Sainsbury Archive, Museum of London Docklands
The film and video collection relates to Sainsbury's and its past subsidiaries (including Homebase, Texas, Shaw's and Savacentre) and comprises: short promotional films designed for distribution among local and community groups, TV advertisements, internal communications, recruitment and training films, oral history interviews, cookery and customer communications videos and copies of TV broadcasts featuring Sainsbury's and its subsidiaries. The collection occupies approx. 64 linear metres of shelving; a full inventory was produced by London's Screen Archives and a selection of material has been digitised. The main period covered is 1958 onwards, although there is a small quantity of earlier material.
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An independent charity based at the Museum in Docklands, The Sainsbury Archive preserves the history of J Sainsbury plc, from its formation in 1869 to the present day. The collection includes documents, photographs, objects and film and sound recordings, covering the development of retailing methods, stores and products.
Address:
No. 1 Warehouse
West India Quay
London
E14 4AL
Email: sainsburyarchive@museumoflondon.org.uk
Phone: 0207 001 9852
Access: Access to digitised material only by appointment on Thursdays.
The Archive will build on the existing collections by actively collecting significant items that demonstrate the history and evolution of Sainsbury’s and its impact on society. However, records in a format requiring special equipment for their consultation (such as microfilm, audio-visual and machine-readable records) will only be acquired if the Archive has access to appropriate equipment to read the records.
Quote:
Our films, particularly 'Shopping Day' show how the routine activity of shopping for food has been transformed over the last fifty years. My favourite footage shows the branch at Rye Lane, Peckham, on closing day in 1982 - this was the last of the old style counter service shops. The internal fittings had not changed much since it opened in 1931 - funny to think that it was still possible to shop at a Sainsbury's like this, at a time when edge-of-town superstores were flourishing....