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Store Highlight: Guildford
On 16th November 1906, Sainsbury's opened its store at 148 Guildford High Street.
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Fairy Tale Tea Cards
At the beginning of the 20th century Sainsbury’s gave out collectible cards to promote its new range of teas. Find out more about this colourful and charming part of our collection.
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Christmas Pudding
Christmas lunch isn't over until we've had at least one serving of the stodgy, spiced pudding, laden with butter and suet, that is Christmas pudding - our favourite festive dessert. But how much do we know about it and how has the recipe changed over time?
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Household Goods
Nowadays Sainsbury’s sells lots of non-food products but for much of its history it focussed almost exclusively on groceries. The earliest exceptions were 'household goods', an offering which has changed significantly over time.
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Self-Service
Sainsbury's were a leader in the development of self-service supermarkets in Britain after the Second World War.
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Butter and margarine
Butter was one of just three products sold in the first Sainsbury's store, and remained a key product during Sainsbury's development into a national chain. We look here at the history of butter, margarine and spreads at Sainsbury's.
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Easter Advertising
Egg-xamine archive material showing how Easter at Sainsbury’s has changed over the last hundred years.
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Art at Sainsbury's
Many branches have included public artworks as a prominent feature in their design, from murals and mosaics to concrete hippos. Discover more and see images of them here.
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A Brief History of Wine
Sainsbury’s began selling own-brand wines in the 1960s. Enjoy a few digitised items from our collection charting the rise of this important department.
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A History of Innovation
Sainsbury’s has always had a flair for innovation, right from the day the first store opened.
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Evolution of Packaging
The early range of fresh provisions sold by Sainsbury’s was weighed and wrapped individually, and any packaging was simple.
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Happy Birthday Sainsbury's
We look back at the 150 year history of one of Britain's biggest retail firms.
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Store Highlight: Croydon
Description of first suburban shop in Croydon and all the amazing innovations it went through over the years.
Audio Story
Harry's Story
Welcome to Harry Webb's story. This on-line audio book describes through pictures a typical day in the life of a delivery boy working for Sainsbury's in 1912.
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Store Highlight: 173 Drury Lane
A description of what it was like to shop in Sainsbury's first branch and the changes it went through before closing its doors for the last time in 1958