Co Operative Collection

The Original Co-op, Rochdale, Lancashire
On December 21st, 1844, the Rochdale Equitable Pioneers Society commenced trading in this building thereby launching the worldwide Co-operative movement

New Lanark Mills, Scotland. Robert Owens (1771-1858) model community of cotton mills, housing, education, worlds first day nursery, evening classes, village shop (beginning of Co-operative movement)

Putting in seed on a bonanza farm, 1800s
Seeding grain on a bonanza farm, North Dakota, early 1890s. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration

Sorting and packing tomatoes at the Yauco Cooperative Tomato Growers Association, Puerto Rico

Among up to the minute shopping facilities, Guisborough preserves its historic link. 10th September 1962

Sign on the wall at Champagne Palmer, a big cooperative co-operative, Reims, Champagne, Marne, Ardennes, France

Ian McKellen, as Dr Faustus, in the play also called Dr Faustus, at The New Theatre, Cardiff, Wales. Picture taken 11th February 1975

New flats and old buildings side by side in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. 30th April 1964

Historical drawing from the 19th Century, seals of musical co-operatives in Belgium, 15th Century

Historic print, 1669, piece of news about the founding of the Deutschgesinnten Genossenschaft association, Erzschrein, from Bildatlas zur Geschichte der Deutschen Nationalliteratur

Historic security paper, bond certificate for gold, Mecklenburgischer Ritterschaftlicher Kreditverein, a credit cooperative, 5000 gold marks, Rostock, 1927, Germany, Europe

Hermann Wilhelm Ludwig Alexander Karl Friedrich Graf von Wartensleben-Carow 17 October 1826, 9 March 1921

Louis Jean Joseph Charles Blanc was a French politician and historian from 29 October 1811 to 6 December 1882

Aerial view of a housing estate, housing construction, seventies, flat block, terraced house, high-rise, social housing, cooperative, Grandkoppel, Lohbruegge, Bergedorf, Hamburg, Germany, Europe

Aerial view of Bergedorf West, housing estate, block of flats, cooperative, house, large housing estate, outskirts, school, sports field, railway, station, convenient for transport, green

Queue outside a cooperative store, Leipzig, Saxony, DDR, East Germany, Germany, Europe

New buildings, Möckernkiez, Yorckstrasse, cross mountain, Berlin, Germany, Neubauten, Yorckstraße, Kreuzberg, Deutschland

The 20-seat Daimler bus for Doncaster, Edenthorpe, Hatfield and Thorne (new village)

Ian McKellen, pictured in Newcastle where he is a member of The Actors Company. The Actors Company is 17 people, all on billing, equal pay, and equal terms

This row of buildings in Westgate, Guisborough, North Yorkshire

Westgate, Guisborough High Street, North Yorkshire. 15th December 1977

Corporation Street once a bustling thoroughfare in the heart of Coventry, has looked forlorn since through traffic was banned 13th January 1995

A cartoon commenting on the early days of the Co-operative movement, 19th century
5311010 A cartoon commenting on the early days of the Co-operative movement, 19th century; (add.info.: Date: 1871); Universal History Archive/UIG

Dakota Apartment House, New York, N.Y. between 1905 and 1915. Creator: Unknown
Dakota Apartment House, New York, N.Y. between 1905 and 1915

Allen Plantation operated by Natchitoches Farmstead Association, a cooperative established through the cooperation of F. S. A. Louisiana, August 1940

A corner of the dining room in the League Hall. 1908. Creator: Unknown
A corner of the dining room in the League Hall. 1908

Main office of the New Rochelle Co-operative Business League; 24 Brook Street. 1908

Directors of the New Rochelle Co-operative Business League; [Samuel G. Craig; Frank Sheldon; Theodore Fosque; Emanuel Eccles; Rev. Mark A. Bradley; John E. Bruce; Festus Walden; Henry W

Bayou Bourbeau plantation operated by Bayou Bourbeau Farmstead Association, a cooperative established through the cooperation of FSA [Farm Security Administration], Natchitoches, Louisiana

Grain elevators, Caldwell, Idaho, 1941. Creator: Russell Lee
Grain elevators, Caldwell, Idaho

FSA borrower who is a member of a sugar cooperative, vicinity of Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico

FSA borrower and participant in the sugar cane cooperative, Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico

FSA farmers working in a sugar cane field
Farm Security Administration farmers working in a sugar cane field, vicinity of Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. This is part of an FSA cooperative

FSA borrowers harvesting sugar cane cooperatively on a farm
Farm Security Administration borrowers harvesting sugar cane cooperatively on a farm, vicinity of Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico

Tomato crates at the Yauco cooperative tomato growers association, Puerto Rico

Washing oranges at an orange packing co-op, Redlands, Calif. 1943. Creator: Jack Delano
Washing oranges at an orange packing co-op, Redlands, Calif. Santa Fe R.R. trip

Packing oranges at a co-op orange packing plant, Redlands, Calif. Santa Fe R.R. trip

FSA borrower and member of Yauco tomato cooperative, planting tomatoes on his farm in the hills, vicinity of Yauco, Puerto Rico

Operating a machine for putting tops on crates at a co-op orange packing plant, Redlands, Calif. Santa Fe R.R. trip

Loading oranges into refrigerator car at a co-op orange packing plant

Grading oranges at a co-op orange packing plant, Redlands, Calif. Santa Fe trip

Automatic dumper at the co-op orange packing plant, Redlands, Calif. Santa Fe trip

Drying oranges at a co-op orange packing plant, Redlands, Calif. Santa Fe R.R. trip

Co-op orange packing plant, Redlands, Calif. 1943. Creator: Jack Delano
Co-op orange packing plant, Redlands, Calif. Workman is doing the preliminary sorting, picking out the discards. Santa Fe trip

Growers bringing in their crop to a co-op orange packing plant, Redlands, Calif. Santa Fe R.R. trip

Men of a Co-Operative - Bethesda Street, Merthyr, Wales. Date: circa 1909

Mr Owens Institution, New Lanark (Quadrille Dancing), engraved by George Hunt, pub
STC75993 Mr Owens Institution, New Lanark (Quadrille Dancing), engraved by George Hunt, pub

Bristol Co-operative Society, 25 seater on UB chassis. Open-top single-decker bus. Date: circa 1940

A modern farmers co-operative bacon factory in Ireland (b / w photo)
6024838 A modern farmers co-operative bacon factory in Ireland (b/w photo) by English Photographer

Interior of a farmers co-operative bacon factory (b / w photo)
6024837 Interior of a farmers co-operative bacon factory (b/w photo) by English Photographer, (20th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Interior of a farmers co-operative bacon factory)

A cartoon depicting the early days of Co-operative stores
5311016 A cartoon depicting the early days of Co-operative stores

Robert Owen, 1834 (oil on canvas)
3740340 Robert Owen, 1834 (oil on canvas) by Brooke, William Henry (1772-1860); 27.3x21.6 cm; National Portrait Gallery, London, UK; (add.info.: Robert Owen (1771-1858) Welsh social reformer

Interior view of Annfield Plain Co-op and grocery department staff. Annfield Plain, County Durham. Circa 1925

Jarrow Ferry A. B
Jarrow Ferry A.B. Govan on the River Tyne with cars and people on board and a Co-operative delivery van on back; South Shields, Tyne and Wear, England

FOURIER: PHALANX DESIGN. Design for a Phalanx, the cooperative social system propounded by French social theorist François Marie Charles Fourier (1772-1837). German engraving, 19th century

Early 1960s Austin LD high top van (mobile Shop), Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, 1965. A van belonging to the Scunthorpe Co-operative Society (SCS). 498 FFM was used as a mobie shop by the SCS

Barnsley Co-op, interior of the Jump Branch, near Barnsley, South Yorkshire, 1961

Barnsley Co-op, Jump branch, near Barnsley, South Yorkshire, 1961. A photograph for the Barnsley Co-op showing their new outlet in the village of Jump, near Barnsley

Barnsley Co-op, Penistone branch, South Yorkshire, 1956. Artist: Michael Walters
Barnsley Co-op, Penistone branch, South Yorkshire, 1956. The well laid out shelves display a varied selection of goods from the period

Barnsley Co-op, Bolton upon Dearne branch, South Yorkshire, 1956. Artist: Michael Walters
Barnsley Co-op, Bolton upon Dearne branch, South Yorkshire, 1956. The Co-op pioneered the new generation of self-service shops in the postwar years and this is a good example

Milk Producers Cooperative, Barranquilla, c1940s. From Barranquilla. [Raul de la Espriella B. Barranquilla]

In the Box Factory, 1919. Leicester Co-operative Printing Society Ltd.s establishment. From The British Printer Vol. XXXII. [Raithby, Lawrence & Co. Ltd, London and Leicester, 1919]

Monotype Casters and Stereotype Department, 1919. Leicester Co-operative Printing Society Ltd.s establishment. From The British Printer Vol. XXXII. [Raithby, Lawrence & Co

View of Forwarding and Binding Room, 1919. Leicester Co-operative Printing Society Ltd.s establishment. From The British Printer Vol. XXXII. [Raithby, Lawrence & Co. Ltd, London and Leicester, 1919]

View of Composing Room, 1919. Leicester Co-operative Printing Society Ltd.s establishment. From The British Printer Vol. XXXII. [Raithby, Lawrence & Co. Ltd, London and Leicester, 1919]

Harvesting at Tolpuddle, (1824), 1934
Harvesting at Tolpuddle

Autumn Fashions displayed - C. W.s Societies, Manchester
Autumn Fashions displayed - C.W.S Societies Customers Department, Manchester Date: circa 1916

Rugs. 20th century. Csik, Romania
Woven rugs. 20th century. From Csik, Romania. Ethnographic Museum. Budapest. Hungary

Picture No. 11807009
Humpback whale HUMPBACK WHALE, Megaptera novaeangliae, bubble-netting, co-operative feeding. Southeast Alaska, USA, the only place that this happens Date:

Picture No. 11807005
Humpback whale HUMPBACK WHALE, Megaptera novaeangliae, bubble-netting, co-operative feeding. Southeast Alaska, USA, the only place that this happens Date:

Picture No. 11806999
Humpback whale HUMPBACK WHALE, Megaptera novaeangliae, bubble-netting, co-operative feeding. Southeast Alaska, USA, the only place that this happens Date:

Picture No. 11806993
Humpback whale HUMPBACK WHALE, Megaptera novaeangliae, bubble-netting, co-operative feeding. Southeast Alaska, USA, the only place that this happens Date:

Picture No. 11806991
Humpback whale HUMPBACK WHALE, Megaptera novaeangliae, bubble-netting, co-operative feeding. Southeast Alaska, USA, the only place that this happens Date:

VERMONT: MILK CO-OP, 1936. Workers standing in the entrance of the United Farmers Co-operative Creamery Association in Hardwick, Vermont. Photograph by Carl Mydans, September 1936

Champagne de Castelnau, a regional co-operative cooperative champagne house, Reims, Champagne, Marne, Ardennes, France

A. V. Alexander at the opening of the Cooperative Society store at Bristol 3 April 1930
A.V. Alexander at the opening of the Cooperative Society store at Bristol 3 April 1930

George Jacob Holyoake (1817-1906) English secularist and social reformer. The last person in England to be imprisoned for atheism (1842). Active in the Co-operative movement

Sugar cane harvest, Mauritius
Sugar cane harvest. Woman manually harvesting burnt sugarcane (Saccharum sp.)

Refrigerating crates of oranges, 1940s C014 / 0534
Refrigerating crates of oranges. Worker loading oranges into a refrigerator railway car at a co-operative orange packing factory, Redlands, California, USA

COLD STORAGE ROOM, c1940. Cooperatively owned cold storage room built by the Tennessee Valley Authority to help stimulate the agricultural economy in White Pine, North Carolina, c1940

MOROCCO, Sale (town across from Rabat): Complexe des Poitiers / Pottery Cooperative, Tile Floor & Broom

PUERTO RICO: TOMATOES. Tomatoes at the Yauco Cooperative Growers Association in Puerto Rico. Photograph by Jack Delano, January 1942

Interior of cooperative garment factory at Jersey Homesteads, showing some of the eighty homesteaders at their work and some of the ladies coats made by them. Hightstown, New Jersey. Date 1936 Nov

Romania - National Exhibition of 1906 (12 / 16)
Romania - National Exhibition of 1906 - Bucharest - Artel (Cooperative Association) Palace Date: 1906

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EDITORS COMMENTS

"Cooperative Communities: A Global Legacy of Collaboration" From the picturesque New Lanark Mills in Scotland, where Robert Owens pioneered a model community centered around cotton mills, to The Original Co-op in Rochdale, Lancashire, where the seeds of modern cooperative movements were sown - cooperation has long been at the heart of human progress. In the 1800s, as farmers put in seed on bonanza farms across vast landscapes, they too embraced cooperation to maximize their yields and ensure prosperity for all. This spirit extended even to Champagne Palmer in Reims, Champagne, where a sign proudly proclaimed their commitment to being a big cooperative co-operative. Not limited to industries alone, cooperation found its place on stage as well. Ian McKellen mesmerized audiences with his portrayal of Dr Faustus at The New Theatre and showcased his dedication by becoming a member of The Actors Company in Newcastle upon Tyne. In this vibrant cityscape adorned with new flats juxtaposed against historic buildings, the power of collaboration is evident. Beyond borders and continents, from Westgate in Guisborough to Bayou Bourbeau plantation in Natchitoches and Caldwell's grain elevators in Idaho - cooperatives thrived. Whether it was farmers joining forces or borrowers participating in sugar cane cooperatives like those captured by photographers Marion Post Wolcott and Jack Delano respectively - these individuals understood that together they could achieve more than they ever could alone. As we reflect on these diverse examples spanning time and geography, one thing becomes clear: cooperation is an enduring force that transcends boundaries. It empowers communities large and small to build sustainable futures rooted in shared values and collective action. Let us celebrate this legacy while embracing its potential for shaping a better world ahead.