Green Grocers of New Zealand, 1920s - #4

A Chinese family in their green grocer's store, circa 1910s or 1920s. Unidentified.

The images in this short series of green grocer stores underscore the orderliness of the produce, everything stacked in its place, or strung like this row of pineapples above the patrons' and greengrocer's heads.

One wonders how many of the young 'uns in this photo led this business into the next generation. I'd pick all three were and that they passed it on to the next generation.A few of the descendants will, of course, have escaped the kingdom of pineapples and thickets of asparagus.

Green Grocers of New Zealand, 1920s - #3

Green Grocery store interior, circa 1920s, unidentified.

If you look closely you can see you can also buy a man's head to go with your basket of apples! A woman (?) (blurred image) sits behind the counter to the right.

The Chinese lanterns hanging from the ceiling and the green grocery staff are subtle reminders of the success with which Chinese entrepreneurs developed the retail trade in fruit & vegetables around the globe, including New Zealand. This often extended into a vertically-integrated business enterprise that began in market gardening, extended to processing, and retailing.

Green Grocers of New Zealand, 1920s - #2

Greengrocer store interior, circa 1920s. Unidentified location.

Greengrocer's store interior from the 1920s, bunches of grapes hanging by the hook. The individual grapes appear to be larger than the insipid ones on offer at my local supermarket.

Another apple poster displayed on the back wall - top left corner of photo. Click image for larger view.

Once again store, location, & photographer unidentified.

Green Grocers of New Zealand, 1920s - #1

Interior of greengrocer's (fruit & vegetable) store, circa 1920s

If you click the above image and look closely at the rear wall upper you will see one of the posters promoting fruit listed in recent posts here as well as several others.

Would you like a bottle of fizzy drink to go with your cauli today? Grab one off the rear shelf.

Unfortunately, this store and the photographer are unidentified. Get with it, people! Write important info on the back of your photos for posterity! (Ok, yours truly regularly transgresses on this very point).

Buy Your Apples By the Case - Poster - circa 1930s

Buy Your Apples By the Case - Poster - circa 1930s

 

Look with all the productivity gains made by orchardists and the drop in prices caused by the Great Slump, you need to step up and buy a case of apples. Ask your stationmaster at the local railway station how to order.

Apple & Pear Poster - Ask for Dominion Mark Fruit - circa 1930s

Apple & Pear Poster - Ask for Dominion Mark Fruit - circa 1930s

 

And it wouldn't hurt you to eat some of that stone fruit from central Otago either...

 Health poster promoting more fruit in the diet, 1920s, artist Joseph Moran

One of the public health lessons of the First World War was that the nation's young men were not as healthy and fit as the myth of the fighting British race suggested. But they were healthy & fit enough to serve as cannon fodder. In the interwar period, fruit was promoted as a way of improving health and fitness. It didn't hurt that it also sold cases of apples and pears produced by Kiwi growers.