T.O.T. Tea Labels : packaging issued by the London Underground group, c.1925
The roundel, or 'bullseye' as it was often then referred to, is the giveaway here as to the origins of these two tea packet labels. The T.O.T. stands for Train - Tram - Omnibus and this was used for various items that related to the staff of the whole of the Underground Group in the years prior to the formation of the LPTB, London Transport, in 1933. The Underground Elecric Railways of London, the UERL, had made various acquisitions over the years and had shares in ownership of many others; primarily, alongside the various tube companies, they had acquired the London General Omnibus Company in 1912 as well as three of the major tramway operators, the London United, Metropolitan and South Metropolitan Tramways companies. So T.O.T. was to cover staff across all areas of the Group's activities.
One major service provided for staff was that of catering. This had, I suspect, its origins in the LGOC's bus garages but it grew to be a major undertaking in its own right. In London Transport days there was a Catering School at Baker Street and a Food Production Centre in Croydon - in these later days products such as tea and coffee, available for sale to staff, were branded 'Griffin'. These appear to be the proofs of a tea packet label probably dating from the mid-1920s. I'm grateful to the owner, D. Rose, for his permission to include this in my Flickr account.
T.O.T. Tea Labels : packaging issued by the London Underground group, c.1925
The roundel, or 'bullseye' as it was often then referred to, is the giveaway here as to the origins of these two tea packet labels. The T.O.T. stands for Train - Tram - Omnibus and this was used for various items that related to the staff of the whole of the Underground Group in the years prior to the formation of the LPTB, London Transport, in 1933. The Underground Elecric Railways of London, the UERL, had made various acquisitions over the years and had shares in ownership of many others; primarily, alongside the various tube companies, they had acquired the London General Omnibus Company in 1912 as well as three of the major tramway operators, the London United, Metropolitan and South Metropolitan Tramways companies. So T.O.T. was to cover staff across all areas of the Group's activities.
One major service provided for staff was that of catering. This had, I suspect, its origins in the LGOC's bus garages but it grew to be a major undertaking in its own right. In London Transport days there was a Catering School at Baker Street and a Food Production Centre in Croydon - in these later days products such as tea and coffee, available for sale to staff, were branded 'Griffin'. These appear to be the proofs of a tea packet label probably dating from the mid-1920s. I'm grateful to the owner, D. Rose, for his permission to include this in my Flickr account.