People’s History Museum will join in the celebrations of the 25th Manchester Food and Drink Festival with a specially curated menu of food and drink inspired objects.
The museum will also host a wine tasting event with a difference at Open Kitchen Cafe and Bar.
In amongst the political posters, bold banners and campaigns for change, food and drink makes a surprisingly significant appearance in the galleries at People’s History Museum, if you know where to look.
Amongst the items on display at PMH are the Crumpsall Biscuit Works Tin (1905) celebrating the local biscuit factory which was the first to introduce lower working hours, a cricket club, leisure facilities and fair treatment of female employees.
More recent objects include the Brewdog Barnard Castle Eye Test beer can from 2020 a tongue in cheek response to the controversy that swept the nation in March 2020 when the Prime Minister’s chief advisor, Dominic Cummings, made a journey across the country with Covid-19 symptoms during the first and most strict ‘lockdown’, when non-essential travel was forbidden.
The Dig for Victory campaign by the Ministry of Information which began during World War II produced some iconic advertising including a campaign to encourage women to join the bid to produce more food with the promise of a free farm holiday, these include the colourful work of the graphic designer Eileen Evans. Over 200,000 women served in the Women’s Land Army between 1939 and 1950 and you can also see a number of posters from the Ministry connected to this campaign on both main galleries.
Post World War II and food rationing and shortages continued, so when it came to the 1950 and 1951 elections, this was a major issue. The depiction of a basketful of food is the central message in Labour’s Fair Share at a Fair Price poster, which is found on Main Gallery Two as part of the Welfare State section.
Co-operative advert, date unknown © National Co-operative Archive, The Co-operative Group
The growth of the Cooperative movement is something that you can explore at People’s History Museum (and children can have fun playing shop in the Co-op shop) and its principles of collectivity and giving working class people access to goods they wouldn’t otherwise have been able to afford are summed up in some of the 19th century posters. Also included is this advert that carries the line “Co-operative tea is filling the nation’s teapot” which is on display on Main Gallery Two
As well as items on display at People’s History Museum, the venue hosts a wine tasting evening at their open Kitchen Cafe and Bar on 29 September. The wine-tasting event with a different will feature five sustainable and ethnically produced wines accompany snacks such a Wotsits, Frazzles and even Monster Munch. The light hearted evening will be led by Nathan Fiske from C&O Wines. Tickets £25 with booking essential.
