Marks' Penny Bazaar Painting / Laura Cowburn Photo

The image on the left is a detail from the 1955 Van Jones painting of the Marks' Penny Bazaar, and on the right is the photo of Laura Cowburn. Laura was a sales assistant at the Oldham Street Penny Bazaar in Manchester in 1898, she had joined the business in 1895 as the fourth person to be employed as a sales assistant. Lord Marks (Simon) described her as 'one of the prettiest girls I ever saw' at a celebration of her career at M&S in 1959. Laura was 78 years old at the time, and was honoured as 'the oldest human link in the business of Marks & Spencer'.