on TV in 1955.

The Arts Council money will be used to catalogue and digitalise more than 700 items from the company's archive, including photographs and illustrations.

Memories from former employees and their families will also be recorded as an oral history.

The Shippam's factory stood in East Street from 1851 until 2001

Jim Shippam, former chairman and chief executive of Shippam's, said: "Cataloguing and researching the advertising archive will provide a valuable resource for the public and will ensure the unique story of Shippam's is preserved for future generations."

Members of the public will be able to take part in the project as volunteers, with a recruitment morning being held at the Novium Museum on 29 February.

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