Robertson's
Encyclopedia
Robertson's is a UK
brand of marmalade
s and jams that was owned by RHM
until that company's takeover by Premier Foods
in March 2007. It produces the "Golden Shred" marmalade
among other products.
The company was founded in 1864 by James Robertson who started life working in the Paisley thread mills. James became apprenticed to a local grocer hoping this would give him a better future and in 1859, now married to Marion McFadyen, he started up in business as a grocer at 86 Causeyside Street in Paisley.
Marmalade was originally produced in the back of the shop, but soon a factory was set up to meet increased demand, and jam and mincemeat
were added to the range.
The original factory was based in Paisley
, Renfrewshire
on the town's Stevenson Street in the south of the town. It is now a housing estate, St. Andrew's Court, with the street itself named Robertson's Gait, after the factory that stood there previously. The company also built a factory at Droylsden
in Manchester in 1891, which closed in 2008, and was demolished in 2010.
In 1928 Robertson’s started the Golly brooch
collector
scheme which became the longest running collector scheme in history, only finishing in 2001 when Golly was replaced by Roald Dahl
characters. This scheme ended in 2006.
Robertson’s has had a Royal Warrant
since 1933.
In December 2008 Premier Foods announced that it would discontinue Jam in the UK under the Robertson brand in 2009 in order to focus on Robertson's Marmalade, and its more successful Hartley's
jam brand.. Premier is committed to the Robertson's Marmalade brand in the UK, and retains its successful jam, lemon curd, mincemeat and marmalade products outside the UK.
John Robertson was so intrigued by the popularity of the "Golly" (the name being the children's interpretation of Dolly) that he thought it would make an ideal mascot and trade mark for the Robertson's range of products. The idea of Golly trade mark was accepted by the Company and the Golly was first shown on Robertson literature in 1910, on items such as labels and price lists. A skilled enameller called H. Miller from Birmingham's jewellery quarter approached Robertsons with the idea of enamelled 'mascots'. He produced the first design, a Golly golfer in 1928. In the early 1930s, Golly appeared in little fruit designs, many of which were worn as jewellery because of their high quality. More sporting designs followed, including country cricketers and footballers with footballs in team colours. 1937 saw the Coronation Golly, complete with Union Jack on its chest. Their appeal lasts to this day and the rarer pre World War II badges exchange hands for high prices when they appear on the market.
In 1914 James Robertson died aged 83. James had featured in the public life of Paisley, having been a member of the council, a magistrate, a school director, and the manager of a savings bank, as well as belonging to a variety of philanthropic societies.
His eldest son John succeeded as chairman of Robertson’s and established the firm as a leader in the preserves industry. Robertson’s have been awarded royal warrants by King George V in 1933, George VI and also by the present Queen Elizabeth.
In 1939 the scheme was discontinued as the metal was needed for the war effort, but by 1946 the Golly was back again. The Golly pendant with chain was introduced by popular demand in 1956. In the 1970s, the design of all Gollies changed from the old Golly with "pop eyes" to the present day Golly with eyes looking to the left. The words "Golden Shred" were removed from his waistcoat, his legs straightened and smile broadened. At about the same time a range of 11 Footballer and 12 Musician Golly figures were produced in pottery, standing about 2.5" high. These were eventually discontinued however. At the start of the 1980s the hard enamelled badges were replaced with cheaper to produce acrylic badges, but this did not affect their popularity. They were avidly collected not only in the Uk but many Asian countries who also had the token offers.
The Robertson Golly was not only limited to badges. There were Robertson Golly dolls, china, Golly games for children, even Golly clothing. One major collector has produced a comprehensive interactive CD-Rom illustrating thousands of Robertson Golly premiums produced over the years.
Over 20 million Gollies were been sent out over the years and many have become highly valued collectors' items.
Robertson's always insisted that they did not retire the Golly because of political pressure (the caricature is now generally considered to be racist), but simply for commercial reasons: Virginia C (Ginny) Knox, then brand director at Robertson's said, "We are retiring Golly because we found families with kids no longer necessarily knew about him. We are not bowing to political correctness, but like with any great brand we have to move with the times."
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
brand of marmalade
Marmalade
Marmalade is a fruit preserve made from the juice and peel of citrus fruits, boiled with sugar and water. The benchmark citrus fruit for marmalade production in Britain is the "Seville orange" from Spain, Citrus aurantium var...
s and jams that was owned by RHM
RHM
RHM plc, formerly Rank Hovis McDougall, was a United Kingdom food business. The company owned numerous brands, particularly for flour, where its core business started, and for consumer food products...
until that company's takeover by Premier Foods
Premier Foods
Premier Foods plc is a British food manufacturer headquartered in St Albans, Hertfordshire. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-History:...
in March 2007. It produces the "Golden Shred" marmalade
Marmalade
Marmalade is a fruit preserve made from the juice and peel of citrus fruits, boiled with sugar and water. The benchmark citrus fruit for marmalade production in Britain is the "Seville orange" from Spain, Citrus aurantium var...
among other products.
The company was founded in 1864 by James Robertson who started life working in the Paisley thread mills. James became apprenticed to a local grocer hoping this would give him a better future and in 1859, now married to Marion McFadyen, he started up in business as a grocer at 86 Causeyside Street in Paisley.
Marmalade was originally produced in the back of the shop, but soon a factory was set up to meet increased demand, and jam and mincemeat
Mincemeat
Mincemeat is a mixture of chopped dried fruit, distilled spirits and spices, and sometimes beef suet, beef, or venison. Originally, mincemeat always contained meat. Many modern recipes contain beef suet, though vegetable shortening is sometimes used in its place...
were added to the range.
The original factory was based in Paisley
Paisley
Paisley is the largest town in the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland and serves as the administrative centre for the Renfrewshire council area...
, Renfrewshire
Renfrewshire
Renfrewshire is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfrewshire, the others being Inverclyde to the west and East Renfrewshire to the east...
on the town's Stevenson Street in the south of the town. It is now a housing estate, St. Andrew's Court, with the street itself named Robertson's Gait, after the factory that stood there previously. The company also built a factory at Droylsden
Droylsden
Droylsden is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, in Greater Manchester, England. It is to the east of Manchester city centre, and west-southwest of Ashton-under-Lyne, it has a population of 23,172....
in Manchester in 1891, which closed in 2008, and was demolished in 2010.
In 1928 Robertson’s started the Golly brooch
Badge
A badge is a device or fashion accessory, often containing the insignia of an organization, which is presented or displayed to indicate some feat of service, a special accomplishment, a symbol of authority granted by taking an oath , a sign of legitimate employment or student status, or as a simple...
collector
Collecting
The hobby of collecting includes seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever items are of interest to the individual collector. Some collectors are generalists, accumulating merchandise, or stamps from all countries of the world...
scheme which became the longest running collector scheme in history, only finishing in 2001 when Golly was replaced by Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer, fighter pilot and screenwriter.Born in Wales to Norwegian parents, he served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent, rising to the rank of Wing Commander...
characters. This scheme ended in 2006.
Robertson’s has had a Royal Warrant
Royal Warrant
Royal warrants of appointment have been issued for centuries to those who supply goods or services to a royal court or certain royal personages. The warrant enables the supplier to advertise the fact that they supply to the royal family, so lending prestige to the supplier...
since 1933.
In December 2008 Premier Foods announced that it would discontinue Jam in the UK under the Robertson brand in 2009 in order to focus on Robertson's Marmalade, and its more successful Hartley's
Hartley's
Hartley's is a UK brand of marmalades, jams and jellies, manufactured at Histon, Cambridgeshire, by Premier Foods.- History :Hartley's was a grocers founded by Sir William Pickles Hartley near Pendle, Lancashire. In 1871 a supplier failed to deliver a consignment of jam, so William made his own and...
jam brand.. Premier is committed to the Robertson's Marmalade brand in the UK, and retains its successful jam, lemon curd, mincemeat and marmalade products outside the UK.
Advertising - Golly merchandise
Robertson's introduced the Golly (Golliwog) in the early 20th century. It was in America, just before World War I, that John Robertson (son of James Robertson) first saw the Golly doll. Whilst on a visit to the backwoods of North America he noticed many young children playing with little black rag dolls with white eyes, made from their mothers' discarded black skirts and white blouses.John Robertson was so intrigued by the popularity of the "Golly" (the name being the children's interpretation of Dolly) that he thought it would make an ideal mascot and trade mark for the Robertson's range of products. The idea of Golly trade mark was accepted by the Company and the Golly was first shown on Robertson literature in 1910, on items such as labels and price lists. A skilled enameller called H. Miller from Birmingham's jewellery quarter approached Robertsons with the idea of enamelled 'mascots'. He produced the first design, a Golly golfer in 1928. In the early 1930s, Golly appeared in little fruit designs, many of which were worn as jewellery because of their high quality. More sporting designs followed, including country cricketers and footballers with footballs in team colours. 1937 saw the Coronation Golly, complete with Union Jack on its chest. Their appeal lasts to this day and the rarer pre World War II badges exchange hands for high prices when they appear on the market.
In 1914 James Robertson died aged 83. James had featured in the public life of Paisley, having been a member of the council, a magistrate, a school director, and the manager of a savings bank, as well as belonging to a variety of philanthropic societies.
His eldest son John succeeded as chairman of Robertson’s and established the firm as a leader in the preserves industry. Robertson’s have been awarded royal warrants by King George V in 1933, George VI and also by the present Queen Elizabeth.
In 1939 the scheme was discontinued as the metal was needed for the war effort, but by 1946 the Golly was back again. The Golly pendant with chain was introduced by popular demand in 1956. In the 1970s, the design of all Gollies changed from the old Golly with "pop eyes" to the present day Golly with eyes looking to the left. The words "Golden Shred" were removed from his waistcoat, his legs straightened and smile broadened. At about the same time a range of 11 Footballer and 12 Musician Golly figures were produced in pottery, standing about 2.5" high. These were eventually discontinued however. At the start of the 1980s the hard enamelled badges were replaced with cheaper to produce acrylic badges, but this did not affect their popularity. They were avidly collected not only in the Uk but many Asian countries who also had the token offers.
The Robertson Golly was not only limited to badges. There were Robertson Golly dolls, china, Golly games for children, even Golly clothing. One major collector has produced a comprehensive interactive CD-Rom illustrating thousands of Robertson Golly premiums produced over the years.
Over 20 million Gollies were been sent out over the years and many have become highly valued collectors' items.
Discontinuation of Golly Merchandise
Robertson's officially 'retired' Golly in 2002. The company had found that Golly was, on the whole, no longer popular with the children of families, although the scheme was still successful with adult collectors.Robertson's always insisted that they did not retire the Golly because of political pressure (the caricature is now generally considered to be racist), but simply for commercial reasons: Virginia C (Ginny) Knox, then brand director at Robertson's said, "We are retiring Golly because we found families with kids no longer necessarily knew about him. We are not bowing to political correctness, but like with any great brand we have to move with the times."
External links
- Gollycorner, the history of the Robertson's Golly
- "Golliwogg.co.uk" An independent guide to Golliwogs - "Golliwogs & Robertson's Jam"
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2001/aug/27/features11.g21 History of a racist symbol from the Guardian