ABSTRACT
The Chairman had said in his Annual Report for the year ended January, 1918: ‘From the first Sir Arthur insisted that the finances of this business should be framed on such a conservative and reliable basis that, to use his own words, “it would be able to withstand the shock of a great European war, or some appalling financial crisis, which would create chaos in the money markets of this country”. The Burmese jade mine can be seen as a romantic gesture towards reviving direct ties with the Orient, a gesture in the old merchant adventuring spirit. The old reputation certainly stood it in good stead. Two new social classes had emerged from the war: the New Rich the New Poor. Old Liberty customers belonged to the New Poor and were therefore, by definition, no longer good customers. Clients ordering interior decoration by Liberty's included many who did not slot exactly into the New Rich or the New Poor category.
