An original Wartski’s sign, dating back more than a century, has been salvaged during current works at a building on Bangor High Street.
The wooden sign, which still carries the distinctive hand-painted WARTSKI’S lettering, has been saved by Bangor business owner Jo Pott, preserving a fascinating physical reminder of one of the most famous businesses to emerge from the city.
The sign comes from 196–200 High Street, a building with a remarkable retail history and one which was home to Wartski’s fashionable Bangor department store for decades.
The Wartski story in Bangor actually began elsewhere on the High Street.
Polish-born Morris Wartski settled in Bangor in the 1880s and established his first jewellery shop at 21 High Street in the 1890s. The business proved successful and the family subsequently expanded its interests considerably.
Morris’s son Isidore Wartski developed the family’s drapery and fashion business and, in 1918, opened a new store at 196–200 High Street. It was a significant step up from the family’s earlier premises and developed into one of Bangor’s best-known shops.
The store sold the latest London and Paris fashions, including evening wear, dresses, cloaks, furs, gloves and other luxury goods, attracting customers from across North Wales and beyond.
Wartski’s occupied the building until 1965, when it was taken over by Browns of Chester. The store later became Debenhams in 1976.
The jewellery side of the Wartski family business followed a different path – and went on to achieve international fame.
Branches were established in Llandudno before Morris Wartski’s son-in-law Emanuel Snowman opened a London branch in 1911. The firm subsequently became internationally renowned for fine jewellery, silver and particularly the works of Carl Fabergé, building associations with royalty and some of the world’s most prominent collectors.
While the newly salvaged sign isn’t from Morris Wartski’s original jewellery shop at 21 High Street – historic photographs of that premises show MORRIS WARTSKI prominently across the frontage – it is a surviving piece of the later Wartski’s store at 196–200 High Street, opened by Isidore in 1918.
More than a century later, current works on the building have brought the old Wartski’s lettering to light once again.
Jo said: “My friend Laura spotted the sign during the work at the property and the two of us went to salvage it. We were pleased to be able to retrieve the sign because of its historical importance for Bangor.
“I have had two shops on the High Street over the past 38 years, Jo Pott Mercer Interiors and Jo Pott Mercer Clothes, while Kyffin Café Deli is now in its 21st year. Bangor and its history mean a great deal to me.
“I’m not sure yet what the future holds for the sign, but I certainly would like to see it remain in Bangor. Hopefully we can find a suitable permanent home for it where it can be preserved and enjoyed for many years to come.”
From a small jewellery shop on Bangor High Street to an internationally renowned London firm – it is an extraordinary local story.
And thanks to Jo and Laura, another surviving piece of that story will remain in Bangor.
