Advert - Philco Radio (1936)

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1936 advert for a Philco type 444 'The People's Set' bakelite wireless. The auction house Bonhams sold one in 2009 for £144 although another website suggests a going price of £495.

Cutting - Grand National and Lincoln Handicap (1923)

24th March 1923

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The 1923 Aintree Grand National was won by a 13 year-old horse, Sergeant Murphy, ridden by the Wodehousian named 'Tuppy' Bennett at 100/6. The three favourites were also rans. In December of 1923 Geoffrey 'Tuppy' Bennett was thrown during a race at Wolverhampton and kicked in the head. He died 19 days later and consequently protective headgear was made compulsory for all jockeys. You can watch the newsreel of the Grand National on the Pathé site or YouTube.

Advert - Gamages Store (1950's)

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1950's Gamage Store. I worked opposite it in the 1960's and spent many a lunch-hour exploring its nooks and crannies. Typical that an advert for business suits would also include archery bows - they stocked everything.

Cutting - Michael Rennie dies (1971)

11th June 1971

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Michael Rennie was an English born film actor who, after a short career in films on this side of the pond, moved to Hollywood in the early 1950’s where he appeared in about 80 roles in films and on TV. He also appeared on Broadway. His mother-in-law was found murdered in 1954. See this post.

Advert - Turk cigarettes (1910's)

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Lovely drawing in this 1910's advert for Turf cigarettes by 'The Tout' aka Peter Ronald Buchanan. His original artworks are now collectable items.

Cutting - Olympia Motor Show (1935)

17th October 1935

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The future King Edward VIII, as Prince of Wales, opening the Olympia Motor Show on 16th October 1935.  

If you were in the market for a shiny new 1936 car then why not try the Riley Kestrel 6 at £450 and only £7 10s a year road tax? Rover had 9 models ranging from a 10 horsepower model at £248 to a 14hp at £415. The cheaper Austin range had 12 models between £120 and £187 or 20hp Alvis for a whopping £800. 

For those must have accessories who could resist a trip meter which computes average speed  and times the car over a set distance down to 1/5th of a second?

Advert - Fine Fare (1980's)

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Founded in 1951, Fine Fare was an offshoot of its parent company Welwyn Department Stores of Welwyn Garden City. The name disappeared from the High street in 1988 when it was re-branded as Gateway.

If they were really confident that their prices were cheap they'd have written 'YOU DISPROVE IT' as a challenge.

Cutting - Jack Hylton Dies (1965)

29th January 1965

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Jack Hylton was a very popular band leader in England and on the Continent (even playing for Herman Goering in Berlin) throughout the 1920’s and 1930’s. In 1936 he took America by storm and toured Canada. He also dabbled in entrepreneurship, having brought Duke Ellington over the Britain for the first time in 1933. In 1940 he stopped performing and concentrated on theatrical and TV production, having London West End hits with shows like ‘Kiss Me Kate’, ‘Kismet’ and ‘Salad Days’. At the age of 70 in 1963 he married 29 year-old Beverley Prowse and, as detailed above, died in 1965.

Advert - Kan-U-Go (1940's)

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Kan-U-Go looks suspiciously like a Scrabble rip off but in fact pre-dates the better known game. Kan-U-Go was copywrited in 1934 and Scrabble wasn't invented until 1938. This is a 1940's advert. And for the really sad and lonely - Kan-U-Go-Alone.

Cutting - Lady Drummond Hay reports from the Hindenburg (1936)

8th May 1936

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The 'Maiden Voyage' of the Hindenburg airship from Germany to the USA in May 1936. It wasn't actually the first commercial trans-Atlantic flight that the Hindenburg had made; it had been to South America earlier in the year. 

Lady Drummond Hay was a journalist for William Randolph Hearst's newspapers. She had covered the 1929 Graf Zeppelin Around the Globe flight sponsored by Hearst and a marvellous documentary film of the flight and her participation can be seen on good old YouTube. 

The 'Saint' author Leslie Charteris was among the many celebrities on the Hindenburg flight and a very entertaining fictional account of his fictional investigation into a fictional murder on board can be read in Max Allen Collin's book 'The Hindenburg Murder'. 

It was at Lakehurst almost a year to the day later that the Hindenburg crashed in flames on 6th May 1937 and in doing so ended the era of the great passenger airships.

For anyone interested in the so called 'Maiden Flight' I recommend this website.

Advert - Kodak featuring John Mills (1958)

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1958 advert for Kodak camera film featuring film star John Mills star of that year's 'Dunkirk'.

Cutting - Steam Wagon Overturned (1926)

31st August 1926

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An overturned steam wagon in High Road, Tottenham. How on earth did a 6-ton vehicle with a top speed of less than 10mph manage to topple over? Still an ideal opportunity for those that like that sort of thing to view the bottom of an undertype chain drive steam lorry. Everyone to their own.

Advert - Houses for Sale (1920's)

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A house for £25 deposit, £60 on completion and £1 11s a week for the next 40 years. 1920's advert for houses in Ifield, Mill Hill, Banstead and Taplow.

Cutting - Gordon Richards Wins St Leger (1937)

8th September 1937

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Gordon Richards won his first race as a jockey in 1921 and went on to ride a further 4869 winners before retiring in 1954. He was Champion Jockey in 26 years and was knighted in the Coronation Honours in 1953. This race, the 1937 St Leger, can be seen in a Pathe newsreel on YouTube.

Advert - Postal Bargains (1936)

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Christmas postal bargains from 1936. A sugar dispenser for Auntie Flo? The Pip cigarette puter-outer for Uncle Silas? And, of course, the Ni**er Money Box for your favourite nephew? I wonder what the Dragons would make of the Spork?

Cutting - Daily Express Comic Strips (1958)

26th July 1958

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Despite Ian Fleming's misgivings about letting the Daily Express to strip cartoon his books, this 'James Bond' strip started on 7th July and ended on 13th December 1958 and was based on Fleming's book Casino Royale. It was scripted by Henry Gammidge and drawn by John McLusky who went on to illustrate 12 more Bond stories up to 1966. 

'Jeff Hawke' was created by Sydney Jordan and he had 69 adventures between 1955 and 1975. This strip is from the story 'The Dream Peddlers' which was scripted and drawn by Jordan. William Patterson wrote some of the stories. 

The surreal 'Four D Jones' by Peter Maddocks was about a time travelling cowboy and ran from 1955 to 1965. 

'Gun Law' drawn by Harry Bishop was based on the US TV series Gunsmoke that aired from 1955 until 1975. The star of the TV series, James Arness, is readily recognisable as Wyatt Earp in the strip.