Larkin, J 2016 ‘All Museums Will Become Department Stores’: The Development and Implications of Retailing at Museums and Heritage Sites. Archaeology International, No. 19: pp. 109–121, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5334/ai.1917

RESEARCH ARTICLE ‘All Museums Will Become Department Stores’: The Development and Implications of Retailing at Museums and Heritage Sites Jamie Larkin

Museums and heritage sites have provided merchandise for visitors to purchase since their earliest incarnations as public attractions in the 18th century. Despite this longevity scant academic research has been directed towards such activities. However, retailing – formalised in the emergence of the museum shop – offers insights into a range of issues, from cultural representation and education, to eco- nomic sustainability. This paper outlines the historical development of retailing at museums and heritage sites in the UK, before offering a summary of current issues, illustrated by a case study of contemporary retailing at Whitby Abbey. The paper demonstrates how commercial spaces have made, and continue to make, important contributions to visitors’ cultural experiences and aims to frame this topic as a legitimate field of academic enquiry.

Introduction the UK now generate more than £100m per Over the past generation, shops have annum across the sector (Neville, 2013). become increasingly ubiquitous at museums While the growing development of shop and heritage­ sites in the UK. While there is revenues reflects the professionalization of no reliable means of determining the preva- selling practices, it is also indicative of the lence of such amenities, the most compre- importance of the shop to visitor satisfaction. hensive estimate, based on the Museum Recent research across six museum and her- Association’s ‘Find a Museum’ database, itage sites in England, showed that 80% of indicates that roughly 80% of the 2,686 visitors had some interaction with the shop organisations listed offer some form of retail- (Larkin, 2016: 289). Inevitably, the growth ing (Larkin, in prep.). The recent growth of of retailing has implications for visitors’­ such amenities has been spurred largely by museum experience and for the presen- economic concerns, as institutions attempt tation of culture more broadly. These are to navigate a volatile funding climate by ­evident in the popularisation of the phrase developing self-generated revenue. Such ‘exit through the gift shop’, which highlights expansion has meant that museum shops in the effect the shop can have on the con- figuration of the visit, and also the fact that museum shops are increasingly marketed as attractions in their own right (The Guardian, UCL Institute of Archaeology, London WC1H 0PY, United Kingdom 2015). Perhaps most significantly, as retail- [email protected] ing becomes increasingly sophisticated and 110 Larkin: ‘All Museums Will Become Department Stores’ products (re)present site collections in a It explores the historical development of variety of forms, visitors are presented with these activities, then considers key ques- opportunities to relate to culture in qualita- tions concerning the growing sophistication tively different ways from those provided in of museum retailing, illustrated with a con- the galleries (cf. Macdonald, 2012). temporary case study. Ultimately, this paper Despite the increased prominence of aims to draw attention to the shop as a legiti- the shop within the museum and heritage mate facet of the museum experience, and to visit, it is not taken seriously as a topic of encourage readers to consider its capacity to academic enquiry. In intellectual terms the influence the presentation and consumption shop suffers in relation to the cachet of the of culture at museums and heritage sites. ‘authentic’ objects in the galleries. Moreover, responses to this space in popular culture Historical development of museum are often satirical, in the form of cartoons retailing or, more recently, a music video (College The history of museum retailing in the UK is Humor, 2013) or products are dismissed as not well-understood (Macdonald, 2012: 53). symbols of the sanitised contemporary pres- There appears to be a feeling within the entation of the past (cf. ‘tea-towel history’, sector (gleaned through conversations with see Monbiot, 2009). The result is that nei- practitioners and visitors) that museum ther academics nor practitioners have devel- shops emerged in the 1970s as the result oped the tools or conceptual approaches to of the nascent consumer culture. While analyse the museum shop effectively, and in some ways this is correct – the scale of therefore do not clearly understand how such practices did change substantively commerce within a cultural context may at this point – this belies a more nuanced influence the visit. Consequently, the shop understanding of both institutional opera- (alongside the café) is among the least scruti- tions and visitor behaviour. Rather than an nised and therefore most poorly understood unprecedented commercial intrusion into aspects of the contemporary museum expe- cultural space, changes in the 1970s were a rience (Fig. 1). contemporary manifestation of longstand- The broad purpose of this article, there- ing visitor desires to ‘take something away’ fore, is to highlight the cultural significance from cultural sites. of retailing at museums and heritage sites The earliest example of such visitor behav- and to justify academic study of this area. iour is found in the practice of medieval pilgrimage (c.1100–1400 CE). As pilgrims visited holy shrines they sought spiritual intercession through association with holy relics. This extended to chipping fragments of masonry from saints’ tombs, which were then preserved as talismans to ensure close physical connection to an intangible spirit (Webb, 2000: 85). Recognising pilgrims’ need to forge such links, markets for spe- cially manufactured items like ampullae and pilgrim badges developed at popu- lar shrines (Bell & Dale, 2011: 624). While such decorative items assumed a religious significance, the visual reference to visited Figure 1: Banksy: Exit through the gift shop shrines also performed a ‘souvenir’ func- (Reproduced with permission of Pest tion, offering cultural cachet to the wearer. Control acting on behalf of the artist). Pilgrimage also resulted in the production Larkin: ‘All Museums Will Become Department Stores’ 111 of the first guidebooks, providing advice 1968: 60). These offered guided itineraries, on routes and accommodation, eventually highlighting objects of cultural importance expanding to highlight other cultural sites (Anderson, 2014) and obviating the need for pilgrims could visit during their journey (often poorly educated) servants to show visi- (Houlihan, 2000). tors around the property. Similarly, the British While pilgrimage constituted a religio- Museum issued its first guide, the Synopsis of cultural experience, the rudiments of con- the Contents of the British Museum, in 1808 temporary visitor behaviours are evident in which provided a concise commentary on this practice. Similar desires to orientate, the Museum’s rooms in the order the visitor connect to, and commemorate museum would tour them. This enabled the visitor to experiences can be traced from the emer- navigate through the Museum and, signifi- gence of public­ museums in the 1760s. The cantly perhaps, ushered in the abolition of provision of retailing since this point has unpopular mandatory guided tours – often been influenced by a range of social, cultural, the source of visitor complaints – just two and economic factors (particularly as cultural­ years later (Leahy, 2012: 30–31). heritage has assumed a quasi-religious The substance of the information conveyed ­character in ­contemporary society). varied widely. At some institutions, informal arrangements with amateur authors resulted Early catalogues and guidebooks – in catalogues and guidebooks of dubious orientation to education veracity. Of the catalogue at the Tower of Visiting cultural sites became a popular lei- London, Robert William Buss noted that: surely pursuit in the mid-18th century among the aristocratic and merchant classes. As such in the main it is tolerably correct; but attractions developed, so too did the para- it contains a few of the fanciful and phernalia associated with them. Catalogues absurd stories handed down from the were produced and sold at the outset. Early old catalogues . . . and still retailed by examples provided visitors with basic details some of the elder warders, who are, of what they were looking at in a period when on that account, not unfrequently it was uncommon for such information to be exposed to ridicule displayed in the exhibition hall. For example, (HoC, 1841: 149). at the 1760 Society of Arts exhibition in the Strand, London – often considered the first Popular attractions like the Egyptian Hall, exhibition of contemporary art – admission Piccadilly, sold brief guidebooks, while aristo- was free but an accompanying catalogue was cratic collections opened for public viewing sold for 6d, providing a brief justification were the subject of compendious catalogues for the exhibition and noting the exhibited raisonnés, comprising essays contextualis- artists’ names and the titles of their artworks ing the collections in art historical terms (Taylor, 1999: 8–10). (cf. Waterfield, 1995: 44–46). In this early As exhibitions and related attractions period, catalogue production was often increased in popularity, so too did the quality spurred by individuals rather than insti- and utility of catalogues and guidebooks, to tutions; national collections were often the extent that they had a profound impact ­content for the private sector to produce on the nature of the experience itself, aiding guides rather than doing it themselves. visitors’ ability to navigate and interpret the However, the importance of these cata- site. For example, with the late 19th century logues for the public was highlighted in the surge in country house visiting, the owners 1841 Select Committee on the protection of of well-trafficked houses produced portable National Monuments. The Committee took guidebooks which ‘. . .describe[d] features of evidence from state supported sites and, house and garden in order of interest’ (Harris, having noted the variability of the price and 112 Larkin: ‘All Museums Will Become Department Stores’ quality of catalogues available, reemphasised the responsibilities of national institutions in educating the public:

Your Committee refer to the evidence concerning catalogues, and are of the opinion that, where the collections will allow it, cheap catalogues . . . should be provided at our national collections, as a valuable mode of ­disseminating knowledge, and rendering those collections more generally useful (HoC, 1841: vi).

From this point catalogues at state supported­ sites were provided through the public purse which enabled them to be sold at ­subsidised Figure 2: Price list of casts featured in the prices. Thus, over the course of 100 years, endpapers of the 1840 edition of the catalogues and guidebooks developed­ Synopsis of the Contents of the British from simple checklists of exhibited Museum (Courtesy of HathiTrust). material into useful tools for the exhibition visitor. Perhaps the most appropriate symbol of this can be seen in the Albert Memorial (Fig. 2). By this point, other reproductions in Kensington Gardens, London, in which such as fictile ivory (plaster casts of ivory Prince Albert – sponsor of the 1851 Great objects) and electrotypes of metal objects Exhibition – is seated with the exhibition’s were being pioneered by private companies­ catalogue on his knee, with a finger marking such as Elkington & Co (f.1830s) and his place. D. Brucciani (f.1850s), who worked in ­conjunction with museums, particularly the Mechanical reproduction and the South Kensington Museum, to reproduce dissemination of collections and sell their art works, both on site or from The provision of catalogues and guidebooks their company headquarters (SAD, 1860: 136) was spurred by popular demand, and this A similar pattern emerged with photog- too played a role in museums’ early experi- raphy, which museums initially employed ences with tangible forms of reproduction. to visually document their collections. For example, following the British Museum’s Perceiving popular interest in such repro- acquisition of the Parthenon Marbles in ductions, the government intervened to 1816, European and American cultural deter commercial photographers, taking institutions requested plaster cast copies production into its own hands to ensure for ­display purposes. The Museum obliged, that photographs of the national collections and in the process discovered a domestic were available to the public at subsidised demand for such reproductions, and subse- prices. In 1859, the government archive quently set up a casting service at the public of photographic negatives was centralised expense (Wilson, 2002: 127). From 1838 the at the South Kensington Museum where Museum included lists of casts available to prints were made and sold on site or were purchase in the endpapers of its catalogue. available to order. The demand was unprec- These lists became increasingly expansive, edented, with nearly 13,500 photographs covering 14 pages at their height, before they sold in 1859/60 alone (SAD, 1860: 137). The were removed from the endpapers in 1859 Museum maintained this rate of production Larkin: ‘All Museums Will Become Department Stores’ 113 for four years before logistical issues neces- and ones harking back to the quasi-spiritual sitated that it appointed the Arundel Society, connection of pilgrimage. a charitable organisation whose remit was to disseminate knowledge of art, to continue The rise of postcards and the formalised production (DSA, 1866: 28). trading space The relationships that museums forged Despite emerging popular interest in cultural with the private sector in this period were sites, established institutions eschewed the crucial to their ability to successfully provision of souvenirs. Moreover, as privately ­merchandise their collections. For example,­ owned sites were taken into state guardian- the National Gallery was approached by ship (e.g. Stonehenge in 1918) the sale of such private photography companies in the merchandise was curtailed. However, there late 19th century to photograph its collec- were renewed efforts to make educational tions. Under such arrangements the Gallery provision more stimulating for an increas- ­benefitted through having its pictures ingly interested public. National institutions visually catalogued for research purposes, did this in part by running their trading activi- while the companies were often allowed ties more professionally and ensuring that to sell their photographs in the Gallery’s they played a more direct role in the visitor entrance hall. This was evidenced in 1884, experience. Designated catalogue stalls were with a complaint recorded in the National introduced for the first time by the British Gallery’s minute book (volume 5, p. 306) Museum (1912) and the National Gallery against a Gallery attendant accused of (1915) – replacing somewhat ad hoc sales ­stealing photographs from Mr Morelli’s measures – while the Victoria and Albert photography stall. Museum (V&A) repositioned its stall towards In addition to growing audiences (and the entrance (1912). This more professional forms of engagement) at the national insti- approach ensured trading was responsive to tutions in this period, the public was seek- public desires, and can be seen in the develop- ing other cultural experiences. Historic ment and sale of museum postcards. buildings and monuments were increas- Postcards attained enormous popularity in ingly perceived as part of the national her- the UK by the end of the nineteenth ­century, itage, resulting in mass tourism to such and private firms were supplying sites like sites. Intriguingly, prior to the introduc- Warwick Castle and the Tower of London tion of visitor infrastructure, tourists – like (Staff, 1966: 65). The British Museum entered ­pilgrims – fashioned­ their own mementos. into arrangements with Oxford University At Stonehenge ‘. . . people regularly chipped Press, and its newly operational catalogue the stones for souvenirs. . . one visitor, in stall was stocked with catalogues, guidebooks, 1871, complained that “a constant chip- and postcard sets. Of its first year of operation ping of stone broke the solitude of the the Museum noted that the stall: place” (Thurley, 2013: 124). Capitalising on this appetite, business developed around . . .has been strikingly successful. privately owned heritage sites. By the early [a return] showed an increase of nearly 20th century at Stonehenge, visitors were 2000l. in sales during the past 16 offered various trinkets, including ‘a wide months, as compared with the same range of crested china; miniature replicas period next preceding. The number of of ancient pots, boxes. . .’ (Richards, 2009: picture post cards sold amounted to 12). Significantly, these objects were explic- about 155,000 . . . the existence of the itly souvenirs rather than educational aides, stall has greatly stimulated the sales ­signalling an underlying desire to engage with of guide-books and catalogues, as well such sites in different, more personal ways, as photographs (British Museum, 1914: 15). 114 Larkin: ‘All Museums Will Become Department Stores’

The provision of stalls and popular material All of you are forced by circumstance expanded across the sector; by the 1920s to retain on your walls many pictures the major London museums – the British that you know are bad, pictures that Museum (Natural History), the Science you would burn if you could. Might Museum, the Wallace Collection, and the you not at least refrain from trading Tate had all introduced stalls, while post- in postcards which perpetuate these cards were increasingly available at provin- empty survivals, and the sale of which cial institutions too. appears to invest them with official Despite public enthusiasm, the scope commendation. of museum merchandise did not expand further in the period to the Second World Thus, even in this early form selling spaces War, remaining primarily documentary in had the capacity to become areas for ­dialogue character with some concessions to more between the visitor and the institution; light-hearted products like Christmas cards auxiliary fora for the representation of (British Museum), or wall calendars (National culture, qualitatively different to the Trust). What did change was the nature of ­exhibition galleries themselves. these publications, as the decreasing price of photographic illustration enabled the pro- Post-war and the rise of consumer culture duction of publications combining image In the post-war period, the rapid reconstruc- and text, such as the ‘small picture books’ tion of Britain’s infrastructure and moves to published by the V&A in 1926 (Burton, reorient the economy away from its indus- 1999: 188). The range and quality of such trial base profoundly influenced the cultural publications is exemplified by the fact that landscape. The urge to preserve the swiftly the New York Metropolitan Museum staged diminishing (often industrial) heritage an exhibition of museum publications from resulted in the establishment of a number the British government inventory in 1934, of independent, privately owned attractions comprising ‘handbooks, guides, scholarly (Hewison, 1987), which sought tourist rev- publications, pamphlets, reports, maps, color enue to contribute to their preservation. prints, postcards, photographs, posters, and Such attractions generally operated outside casts’ (Anon, 1934a). of traditional state funding mechanisms, The increasing ability of museums to repro- and brought a new imperative to the sector: duce their collections visually with clear and profit. Consequently visitor amenities that concise commentaries on their importance both entertained and satisfied visitors were enabled them to ‘extend the visual influ- increasingly highly valued (Hewison, 1991: ence of their collections’ (Anon, 1934b) and 166), including provision of popular souve- meant that retailing was deemed ‘one of the nirs that reflected the emerging consumer most important sides of their activities from society. the standpoint of contact with the public’ The pioneers of such approaches were the (RCNMG, 1930: 45). This had implications for founders of the ‘Stately Home Business’, who both the institutions and the public. For per- opened their houses to tourism from the late haps the first time, visitors could voice their 1940s. In need of revenue, private owners appreciation of cultural objects to the insti- tended to be more receptive to consumer tution itself through the purchase of items demand. For example, at Beaulieu Abbey like postcards. At about this time, Barton (and its accompanying Motor Museum) mer- (1934: 309) highlighted the potency of vis- chandising expanded from postcards and ual reproductions on the education of taste. pencils to a range of 500 lines, including Addressing museums generally, he noted: ‘china and leatherware, and most important, items decorated with old cars . . .’ (Montagu, 1967: 174–5). The National Trust (with its Larkin: ‘All Museums Will Become Department Stores’ 115 many historic houses) soon followed suit, As museum shops offer more sophisti- with site-based sales emerging in the 1960s, cated and bespoke products, they make an retailing scarves, placemats, and its iconic tea important conceptual move from being pas- towels. The popularity of such souvenirs set sive providers of commemorative material to a template for newly formed independent agents of cultural production. In many ways museums to follow. this serves to translate the culture of the site State sponsored museums and sites took into a contemporary idiom for the visitor. longer to adopt such approaches, with the As Gazin-Schwartz (2004: 100) contends ‘for national museums opening designated shops tourists, the shop provides not education but in the 1970s, while the then Ministry of an experience that links sightseeing, and also Works’ successful publication schedule was the . . .sites being seen, to their own world, broadened to a wider range of merchandise a world that is in many ways constructed with its transfer to English Heritage in 1983. by commerce and consumerism’. Such a While catering to growing demand, the deci- statement raises stimulating questions sion to introduce such products was largely surrounding the cultural role of the shop: spurred by economic necessity and pressure To what extent do products reflect an accu- from government to maximise self-gener- rate understanding of the site? How does ated revenue, a trend that continues today. the ­merchandise help visitors commemorate This saw museum merchandising change their visit? Can merchandise provide auxiliary ­dramatically; the number of third party ways of representing culture? It is important suppliers increased and so did the nature to attempt to address these interpretative and type of products stocked – to include possibilities as part of the wider experience clothing, foodstuffs, children’s games and of the site. toys, gramophone records and craft objects. Firstly, the shop offers visitors alternative Museums began to find alternative ways to means of sensory engagement to the exhibi- represent their collections, with products tion galleries. Museums and heritage sites developing from an educational focus to are primarily consumed in visual terms, with enhancing the visitor experience. Such prod- artefacts presented in glass cases or behind ucts offered visitors a means of communing stanchions. While museum shops sup- more closely with the cultural material in the port a repertoire of visual images, they also galleries and thus had implications for their offer the visitor the ability to engage with understanding and enjoyment. culturally-themed products through touch, taste and smell (Macdonald, 2012). Visitors Conceptualising issues surrounding may consume food or drink made following museum retailing traditional recipes, play imaginatively with With the introduction of broader merchan- bows and arrows, buy perfumed products, dise in the 1970s, questions began to be or browse in the shop to music chosen for asked within the sector about the proper role its links to a site. It is important to consider of the shop, and of merchandising in particu- the extent to which these auxiliary sensory lar (Sekers, 1977). Generally speaking, these inputs extend and complement the visual questions have not been answered and grow character of the visit, or whether they may more complex with the expanding sophisti- be ultimately detrimental to the cultural cation of museum and heritage retailing. A experience. common refrain within the sector is to talk Moreover, museums that offer replicas of of the shop as ‘extending the experience’ – their collection – such as miniature Greek while this is true, it is vital to define and statues – enable visitors to possess culture, examine the role and affective nature of the to add to their personal collections and forge shop and to better understand its influence a connection to the original object or the on visitor experience. broader cultural expression. Moving from 116 Larkin: ‘All Museums Will Become Department Stores’ strict verisimilitude, product development ironical way. However, serious ethical con- is increasingly ‘inspired by’ the collection, cerns arise when pursuing retailing at sites of such as contemporary fashion created by negative heritage. Such issues were recently high street clothing store Oasis from designs played out at the 9/11 Museum, New York, in the V&A archive (Fig. 3). Such collabora- which was accused of trivialising the events tions can give design or objects a ‘second-life’ commemorated by offering inappropriate beyond the confines of the museum, while souvenirs, including a United States shaped offering the wearer a closer engagement cheese plate with hearts marking the site of with the original material culture. However, the terrorist attacks (Makarechi, 2014). Here blurring these boundaries may have implica- important questions need to be addressed tions for artistic integrity, as in the case of a about how the shop relates to and reflects museum selling earrings modelled on pat- the nature of the site itself. terns by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, despite On a broader level, retail spaces have the the fact that Mackintosh never designed potential to influence initiatives across the such jewellery himself (Weeks, 1997). site. Museums and heritage sites generally Beyond direct issues of representation, aim to be inclusive spaces. Dame Helen museum shops need to be mindful of their Ghosh, Director-General of the National tone in relation to the wider site. Shop prod- Trust, recently noted ‘It is not surprising ucts are often light-hearted, in contrast to . . . that the kind of places that we own are a potentially more serious presentation of places where the middle classes feel more material culture elsewhere. Flippancy can be comfortable, because it is more part of their appropriate and in some cases add nuance cultural life’, and that consequently some to the visit – such as the recent popularisa- visitors to Trust properties may feel ‘this tion and sale of ‘museum [rubber] ducks’ – place isn’t for them’ (quoted in Hope, 2015). whose kitschy design relates to the insti- Attempts at cultural inclusivity are vital, but tution and its collections in a somewhat it is important to consider how facets of

Figure 3: Oasis dresses inspired by V&A prints (and sales tags) on sale at Binns department store, Middlesbrough. (Photo author). Larkin: ‘All Museums Will Become Department Stores’ 117 the institutional infrastructure may deter In many ways, the common theme of the visitors. Museum shops which employ mar- shop commodities helps to provide a chrono- keting approaches aimed at appealing to logical depth for the site by locating it in a specific target audiences, may risk alienating historical narrative. The products offer a vis- or excluding visitors by pricing them out of ual repertoire of England’s history, whether participating in this facet of the experience. through a linear timeline (found, for exam- These are some of the issues that museum ple, on tea towels), or other signifiers (e.g. shops are increasingly encountering – other Roman Britain or World War II themed prod- concerns include the gendered nature of ucts), against which the Abbey can be contex- retailing, or the question of what messages tualised. In so doing the products collectively such spaces convey to visitors for whom the reinforce the site’s ‘past-ness’. Furthermore, shop constitutes their only encounter with many products (particularly consumables) a cultural site. Crucially, museums respond emphasise that they have been manufac- to and market their collections in different tured using traditional methods (e.g. jam) or ways – often conditioned by their budget, by skilled artisans. In locating their produc- location, visitor profile, and staff experience, tion in these terms, such items offer a tan- which, in part, is what makes the study of the gible expression of the history that visitors shop stimulating. Each site/shop relation- ostensibly come to heritage sites to experi- ship brings different issues and baggage to ence, and have the capacity to engage visi- bear on the visitor’s encounter with culture, tors, often through literal consumption of and some site specific issues are highlighted the past. During my fieldwork, for example, in the following case study. one visitor noted that sampling mead on site provided a sensory insight into what life Whitby Abbey: merchandise as would have been like in the medieval period. context The products also allow visitors to engage Whitby Abbey is a ruined 13th century with interpretations of the monument monastic house in North Yorkshire, oper- beyond the strictly academic. Whitby Abbey’s ated by English Heritage (see Whitby Abbey popular contemporary image is largely con- website). The site’s retailing is extensive, with ditioned by its association with Bram Stoker’s over 500 products reflecting the site, the 1897 novel Dracula, in which the eponymous English Heritage brand, and wider aspects vampire enters England by making landfall in of English history. The organisation’s cur- the town. English Heritage retails these asso- rent strap-line invites visitors to ‘Step into ciations, selling the book itself and a variety England’s story’ and the shop provides of themed ‘gothic’ products. Significantly, an array of merchandise to help them do these products facilitate an imaginative re- so. Products range from inexpensive key- use of the monument that is not offered in rings, to limited edition replica medieval the archaeologically and historically rigor- ­tapestries made by ‘Master Flemish weavers’ ous interpretation provided around the site. priced at £300. In particular, the shop sells a This is particularly interesting given English ­number of ‘affective’ products which afford Heritage’s ‘rational’ presentation of its medi- visitors the ability to engage with or literally eval sites (stripped masonry) as opposed to consume the site (e.g. jam, biscuits, wine), ‘romantic’ (ivy covered, overgrown) ruins. replicas (e.g. jewellery) and children’s toys Here the shop encourages popular alterna- (e.g. bow and arrow set). These products help tive narratives to those given in the academic to provide a wider historical, cultural, and presentation of the ruins, which contrib- geographical contextualisation for the site. ute to a multi-faceted experience of the Taken together, they augment the visitor monument. experience and work to situate the site in a Finally, the shop helps to situate the site number of wider narratives. in the wider geographical context. This is 118 Larkin: ‘All Museums Will Become Department Stores’ particularly important, ‘so you know where presents the site to the visitor. Given that it you are’, as one couple noted. This is achieved has the capacity to offer alternative under- through offering local products, such as standings of the site, do these still adhere cakes from Botham’s bakery. However, a to English Heritage’s underlying vision? more significant factor in expanding the Considering the organisation’s current val- regional personality of English Heritage ues statement it would seem that an engag- shops is its recent adoption of pro-active sell- ing shop does fit its visitor-focussed mission, ing practices by offering visitor tastings (e.g. acting as an alternative forum for accessing jam, chutney, wine). These are conducted by the past: staff who have received special training, and, while undoubtedly improving sales, they also Gone are the days when people provide a substantial form of visitor engage- learned about history simply from ment. In many instances they provide an reading books. People are increasingly opportunity for staff (unencumbered by the looking for experiences that bring his- admissions desk, etc.) to talk to visitors more tory to life in an engaging way and openly, both about the site and the wider nothing beats standing on the spot area, offering local insight and humanising where history happened. We offer a the experience. Thus the shop is able to pro- hands-on experience that will inspire vide a space for visitors to engage with local and entertain people of all ages. Our people that may be more difficult to engi- work is informed by enduring values neer elsewhere onsite (Fig. 4). of authenticity, quality, imagination, The principal question in relation to this responsibility and fun. Our vision is retailing is how appropriately the shop (re) that people will experience the story of England where it really happened. (English Heritage, n.d.)

From this example, it seems that the shop has the capacity to play a substantive role in the visitor experience. Merchandising enables the site to engage with different narratives (cultural, local) and ultimately to augment the visitor’s experience. Yet, for all the potentially beneficial ways in which the shop may contextualise a site, there is also a risk that some products render the past in uncritical and commercial ways that the more formally curated aspects of the site may work hard to avoid. While English Heritage offers opportunities which could extend the cultural experience, it also retails clichéd images of knights (for boys) and prin- cesses (for girls), teddy bear monks, and beer- hall tankards, rather than more historically substantial products. Ultimately, successful merchandising must Figure 4: Samples desk at Whitby Abbey, constitute a balance between commercial offering visitors the opportunity to try viability and cultural appropriateness to the food and drink in the museum shop site. Through conceptualising the museum (Photo: author). shop and understanding the dynamics at Larkin: ‘All Museums Will Become Department Stores’ 119 play, practitioners will be best placed to tools-for-interpretation-and-souvenirs. ­maximise the potential cultural capacity html (last date accessed 19 July 2016). while mitigating less desirable aspects. Anon 1934a The Metropolitan Museum of Art. An Exhibition of Museum and Other Pub- Conclusion lications Lent by the British Government. This paper has outlined the development Available at: http://libmma.contentdm. of shops at museums and heritage sites and oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/ highlighted the fact that such areas have p15324coll10/id/1157 (last date accessed always acted as important points of inter- 04 February 2016). section between visitors and the institu- Anon 1934b Museum Publications. Museums tion. Further work is needed to assess the Journal, 34(2): 58. various and growing forms of representation Barton, J E 1934 The Education of Public that the museum shop offers. Such studies Taste. Museums Journal, 34(8): 297–308. should serve to bring academic legitimacy to Bell, A R and Dale, R S 2011 The Medieval this field of study, to ensure that the cultural Pilgrimage Business. Enterprise and role of the shop is taken more seriously, and ­Society, 12(3): 601–627. DOI: http://dx. to enable practitioners to make informed, doi.org/10.1017/S1467222700010235 collaborative decisions about issues of British Museum 1914 Account of the Income onsite representation. If we accept Falk and and Expenditure of the British Museum Dierking’s (1992) assertion that the museum for the year ending the 31st day of March, experience is increasingly conceived as a 1914. London: His Majesty’s Stationery holistic one, then all aspects of the museum Office. and heritage complex require as thorough a Burton, A 1999 Vision and Accident: The curatorial oversight as the exhibition galler- Story of the Victoria & Albert Museum. ies themselves. Through renewed attention London: V&A Publications. to this increasingly integral aspect of the College Humor 2013 Gift Shop (Thrift Shop museum and heritage complex, it is possi- Parody). Available at: https://www.you- ble to evaluate the opportunities and pitfalls tube.com/watch?v=NH3WFR6YcQM (last that it can bring to the broader representa- date accessed 26 May 2015). tion of culture. Department of Science and Art (DSA) 1866 Thirteenth Report of the Science Acknowledgements and Art Department of the Committee of I am grateful to the editors for their help hon- Council of Education. London: George E. ing the article, and two peer reviewers whose Eyre and William Spottiswoode for constructive criticism helped clarify its focus. HMSO. This work is a result of PhD research funded English Heritage n.d. Our Vision & Values by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. (online). Available at: http://www.eng- lish-heritage.org.uk/about-us/our-val- Competing Interests ues/ (accessed 16 September 2015). The author declares that they have no com- Falk, J H and Dierking, L D 1992 The peting interests. Museum Experience. Washington D.C.: Whalesback Books. References Gazin-Schwartz, A 2004 Mementoes of Anderson, J 2014 Eighteenth-century the Past: Material Culture of Tourism at Country-house Guidebooks: Tools for Stonehenge and Avebury. In: Rowan, Y Interpretation and Souvenirs. Available and Baram, U (Eds.) Marketing Herit- at: http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/ age: Archaeology and the Consumption collectioncare/2014/08/eighteenth- of the Past. ­California: Alta Mira Press, century-country-house-guidebooks- pp. 93–102. 120 Larkin: ‘All Museums Will Become Department Stores’

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How to cite this article: Larkin, J 2016 ‘All Museums Will Become Department Stores’: The Development and Implications of Retailing at Museums and Heritage Sites. Archaeology International, No. 19: pp. 109–121, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5334/ai.1917

Published: 12 December 2016

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