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Old Lolly Shop Collection
Image: Photograph - Elizabeth Cohen in her Lolly Shop
Source: Museum Victoria
Elizabeth and Henry Cohen opened their milk bar in Rathdowne Street, Carlton, an inner suburb of Melbourne, in 1939. Born in Australia, they were descendants of Jewish immigrants from Europe.
Just around the corner from the Lee Street Primary School, the shop was always crowded with school kids at lunch time. It was their tuckshop, and every Friday 'good' children were rewarded with a free handful of boiled sweets from the big lolly drum that Elizabeth kept behind the counter. The milk bar gradually took on an unofficial neighbourhood name of the Old Lolly Shop.
For adults the milk bar was a place to sit and talk, or to meet when strolling home from Sunday night dances at Monash Hall.
The milk bar was one of many small family businesses that became the mainstay of countless families and the heart of many suburban communities. After World War II, many post-war immigrants, especially those from southern Europe, embraced the opportunity to run a small business - butchers and tailors, greengrocers, restaurants, fish and chip shops and milk bars.
Often the whole family was involved in such businesses. As a boy, Alan Cohen collected bread, pies and cakes from nearby bakeries and delivered them by bike to his parents' milk bar.
The Cohens saw the neighbourhood change. Carlton's Jewish community was moving out to the middle suburbs, to be replaced by immigrants from Italy and Greece in the 1950s and 1960s. Then students and professionals moved in. Shopping trends shifted too: supermarkets multiplied, and schools ran their own tuckshops.
Elizabeth closed the shop in 1975. By that time she had served generations of Carlton children and their parents.
The museum collected what remained of the contents of the shop when the building was sold in 1992. The Old Lolly Shop Collection comprises around 100 items, including a cake display cabinet, ice chest and pie warmer, food safe, shelving, menu and a large collection of advertising signs.
Items per page: 10 50 (showing 41 - 50) 110 items
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Chair & Step - Old Lolly Shop, Carlton North, circa 1939
Wooden chair and step, used at the Old Lolly Shop, Carlton North. Probably made around the time the shop opened in 1939. The Old Lolly Shop was a milk bar opened and run by Elizabeth a ...
From: Carlton, Australia Images: 2 -
No Image Available
Dispenser Stand - Eta Nuts, circa 1960
Eta Nuts dispenser, circa 1960, used at the Old Lolly Shop, Carlton North. The Old Lolly Shop was a milk bar opened and run by Elizabeth and Henry Cohen at 314 Rathdowne Street, Carlto ...
From: Carlton, Australia Images: 0 -
No Image Available
Sign - Cottee's 'Big Boy' Lemonade, circa 1970
Paperboard shop advertising sign, Cottee's Big Boy Lemonade, circa 1970, used at the Old Lolly Shop, Carlton North. The Old Lolly Shop was a milk bar opened and run by Elizabeth and He ...
From: Carlton North, Australia Images: 0 -
No Image Available
Sign - Ice Blocks, Old Lolly Shop, Carlton North, circa 1950s
Ice blocks advertising sign, circa 1950s, displayed at the Old Lolly Shop, Carlton North. The Old Lolly Shop was a milk bar opened and run by Elizabeth and Henry Cohen at 314 Rathdowne ...
From: Carlton North, Australia Images: 0 -
No Image Available
Sign - Eta Salted Peanuts, circa 1970
Eta Salted Peanuts advertising sign, with packet of nuts attached, circa 1970, displayed at the Old Lolly Shop, Carlton North. The Old Lolly Shop was a milk bar opened and run by Eliz ...
From: Carlton North, Australia Images: 0 -
No Image Available
Chocolate Box - MacRobertsons Selection Box, circa 1970
Chocolate box for MacRobertsons Selection chocolates, circa 1970. Displayed at the Old Lolly Shop, Carlton North. The Old Lolly Shop was a milk bar opened and run by Elizabeth and Henr ...
From: Ringwood, Australia Images: 0 -
No Image Available
Sign - Streets Banana Polar Choc, circa 1970
Street's Banana Polar Choc ice cream advertising sign, circa 1970, displayed at the Old Lolly Shop, Carlton North. The Old Lolly Shop was a milk bar opened and run by Elizabeth and Hen ...
From: Carlton North, Australia Images: 0 -
No Image Available
Display Stand - Old Lolly Shop, Carlton North, circa 1939
Wodoen display stand used in the Old Lolly Shop, Carlton North, from circa 1939 to 1975. The Old Lolly Shop was a milk bar opened and run by Elizabeth and Henry Cohen at 314 Rathdowne ...
From: Carlton, Australia Images: 0 -
No Image Available
Sign - MacRobertson 'Snack' Chocolates, circa 1970
Shop advertising sign for MacRobertson 'Snack' chocolates, circa 1970, used at the Old Lolly Shop, Carlton North. The Old Lolly Shop was a milk bar opened and run by Elizabeth and Hen ...
From: Carlton, Australia Images: 0 -
No Image Available
Money Drawer - Old Lolly Shop, Carlton North, 1939-1975
Money drawer, originally located under the counter of the Old Lolly Shop, Cartlon North. The Old Lolly Shop was a milk bar opened and run by Elizabeth and Henry Cohen at 314 Rathdowne ...
From: Carlton, Australia Images: 0
