consumer goods
During the latter part of the 19th century, Great Britain controlled the means of production in her colonies. Highmargin
manufactured goods were, therefore, generally
confined to British factories while the raw materials needed to
produce these profitable goods came from outposts such as
the West Indies, Canada, India, Australia, South Africa, and
Ceylon. Tea, coffee, cinnamon, plumbago, and such were
exported by Ceylonese producers but consumer goods such
as soap, cosmetics, cigarettes, prepared foods, alcoholic
beverages, and textiles were all imported from the mother
country. The earliest consumer goods posters displayed in
Ceylon were all produced in Britain. They were dispatched
to authorized agents in the colonies who used them in their
marketing efforts.
British-sourced posters were appropriate up to a point but the
development of an indigenous market in Sri Lanka and the
establishment of commercial companies such as the British
Ceylon Corporation, Lever Brothers, Ceylon Cold Stores,
tobacco companies, and others necessitated the creation
of posters that marketed goods to fit local tastes. As the
population increased, more wealth was accrued throughout the
country, and brands became established, companies started to
sell goods through a network of small shops through the length
and breadth of Ceylon. By the 1920s nearly every village and
town in Ceylon had a store that sold branded goods. In an age
prior to radio and television marketing, the poster was king.
Unfortunately, most of the early posters do not exist anymore
and nearly all the posters in collectors hands today were
designed in the 1930s. Nevertheless they provide us with
a good idea of how Ceylons consumer goods industry
developed.