yeovil Trades and Traders

Frith & Vizetelly

General Dealers

 

Frith & Vizetelly was a short-lived enterprise during the early 1910s that attempted to sell a wide range of goods, without the benefit of shop premises, from a warehouse in George Court. A feature of their advertisements was "No expensive shop to keep up". In the first advertisement I found (see Gallery), they were concentrating their marketing on bicycles, but also included as vast array of other items from boots to bedsteads. Later advertisement relegated cycles to within the general list of goods offered.

It appears that Frith & Vizetelly went bankrupt before the end of 1913 and the stock was bought up by Belben Brothers, hardware merchants, who were involved in a court case in November 1913 concerning the "estate of Frith & Vizetelly".

Harold Frith was born on 25 November 1877 at Polsham, Somerset. On 5 June 1906, at Sherborne, Dorset, Harold married Mary Oatey Petter (1876-1969), the daughter of ironmonger James Bazeley Petter and Charlotte Waddams née Branscombe. Harold and Mary were to have three children, all born in Yeovil; Harold James David (1907-1979), Alfred Gerald Petter (1909-1992) and Dorothea Mary Charlotte (1912-2000). In the 1911 census, the family were living in Grove Avenue and Harold gave his occupation as an ironmonger. In 1939, Harold and Mary were living in Loughborough, Leicestershire. They later moved to Shaftesbury, Dorset. Harold died on 13 August 1950, at Sturminster, Dorset, aged 72.

Albert Christopher Vizetelly was born on 26 August 1873 at Islington, London. He was the eldest of the five children of Albert Francis Vizetelly (1854-1907) and Letitia Maria née Westrop (1850-1902). Albert married Harriet Jennie Evans on 30 October 1897 at Bristol, and adopted her daughter, Gracie (1894-1962). The 1901 census recorded the family in Bristol, and albert gave his occupation as a bookkeeper. Within a couple of years they had moved to Yeovil, and the 1911 census recorded them living at 37 Everton Road. By 1918 Albert had moved his family to Paddington, London, where he died in the spring of 1929, aged 56.

 

gallery

 

Frith and Vizetelly's advertisement in the 22 April 1910 edition of the Western Chronicle.

 

Frith and Vizetelly's advertisement in the 9 December 1910 edition of the Western Chronicle.

 

Frith and Vizetelly's advertisement in the 16 December 1910 edition of the Western Chronicle.