At the Great Exhibition of 1851 Fortnum & Mason won a gold medal as importers of dried fruits and desserts. By this date, Fortnum & Mason was the leading supplier of ready to eat luxury foods. As tinned goods came into vogue in the 19th century, (and Fortnum & Mason were the first to sell Heinz baked beans), instructions were written on each tin sold in Piccadilly, ‘To open the canister first stab a hole with the butt-end of a knife near the upper rim. Then insert the blade as far as it will go. Draw the handle towards you and the blade will be found to cut through the tin with perfect ease...’

 

An Expeditions Department opened after the First World War. Travellers were equipped entirely by Fortnum & Mason down to the last folding chair. Safaris were supplied with goods by the head-load. The 1922 Everest expedition had food on a lavish scale, including 60 tins of quail in foie gras, and four dozen bottles of champagne. Naturally, Fortnum & Mason provisioned the successful Tutankhamun expedition.

 

Fortnum & Mason created active service boxes for army officers. These contained apples, wines, cigarettes, medical supplies, insect powder, and a cocoa rich chocolate bar (invented specifically for the armed forces) as well as tinned and dried food. Arbiters of decorum, even in wartime, the company also patented the ‘Fortknee’, a short stocking to cover the knees and lower thighs of lady drivers in the services.

Many designers, artists – and even actors – were given the first step on the ladder of success at 181 Piccadilly. The list of those represented includes some of the most innovative and creative talents - Marion Dorn, Duncan Grant, Alvar Aalto, Hayes Marshall, Salvatore Ferragamo and Zandra Rhodes to name but a few. Theatrical designers Oliver Messel and Allan Walton were used to create beautiful settings throughout the store. Rex Whistler and Edward Bawden created memorable Christmas catalogues.

Many politicians have enjoyed the benefits of the proximity of the Houses of Parliament to the Piccadilly Shop. Benjamin Disraeli declined the offer of dinner at the Carlton Club in favour of a pie and champagne at home with his wife, courtesy of Fortnum & Mason. When he had eaten and drunk his fill, he declared, ‘Why, my dear, you are more like a mistress than a wife’. Winston Churchill relied on Fortnum’s for supplies of Dundee cake and cigars, even at the height of the Second World War.

In the 1980s, Fortnum & Mason supplied 1,000 sausages for a Christmas party for the homeless organised by Mother Teresa’s Sisters of Charity in London. The chefs weren’t told until that morning that they had to cook the sausages as well as their usual breakfasts for customers. But in the end the staff continued to help for several years and they gave the volunteer drivers a full English breakfast when they came to pick up the sausages.