An essential part of any Victorian grocery store would have been fruits & vegetables. I want my doll-sized green grocery section to offer a fairly authentic selection of produce so I thought I should do a bit of research to see what most Victorian grocers had to offer.
According to Michael Mosley:
There were plenty of cheap, seasonal vegetables to be found in the markets, including onions, cabbage, leeks, carrots and turnips. The main fruits were apples in the winter and cherries in the summer.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-37654373
The Victorians also ate lots of healthy, fibre-rich nuts, such as chestnuts and hazelnuts, which were often roasted and bought from street-corner sellers.
A common sight in Victorian times, were costermongers. These were people selling goods such as fruit and vegetables, from a handcart in the street. Lots of the images I have seen show costermongers selling basic seasonal vegetables such as potatoes, carrots & cabbages.
I want to offer a good range of items presented in baskets on a tiered display, similar to most of the images I have seen.
Ready made 1:12 scale crates or baskets of fruit and veg can be expensive (around £4 for an individual filled crate) so I plan to make my own. I have bought tiny woven baskets rather than crates and a selection of loose miniature vegetables and fruits. I will glue the items into place to avoid accidental spillages (which are likely with 4 boys in the house!) Tiny customers don’t want bruised fruit and veg that have been rolling around the floor (even though real Victorians were eating far worse!)
I chose a set of simple natural finish shop display shelves, miniature 3 cm wicker baskets and a selection of loose vegetables and fruits.
All purchased from http://www.tumdee-dollshouse-miniatures.co.uk/
They have a great selection of items that are fairly priced so you can purchase as many or few as you wish. Delivery was quick too! Just look at how beautiful the tiny fruits and veg are!
It looks like the first mini shop project will be the fruit and veg display! I plan to customise the tiered shelves & paint them to match the other shop fittings (once I can decide on the colour scheme!) I also want to darken the colour of the baskets & remove the handles to suit the look I’m after. Watch this space for updates…
Lindsay & Sons General Store 