Anna Part

My final MA dissertation, Sugarcoating the Past: Quakers, Nostalgia, and Empire in British Confectionery Industry Advertising and Packaging, 1850–1914, analyses the content and context of the material culture produced by the confectionery industry in Britain between 1850 and the start of the First World War. Run by an oligopoly of Quaker businessmen, this industry has become famous for its ties to the Society of Friends, but how much did this religion really influence the promotional materials that the confectionery industry produced? This thesis examines the advertising and packaging produced by the British confectionery industry by exploring the Rowntree Company Archives housed in the Borthwick Institute for Archives at York University. Through these records the impact that the relationships that Quaker business owners formed is revealed to have influenced this industry in ways that have not yet been explored by other confectionery historians in order to uncover the complex networks that operated behind the scenes. 

Additional areas of study include Queer, Urban, and Marketing and Advertising Histories, as well as both historical and practical study of Japanese Arita Porcelain Vessels.