Did You Know?

Opened in 1909, the store's Information Bureau was famous for answering questions on 'any subject under the sun' - from a crossword clue to a statistic needed by a Government department.

With more reference books than most libraries, a ticker-tape machine delivering the latest news, a dozen phones and a dedicated staff, the Information Bureau was an entirely free service.

Amongst the most famous of the parties held in the early years of Selfridges were those given on the night of the General Election. Running from 1922 to 1935 they were glittering affairs, ending with a bacon and egg breakfast in the small hours of the morning, and attended by the great and the good, the fun and the fashionable.

Paddington Bear started his journey to fame in 1956 when Michael Bond bought a small toy bear from Selfridges on Christmas Eve as a gift for his wife. Mr and Mrs Bond called him Paddington after the area where they lived and, two years later, the first story about his adventures was published.

When The Wonder Room was launched in September 2007, who else could there have been to perform at the opening party than Stevie Wonder himself.

By 1943, the American Bell Telephone Corporation had developed a top-secret digital encrypted voice security system - or scrambler - enabling Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President Roosevelt to conference call with their senior military commanders.

In Washington, the kit was in the Pentagon. In London the forty racks of technical equipment weighing in at 55 tons was set up in a special room deep in the sub-basement of Selfridges, where it was guarded by armed Marines.

Code-named SIGSALY and maintained by the 805th Signal Service Company, a team of American and British telephonists from The Women's Army Corps answered the international calls and put them through to Winston Churchill's special extension in the Cabinet War Rooms - disguised as his private washroom.

When planning the site for his store, a top priority for Gordon Selfridge was good transport close by. For years, Selfridge lobbied his great friend Lord Ashfield, the Managing Director of the Underground Electric Railway Company, to allow Bond Street Tube Station to be re-named 'Selfridges'. Often discussed - and sometimes hotly debated - it was refused.

In 2007, Hermes created two exclusive Birkin bags in the Selfridges yellow - Pantone 109. More than 1,000 people tried to buy them!

In November 1932, Selfridges was used for location scenes during filming for the musical comedy Love On Wheels starring Jack Hulbert and Leonara Corbett.

Years later, the British movie hit, Love Actually, included scenes filmed in the Oxford Street store in 2003.

In 1925, Selfridges invited Scottish inventor John Logie Baird to demonstrate his new invention of television to the public. Baird, who was short of money, happily accepted a fee of £75 for a three week booking to show the function of his new machine - a 'Televisor' - to a bemused audience. Gordon Selfridge said at the time: 'This is not a toy - it is a link between all peoples of the world'.

In 2000, the world's largest - and longest - photograph, artist Sam Taylor Wood's panoramic work entitled 'XV' seconds, and featuring 21 images of modern-day icons such as Elton John, Alex James and Jodie Kidd, was displayed outside Selfridges to mask the scaffolding in place for restoration.

On July 25 1909, French aviator Louis Bleriot flew across the English Channel from Calais to Dover, earning his place in history as the first person to successfully fly over water. His fragile monoplane was placed on show at Selfridges, where over 150,000 visitors queued to see it.

In 1932, Selfridges installed a Seismograph in an area next to the in-store post office and kept a map to show just how often earthquakes occurred.

By 1966, 'Swinging London' was in the midst of its own youth revolution. Girls wanted short skirts and long false eyelashes - and Selfridges obliged by opening their own in-store boutique, 'Miss Selfridge'.

The famous Palm Court Restaurant was the hub of the store. Open all day and for special events in the evening - couples were encouraged to dine from the very beginning - it was considered quite shocking in the era of strict chaperones.

By 1922, everything had changed - except the fact that nice girls never wore trousers. When Mr Selfridge dressed his waitresses in smart trouser suits - calculating that it was quicker to reach the kitchen than when wearing a skirt - it caused an outrage.

Nora (the Great Dane) and Arthur (the Pug) were the second couple to get married in Selfridges. The first were human!

Not for nothing was Gordon Selfridge known as 'the showman of shopping'. His use of electricity to light up the night enthralled the public more used to smoggy streets. In 1911, decorating the store for the Coronation of King George V and Queen Mary took 4,500 light bulbs, while in 1929, the 20th Birthday illuminated message used an astonishing 30,000.

The store's external décor to celebrate the Coronation of King George V1 in 1937 was said to be the most opulent for any building in Europe. It was certainly the most expensive with a budget of £50,000, which would be £1,250,000 today.

In 1929, Selfridges launched its own record label; 'The Key'. Pressed by Decca, the records featured popular big band dance tracks of the day. The music department featured a 'daily play list' chosen by the BBC's first 'star' disc-jockey, Christopher Stone.

In April 2005, 77 Elvis Presley impersonators sang 'Viva Las Vegas' as part of the store's Vegas Supernova event - earning themselves a place in the Guinness Book of Records for being the most Elvis impersonators gathered in one place.