Abraham Altham, Burnley

Abraham Altham, Burnley
Abraham Altham, Burnley
Abraham Altham, Burnley
267302
EBU20150202001
Abraham Altham, Burnley
Burnley
Abraham Altham
Abraham Altham was born the son of a Haggate schoolmaster in 1841. His parents died when he was quite young, but this didn't deter him. He began his working life in a local stone quarry, and by the age of 23 he was a wholesale grocer. Abraham was the quite the entrepreneur, and during the early 1870's he rapidly expanded the business, opening branches in Yorkshire and a number of other Lancashire towns.

Most of his money was made selling tea. In order to attract people into his stores, he offered 'rewards' based on how much tea was purchased. For small amounts of tea, the buyer was entitled to small, useful implements, such as mugs and plates. For much greater quantities, better rewards could be reaped, with teapots, frying pans and even bedsteads on offer.

Despite the success of his tea business, Abraham is more famous for the creation of his travel company. This happened by pure chance. Ever the philanthropist, Abraham decided to treat his Burnley customers to a train trip to Blackpool in 1874. Its success gave him the enthusiasm to offer more trips to his loyal customers. By 1877, Abraham no longer just saw these trips as a reward for his customers, but he had set up his own travel business, with travel desks being added to his tea stores. Unfortunately, Abraham did not live long enough to see his travel business expand into overseas holidays and package tours, due to his premature death at the age of 44 in 1885.
Photographic print
Monochrome
9.9 X 14.3MB
c1880
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