Harding and Messenger

Catalogue Reference:(MOL) 97.101/2

The staff of the packing room at the company of Harding and Messenger, a Jewish tailoring company, pause in their work for a moment to pose for the camera in this picture probably taken in the 1930s. Tailoring with all the different skills required was a very common occupation amongst immigrant Jewish communities in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Most clothing was tailored - that is cut and sewn to fit and enhance the shape of the body - and it is only in recent years that clothing styles have become much more fluid.