Omaha daily bee., 1908-12-20
OLD SHOP MARKET TO GO
Reminder of Past Will Be Raced in
Widening the Strand.
UNCHANGED FROM EARLY TIMES
Americans often Interested In
Curious Display I'm windows
of DeIicatessen store in
LOndon's Heart.

LONDON, Dec. 49, Especially Another
curious landmark will soon disappear from
the Strand owing to the street widening
operations just started in London. This
is a shop which has stood at l07 Strand
for 100 years, or, perhaps, $50. 1t Is the
only shop now In existence which adver-
tised in the first number of the Times, Is
sued January 1, 1888, and might be said to
have led the van in newspaper Advertising.
American visitors to London often stop
in front of this old place-which is almost
next door to the Hotel Cecil-to inspect the
queer collection of ancient vases, jugs, pots
and 'tobies' which the window displays.
These things have stood in the same place
for more than 100 years. They give a very
peculiar appearance to the establishment,
for you cannot at first make up your mind
whether the place is a drug store or a jam
factory. over the door in big letters is
the inscription, italian Warehouseman to.
H.. r. H. the Duchess of Gloucester" The
visitor naturally wonders why her royal
highness the duchess of Gloucester should
have an Italian warehouseman all to her.
self, but, in any event, the Messrs. Bur-
CESS seem quite proud of the appointment. Z
Ancient Methods Employed.
There is not today in all London a similar
concern dealing in the same sort of stuff
and trading in the same ancient manner as
Messrs. Burgess & Son. Though their bust
ness in olive oil, anchovies, sauce and vari-
Gus condiment of the delicatessen order
has grown in recent years to be extremely
important they follow today the same old
methods which the early founders of the
firm pursued. on entering the place you
feel as if you had literally stepped into an
other world. Old bookkeepers sit on high
stools, keeping musty old tones of musty
old accounts that this old firm has inher-'
tied, generation after generation, from some
of the Oldest families in old England.
When the first Burgess went into bust
ness he took a particular pride in attaining
a standard of excellence for many of his
wares, and wrote letters to the newspapers
of the day-the Times. of course-describ@
ing what he had in stock. Some of these
advertisements read very curiously. For
instance, he boasts of having on hand some
delicious new reindeer tongues, Welch
oysters, exceedingly fine favored Gorgona
anchovies and superfine salad oil. Also
Devonshire sauce, and zoobdity.'' He does
not say what ''zoobdity' is, but perhaps It,
had something TO do with the zoo" and
represented a paste made from some queer
animal, such as only old Burgess & Son
would have known anything about. In
another issue or the Times ne mentions
having "Hamboror' sour crout in great
variety" For spelling conventions, 1t
seems old Burgess didn't care a fig, for he
spells salad in three ways, and juggles
with the English dictionary in a manner
that would have made DR.. johnson use
nkind language. p
Fine AnchOvy sauce.
One of the great specialues of the Burs
CESS firm in its early days was a kind OF
anchovy sauce, for the preparation Of which
they had a secret recipe. They used 10
make this sauce in a huge mortar and
pound it with a great pestle. Both these
relics are shown in the establishment to-
day, and are revered as sacred. The Bur
gesses were also strong on a special kind
of mustard. made of the true Denham
flowers, which for strength surpasses any
thing Of the kind ever yet found out. Sold