Draft:Edmonds (brand)
History
[edit]
Edmonds was started in 1879 by grocer Thomas Edmonds after hearing his customers complain about the available baking powder being unreliable.[1][2] People were not able to guarantee that their baking would rise.[2] Edmonds decided that he would create his own formula, while his wife Jane managed the shop.[3]: 3 He sold 200 tins in his first batch, telling his customers that their baking was "sure to rise",[1] which he turned into the brand's slogan.[2]
The Edmonds family moved to a house in the early 1980s on the corner of Aldwins and Ferry road. Edmonds increased his scale of production by building sheds. This later turned into the iconic three-storey factory with the "Sure to Rise" sign[3]: 4 in 1892, featuring gardens and later making its way onto the cover of the Edmonds Cookery Book.[1][2] After head office and manufacturing moved to Auckland and the Ferry Road factory was abandoned,[4] it was controversially demolished in 1990, and the Christchurch City Council bought part of the gardens next year. An oval garden and rose garden have later been added.[1][2]
By 1929 they were selling 3 million baking powder tins a year. There were so many used tins that they had do something about them. One way was to build a few roads in Christchurch out of them. During World War II, the Home Guard encouraged housewives to keep the tins so they could be used as bombs in case the country was invaded.[4]
Something about having too many products.[2]
Edmonds is now owned by Goodman Fielder.[1]
The 1 millionth baking powder tin was sold in 1912.[5]
Bought by Brierley Investments in 1984.[4]
There is a street next to the where the old factory was located, named Edmonds Street. From 1893 it was incorrectly spelt "Edmond St", and was renamed to "Edmonds St" in 2018.[6]
Edmonds Cookery Book
[edit]
The Edmonds Cookery Book is a recipe book made by Edmonds, that features simple recipes using pantry staples and affordable ingredients.[7] The 2012 edition has over 500 recipes.[1]
Having over 3 million copies sold as of 2015, it is the New Zealand's best-selling book. It is a ubiquitous in the country, described by Ron Palenski as "much a part of New Zealand kitchens as a stove and knife". It is considered a New Zealand icon, and made an appearance in a 2008 stamp series which featured national icons for each letter of the alphabet.[1]
The Edmonds Cookery Book was first published in 1908, originally named the Sure To Rise Cookery Book with an original length of 50 pages.[1] The first edition with photography was released in 1930.[5] The 1922 factory has been on the cover since 1955.[7] Became spiral-bounded in the late 1976, and is still to this day.[8][7] 1971 book was a dedicated to gas cooking.[8] Microwave baking section in 1988.[5]
The cookery book was originally free. It took until 1955 for the need to pay for it.[5] Originally, housewives could write a request for a free copy.[8] In the 1940s, couples who announced that they had become engaged in the newspaper would receive a free cookbook.[5] People can no longer do this.[7]
Recipes in baking powder lids.[4]
Factory Gardens
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The gardens were originally designed in 1923 with an Edwardian style by a factory worker. A bowling green and kindergarten was later added. A garden was designed infront of the factory in 1935 by Edgar Taylor, with a neoclassical style.[9]
There is a memorial rose garden to the daughter of Edmonds, Irene Ballantyne. It is often used as a wedding venue.[9]
It is maintained by the local group Friends of the Gardens.[2]
Part of the garden city movement. Lily pond. French using the sunray branding around 1940. Pond and creek added from 1977 to 1982. The gardens inthe front of the factory was removed in the demolition, but the ones west were kept as they were bought by the city council.[3]: 7
Products
[edit]Baking powder
Jelly crystals, which had the slogan "sure to set".[2][4]
Edmonds previously had a pastry range, which has discontinued in 2023.[10]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h "Edmonds cookery book". nzhistory.govt.nz. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Sure to Rise: The story of Edmonds". RNZ. 18 May 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
- ^ a b c Hurrell, Mei (1993). The legacy of Thomas Edmonds (PDF). Christchurch. Environmental Policy & Planning Unit. Christchurch, N.Z.: Christchurch City Council, Environmental Policy & Planning Unit. ISBN 0-9597973-1-9. OCLC 39746008.
- ^ a b c d e "Edmonds: The rise and fall of a family factory". The Press. 20 May 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
- ^ a b c d e "Iconic Edmonds cookbook given mouthwatering makeover". Your Weekend. 29 September 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
- ^ "Christchurch's Edmonds St name to be finally fixed after typo lasts 124 years". The Press. 30 January 2018. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
- ^ a b c d "Edmonds' recipe for success". Otago Daily Times. 2 January 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
- ^ a b c Forrester, Georgia (2 August 2019). "The Edmonds Cookery Book: How NZ's much-loved book has drastically evolved". Stuff. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
- ^ a b "Edmonds factory gardens still charms". Stuff. 16 November 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
- ^ "'No longer commercially viable' - Edmonds pastry discontinued". RNZ. 8 September 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
Further reading
[edit]- Alsop, Peter; Parsonson, Kate Parsonson; Wolfe, Wolfe (1 May 2023). Sure to Rise: The Edmonds Story.