3-101-841 - Ware in the World/Heritage Images

Ringing the Lutine Bell, Lloyd's, London, c1955. Lloyd's of London began in about 1689 in Lloyd's Coffee House, owned by Edward Lloyd. The waiters that Edward Lloyd had hired to serve coffee soon began supporting the emerging insurance market, distributing messages and information among the customers. Waiters still play an important role at Lloyd's today. Wearing the unmistakable red or blue uniforms, they act as sources of information in the Underwriting Room, call out names of brokers with messages waiting for them, and preserve centuries-old Lloyd's traditions including ringing the Lutine Bell and writing in the loss book. The bell was traditionally struck when news of an overdue ship arrived - once for the loss of a ship (i.e. bad news), and twice for her return (i.e. good news). The bell was sounded to stop the transaction of business while all brokers and underwriters were made aware of the news simultaneously. The bell has developed a crack and the traditional practice of ringing news has ended: the last time it was rung to tell of a lost ship was in 1979 and the last time it was rung to herald the return of an overdue ship was in 1989.