2644846 Membership certificate for the Rochdale Equitable Pioneers Co-operative Society, 1865 (litho) by Sharples, James (1825-93); The People\'s History Museum, Manchester; (add.info.: The Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers, founded in 1844, was an early consumer co-operative, and one of the first to pay a patronage dividend, forming the basis for the modern co-operative movement. Although other co-operatives preceded them, the Rochdale Pioneers\' co-operative became the prototype for societies in Great Britain. The Rochdale Pioneers are most famous for designing the Rochdale Principles, a set of principles of co-operation that provide the foundation for the principles on which co-ops around the world operate to this day. The model the Rochdale Pioneers used is a focus of study within co-operative economics. Emblem designed by James Sharples); 穢 People\'s History Museum ; English, out of copyright.