down to the cellar

The Maharajah- Air India's character trademark

2012-01-25T22:19:00.004Z

In keeping with the recent aeronautical theme, here is The Maharajah. Created in 1946 by Bobby Kooka & Umesh Rao at J Walter Thompson, The Maharajah serves as a character trademark for Air India. Even with one hand missing, he cuts a fine figure. For the life of me, I cant remember where I found him, but possibly it was up at The Stanley Dock in Liverpool, in the late Eighties.

Below is the sticker on the base of the 4" figurine.

Belinda Lyon clothkit oxfam cut out doll

2012-01-18T17:45:00.007Z

Last week my brother in law was clearing out his parents loft and he found this old doll. It looks remarkably like a figure I posted back in 2010. It turns out that she is designed by illustrator, Belinda Lyon who created a whole series of dolls for Oxfam, called cut out dolls. Sold as a pattern, and printed on a cotton tea towel, which you then, cut, stuffed and made up as the doll. It was a pretty impressive series, and so, of its time.

This doll is Malee, a Thai Temple dancer, you can see Nada, the Algerian girl from the series at h is for home, who have also set up a small flickr site celebrating Belinda Lyon.

Late Seventies Horror show

2012-01-11T17:11:00.008Z

I just could not leave these frightening relics from the Seventies behind, at a car boot, last summer! The heady mix of 68% polyester and 42% acrylic was just all too consuming!

Now, while the urge to buy them may have been strong, there was never any intention to wear them! It should be noted that they fit a 3/4 year old, but there is no way Id put anyone I know through the shame of wearing them, even as a joke!

For anyone who's interested the labels are below.

"I know what you did on holiday" Knitting pattern.

2012-01-05T15:12:00.004Z

Happy New Year! I do hope 2012 will be kind.

With the holidays behind us, here is the first post for 2012. Todays post is knitting pattern 4078 from Ladyship wools. It kind of follows on from the last post of last year, where I shared some slides, from Canada. The last three posts create a visual form of word association, which is kind of fun. There was the Fisher Price air stewardess, then the slide of the Canadian hostess , and then, todays knitting pattern of a family viewing a slide collection!

Over the years Ive amassed a vast collection of knitting patterns. The contrived, staged family togetherness is always amusing. Like most things these days, you used to pick them up for pennies, but now the more interesting ones cost 50p or more. I dont know! It doesnt seem quite the same!

Travel Hostess- Thunder Bay, Canada

2011-11-29T07:46:00.004Z

Last weeks Fisher Price air stewardess reminded me of this old, souvenir slide, which I've been meaning to post for a while!

Back in the day, before digital cameras, videos and dvds, families would often invite each other round to one anothers houses, to view slides and cine film of their holidays. The quality of peoples own photos were generally, pretty ropey, so a gap in the market emerged and companies began to produce souvenir packs of slides, taken by professional photographers. Quality assured, you could now share those magical moments without embarrassment!

Todays post, of an Ontario Government Travel Bureau Hostess is taken from a pack of 5 travel slides of Thunder Bay, Canada produced by Gaf. Their series of slides was called pana-vue. You can see more from the pana-vue series over at Worldsfairphotos.com and also at disneypix.com. There are lots to choose from at disneypix, but my absolute favourites are of Tomorrowland.

Now, if the response is good to these slides, I could always share with you my set of Calgary stampede slides, featuring an Indian village and chief!!!

Fisher Price Air stewardess

2011-11-21T22:16:00.003Z

Hot on the heels of Pan Am, thats recently been aired on UK TV, heres Fisher Price's very own Air Stewardess from the seventies. Although complete with matching bag, I cant see how she can hold it!

Birmingham Bull Ring Commemorative Plate

2011-11-09T20:38:00.002Z

The Old Birmingham Bull Ring was the first indoor market in the UK when it opened in 1964. It mixed traditional open air market with a submerged market hall. Considered to be the height of modernity when it opened it soon fell from grace with its labyrinth of subways, and failing escalators. None of this was helped by the isolation the ring road caused.

Back in the eighties it used to run a rather good flea market, and I remember picking up a couple of fine finds there. Last month this plate, by Purbeck Pottery turned up. It commemorates the opening of the Bull Ring. It seems at odds to have an almost folk response to what was at the time, such brutal modern architecture!

Halloween offering

2011-10-31T08:12:00.002Z

Happy Halloween, one and all. Brought to you, especially for today, another unknown plastic offering, this time in the shape of a 3.5" Dracula. Ive been saving this little gem for a while. I believe he dates from the eighties.

Small plastic Giraffe seeks wheels!

2011-10-17T22:45:00.005+01:00

Rather nice, seated Giraffe made from a soft rubbery plastic. My guess is he came with a car. He stands 35mm small, but with no makers mark, I haven't got a clue who the fella is!

Vintage paper plates

2011-10-12T22:11:00.003+01:00

Live action Tele Babar Part 2

2011-10-05T20:53:00.009+01:00

A couple of years ago I posted some lovely Babar dominoes. They caused quite a stir over at do you remember blog. Apparently a lot of people remembered the TV show, and found the live action Babar frightening. I can't see it! For my money, the masks and costumes are magical and share links with the Theatre of the Bauhaus.

Not long after I posted the dominoes I was lucky enough to find these two hardback copies in English, taken from the TV series. The books are beautifully designed, and the stills from the show are fantastic.

You can watch a foreign language version of the Tele Babar TV show below.

Published by Methuen in 1969, the hard back books measure 248 x 300mm. As far as I can see there were three books in the series, the two here; Babar goes visiting, Babar Keeps Fit & Babar Learns to Drive.

Fisher Price Little People

2011-10-04T22:33:00.005+01:00

An extra helping of Fisher Price Little People for Steve. Thanks for the thumbs up! Fisher Price Little People were originally made from wood and then later on, plastic. Its always a joy to find another member of the gang!

Stay Sharp..... Harp lager tea towel

2011-09-23T21:55:00.002+01:00

Savoy Youth Theatre

2011-09-16T21:29:00.004+01:00

Ive been walking past this sign for a number of years now, always with the intention of photographing it. More recently I've been getting slightly worried it will have been replaced with something new, not nearly as nice, or so interesting. However last month I bit the bullet, picked up the camera and got the shot!

The sign,made with vinyl lettering, on wooden board, has peeled over time. As legibility decreases, the intrigue grows.

In case of complaint please return and join a sample.

2011-09-15T19:58:00.000+01:00

Top marks to our son, who was helping out at the School fair, and found this box of Caran D'ache pencils, from the 1950s. What care has been taken with the packaging, from the paper label to the string that binds them together.

Included in the box (below) was the original customer complaint slip. The translation into english is rather quaint

In case of complaint please return this slip and join a sample.

Disco Bear

2011-09-09T21:24:00.001+01:00

Small plastic novelty bear throwing some great shapes, why?

More fisher Price animals

2011-09-01T19:25:00.004+01:00

A while back I posted a Fisher Price Circus monkey, last week some more turned up, and this time the monkey has a tail!

Never seen a stranger puzzle?

2011-08-31T12:12:00.003+01:00

Last July I posted a "Say No to Strangers" badge. But look what I was given for my birthday, last week! The 30 piece puzzle is made by Waddingtons, and looks as if, it was given away by Lothian & Borders Police Force, in an attempt to educate young children.

Lines brothers Roll along plastic animals

2011-08-17T19:49:00.005+01:00

A small collection of plastic animals on wheels. Not one has a makers mark, but on a visit to the rather wonderful Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood last year I thought I spotted the toys above. Apparently the animals were only prototypes and created by Fred Pearl, for Lines Brothers. Pearl is more famous for producing models for Star Wars.

How tolerant are you?

2011-08-06T19:07:00.003+01:00

I picked this Tolerance calculator up last month at the local car boot. It was given away with Practical Electronics in April 1967. I was going to leave it behind, but the people on the stall had some interesting things and we got chatting. The items had belonged to a gentleman, who had worked as an engineer, at the BBC, in its early days. An intriguing image was built up of this chap, who had sadly passed away. Some of the items had been left to a museum, while other items, including this calculator were left to fend for themselves.

I have no idea what you do with a Tolerance calculator, but I dont think Id score very highly!

The notion of getting irritated by bad driving, dawdling tourists and screaming children, reminded me of the film below by Robert Popper and Peter Serafinowicz, Markets of Britain.

Most amusing!

Avon "Wild Country" aftershave Pipe

2011-08-05T17:40:00.004+01:00

A splendid, but somewhat bizarre find in the 10p box, at our favorite charity shop, last week.
This beige aftershave pipe from Avon, must date from the Seventies. Its hard to believe that someone must have sat down at some point, and come up with this peculiar idea. I imagine it was created for the man who has everything!

The tobacco end of the pipe doubles as the aftershave bottle. You can see the bottle, separately on the left. An unusual item, that's for sure!

* Postscript: Well, it appears the pipe is not so unusual after all! There were a number of pipe designs by Avon, as well as all sorts of outlandish designs including a power drill! Below are a few more highlights.

Galt fabric building blocks

2011-07-23T07:40:00.004+01:00

Six fabulous, 1960s fabric blocks from Galt, that turned up last month on a Sunday trawl. I never thought you could still find such gems. It makes all the blank days worthwhile.

I was in London with my mother, recently, and she was surprised how I still remembered with affection our trips to The Galt shop in Carnaby Street. It was always a magical experience. Perhaps, the toy I remember best is "The Old Woman who lived in a shoe", more of which, another time.

Above are a couple more close ups of some of the cubes. Ive posted a number of lovely Galt finds on here before, but despite Ken Garlands website, Im still waiting for a more definitive history on the toy manafacturer.

Serpo, vinyl sticker. Rue Chaudrier, La Rochelle

2011-07-10T22:18:00.002+01:00

The pick of todays finds was this delighful vinyl sticker, for Serpo, a French photographic store in La Rochelle. Fixed to the side of a crumbling old Polaroid camera bag, it now has a new home!

1970's Ribbon spools

2011-06-28T22:21:00.002+01:00

Wooden russian sledge couple

2011-06-21T19:26:00.003+01:00

Another holiday souvenir saved from car boot oblivion. This time from Moscow!

So many people go abroad, and want to bring something back as a memento, but overtime memories of the holiday fade and the objects loose their meaning. Sadder still, people die and family and friends have no knowledge of the objects significance.

This delightful couple are dated on the bottom, 1972. Theres a whole load more written on the base, but sadly I cant read russian or decipher cyrillic ! However on the off chance, theres some clever soul out there who can, Ive posted the label below!

Torque Computer SS306B

2011-06-13T07:13:00.002+01:00

Found last week at the bottom of an old tool box. This is a Snap on Torque computer. It has a catalogue number of SS-306B.

Sasek Matchbox booklet for Liberty's London 1964

2011-05-27T17:03:00.007+01:00

Much excitement in the Mendelsson household last week, when this dropped through the post! I hadn't checked ebay for a while for Sasek, as its become rather tedious trawling through all the modern reissues of his, This is series!

However a couple of weeks ago, I hit the search button, and was delighted to discover this rather battered matchbox booklet by the man himself. The booklet has some rather scratchy pen and ink drawings, depicting various modes of transport in London.

The booklet measures 320 x 65mm, was made in Finland in 1964 for Liberty's of London, it has a brilliant red interior and once contained 150 Crown matches.

Grrrrrrrrrrr!

2011-05-24T23:01:00.003+01:00

Two Britains, plastic animals from 1978, that I picked up last month. You can see a whole load more over at the toybox, where he has some fantastic boxed elephants!

Who are you?

2011-05-20T21:37:00.004+01:00

Amongst the many discarded photos I have, some of my favourites are polyphotos! Taken by a photographer and not in a photo-me booth, the photographer would take 48 different photographs, for you to choose from. You would be given a fantastic contact sheet, with small postage stamp images to choose from.

I have some of my dad, and my father in law, but the three above, have always intrigued me! Who is this man? I always hoped he would be a typesetter, or perhaps an architect. Was he European (Dutch maybe?) or was he just an office manager from Manchester?

I guess we'll never know!

2011 Cup Final post

2011-05-14T11:48:00.002+01:00

Its that time of year again. Its Cup Final day here in England! Here to celebrate are two corner kickers from an unknown football game, maybe from the Sixties. They show a striking resemblance to the fairground game I listed back in 2009.

Im bitterly disappointed that the FA, and the Premier league couldnt work out a way for the FA Cup to be the last game of the season, and that it was the only game played in Britain today. Its criminal so many traditions and rituals are being undermined! I guess Im just a silly romantic!

Young Penguin seeks new friends!

2011-05-07T20:10:00.005+01:00

Hot on the heels of the two lovely rabbits that turned up a while back, are these three little delightful wooden birds, with dainty wire legs.

I cant tell you a thing about them, except the stork and the red bird dont seem to be too enamoured, with their young penguin friend! It looks as if hes asked a question and they're not prepared to give him an answer. Oh dear! I wonder what the question was?

Royal footman

2011-04-29T22:38:00.002+01:00

It seems somewhat appropriate to post this super little lead figure, what with all the fervour over the Royal wedding, today. Created by John Hill & co. in 1953 as a commemorative for the current Queens coronation. Its a bit classier than some of the tat thats being marketed for todays royal occasion. However I did see this, which I quite liked!

Butlin's Barry Island- John Hinde

2011-04-13T17:05:00.010+01:00

A super haul of five John Hinde postcards from the car boot this Sunday. All featuring The Butlins holiday camp at Barry Island. Ive not seen any of these before, so a real technicolour treat!

One can only imagine what the holiday was like in the late sixties, but on the reverse of the card, Mrs Bradly does say the weather was not too warm, and she had met a friend (female) of her own age and they both like dancing at the Old Tyme Ballroom!

As Ive mentioned before on here, I cant get enough of these glorious holiday souvenirs. Hinde team of photographers produced some pretty astonishing images. The series here are all taken by Edmund Nägele, you can read more about him and his time with the John Hinde, here.

Below, Mrs Brady's favourite spot,the indoor heated pool. The card has a catalogue number of 3BY1.

On the back of 3BY13- The Lounge Grotto (below) Mrs Brady writes

"My friends husband is to ill to dance too much, so we are meeting up in the ballroom quite often. Hope the dogs are behaving themselves. The train leaves Barry at 6.15 on Saturday. So will be in Newport about 7.30. We'll wait at station entrance. "

Composite beer bottle stoppers

2011-04-08T11:58:00.004+01:00

Following last weeks Antiques Roadshow, at The British Museum. I was reminded of my mudlarking days! The chap on TV had 1000s of items from The Thames including coins and clay pipes as well as some old bottle stoppers!

My small collection of bottle stoppers also came from The Thames, from just beneath Tower Bridge, each stopper carries a different Brewery logo. Its fun to imagine the identity of the previous owner, who opened his bottle of beer and threw the stopper into the Thames.

Häschenschule wooden Rabbits from East Germany

2011-04-04T17:34:00.005+01:00

These rather fetching, wooden rabbits turned up at the car boot, a while back, but despite having their bases stamped, I knew nothing about them except they were East German.

However after stumbling across Spielzeugladen, a toy shop in Freiburg, South West Germany, I'm a little bit wiser. It appears the characters, Hans & Gretchen, come from the classic German tale, Die Häschenschule. The Rabbit School was written by Albert Sixtus, and first published in 1924.

More Seventies Badges

2011-03-15T17:59:00.001Z

Optimistic German miner doll & wife

2011-03-11T19:42:00.003Z

At last the days are getting longer, and the weather seems to be improving, Hurray!
Im sure its not a coincidence but there were certainly more stalls at Sundays boot, and as result some nice finds! The lovely couple above, turned up, which I presumed were East German. Made from lightweight plastic, they are hollow. But without a makers mark, its been difficult to find out much. The guy on the left, is indeed a German miner, but no news about the girl. Hes 6" high, while she is 5".

Lenticular Decimal Currency Calculator

2011-03-02T19:08:00.004Z

A wonderful recent find from a lovely little antique shop in Holt, Norfolk. Given all the recent material Ive been posting relating to decimalisation, I had to have this fantastic little currency converter. The photo above ( excuse the distortion!) shows the two different views of the card. Tip it one way and it displays old money, flip it the other and it reveals the decimal equivalent.

Ever since The Sun newspaper released its Gallery of 3D Soccer stars in 1972 I've had a penchant for all things lenticular. Of course, the classic image is of the winking, asian girl.

Released by The East Anglian Trustee Saving Bank, " to help you in the change to decimals".

To anonymity and beyond?

2011-02-25T12:28:00.004Z

The front and back of another unknown spaceman, that turned up on a recent trip to Cardiff

Electrical Association for Women: 1970s Wiring Tea Towel

2011-02-12T20:17:00.006Z

As promised in my last post, here is the tea towel that was issued by The Electrical Association for Women! It dates from the early 1970s when the wiring colours, inside electrical plugs changed from red, green and black to blue, brown, yellow & green.

Why they produced a tea towel, I dont know?

Britain's New Decimal Currency Mug

2011-01-26T16:08:00.003Z

Following on from last August's post, Im posting this interesting find from The Staffordshire Pottery. Like the information wheel it acts as an aid for getting to grips with Decimalisation. On February 15 1971 Britain's currency moved over from the old system of pounds, shillings and pence, to the new one, where there was 100 pence in the pound.

The photo above shows the mug from three sides. Its interesting that old money is represented by a stencil font, that in my mind seems more evocative of pop art and the sixties, than my notion of old money.

Im fascinated by these items that document, what at the time, must have seemed like radical change. It may take a while, but soon the changes are accepted, and the old system becomes history. These artifacts remain the only reminder of the fear, authorities had, that the public would not embrace the new system.

I have a tea towel that records a similar moment in the Seventies, when the British electrical wiring system changed. I promise to post it soon!

5" Barry Goldwater Plastic REMCO figure

2011-01-17T20:42:00.004Z

Barry Goldwater (January 2, 1909– May 29, 1998) was an American politician. He was a U.S. Senator from Arizona, and the Republican Party's nominee for President in the 1964 election.

I picked up this 5" plastic figure at the last car boot of the year from a very muddy field in Elstree. He came with a rather nice electoral badge, that I'll post another time.

Planet of The Apes at Selfridges

2011-01-10T17:05:00.012Z

Back in the day when there were only four TV channels, Fridays after school were special! Three of us, would catch the 142 bus, back to our friend Nainesh's house, to watch old Top of The Pops/ Whistle Test recordings on The Shah familys' state of the art, top loading video recorder.

The videos were the trailer for the main feature, that was Channel 4s, The Tube. If the thrill of seeing our favourite bands wasnt enough, it was accompanied by the joy of a small tin of Long Life lager , and if we were really lucky, Mrs Shahs, fantastic Aloo dosas. Halcyon days indeed.

But above the Telly, and the sleek black drinks cabinet were the family photos, one of which features above. There was Nainesh, his sister, Mrs Shah, but with Galen, Zako and Urku from the Planet of The Apes TV series!

The story goes, that back in the winter of 1975, a number of characters from Planet of The Apes made an appearance at Selfridges in London. It appears you queued to be photographed with some of the characters, a bit like Santas Grotto, but even more terrifying. There are a few more Selfridges pictures circulating online and apparently there was even a live show ( Think, Its a Knockout!) If you like the idea of these Store appearances photos, theres an unbelievable site, Plaid Stallions, that has many more!

Planet of The Apes has a special place in my heart. I remember fondly playing with the mego action figures and of course watching the TV series. Years later I read the Pierre Boulle book (that was bizarrely missing the last page!) and watched the original film, which I still enjoy, but why did Tim Burton feel the need to remake it?

Green speech mark toy

2011-01-07T15:48:00.004Z

This delightful 4.5" figure turned up in the 1p box, in my favourite local charity shop, last week. With no makers mark, he remains something of a mystery!
He reminds me of some figures , that friends brought back from holidays in Germany in the 70s, but he may be later than that! Another thought was, he was one of Noddy's friends. His green body is made from a squeezable, lightweight plastic, while his head is more robust. His funny blue hat and super speech mark eyes are the icing on the cake.

If you have any more information, or thoughts Id be delighted to hear from you!

Loony Links- An Educational Construction toy from Kohner

2011-01-01T20:49:00.005Z

A strange plastic construction toy to start the new year! It comes from the same company that brought us Pop -o-matic Bingo, Kohner. Brightly coloured, plastic limbs are snapped together to different torsos to give you several interesting characters!

Seasons Greetings from The Cellar

2010-12-21T20:26:00.002Z

Seasons' Greetings to all readers and followers of Down to The Cellar. Thanks to everyone who contributed this year, either with comments, or help and even those who just stopped by. Hope you have a Happy Holiday, eat well and stay warm over the festive period!

Kohner Pop-O-Matic Bingo 1973

2010-12-14T19:13:00.004Z

Two lovely plastic, push up Bingo cards from the Kohner Bros. Marked 1973. Apparently the dice for the game was enclosed in a sprung plastic dome, (just like the game Frustration) You popped the dome down, and the dice spun. Hence pop-o-matic!

The Kohner Bros Toy company started life in 1874 making wooden toys.They hit the big time when they obtained the rights from a Swiss inventor, Marty Meinard to the line of toys known as Push Button Toys.

Mark Boutavant’s Mouk

2010-12-06T22:25:00.005Z

Mark Boutavant’s book Around the World with Mouk (pictured above) was a real high point of last year. Boutavant's brilliantly coloured pictures seem to have captured the spirit of Richard Scarry & Otto Seibold, and in doing so created his own beautiful world. How wonderful to see all the new exciting merchandise released by Djeco.

There are some brilliant wooden pull along toys for toddlers that we saw up in town yesterday, that are featured below. Thankfully the toys are available in the UK , but Roulapic the rabbit seems to have sold out everywhere already!

If the toys arent exciting enough, it appears Mouk is set to have his own TV show. You can view the pilot, here!

Ferelith Eccles Williams Marmaduke books

2010-12-03T04:34:00.007Z

A while back I posted several dolls from the one two three away series, illustrated by Ferelith Eccles Williams. Born in 1920, Ferelith was a pretty prolific illustrator, but I didnt know she taught Ian Beck!

Back in the Fifties, before The Village with Three Corners, Ferelith produced a lot of splendid work for Elizabeth Chapman's Marmaduke, a series of tales about a red car. Shown above are two copies, that turned up locally. While the covers are pretty sumptuous, what really grabbed me, were the interior spots, a few of which are shown below.

Invicta plastic animals

2010-11-30T22:16:00.004Z

From the company that gave us the game Mastermind, come these fabulous plastic animal moulds. Invicta was established in 1946 with an RAF war gratuity of just £100.
They continue to produce plastic dinosaurs, as well as other plastic point of sale materials.

Todays post features a set of fantastic animals, that came in a various colourways. Below are some vehicles from the same range.

Heavy weight Baggage labels

2010-11-21T21:14:00.004Z

Sorting through an old folder of ephemera I found these three luggage labels. The top two both date from the eighties and are from airlines. The bottom one is from a cruise ship and dates from the sixties.

M & S Routemaster Biscuit tin

2010-11-15T22:52:00.007Z

Marks and Spencers has had some interesting packaging recently. I picked up quite a bit of their kids confectionery for Halloween, which seemed to take its inspiration from the Fifties.

This weekend we popped into the Cardiff store and were surprised to see they had already discounted these Sasek inspired Biscuit tins. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?

Betram Mills' Circus 1935

2010-11-10T14:44:00.003Z

Complimentary ticket for Betram Mills' 16th Season at The Grand Hall Olympia, London. The season ran from December 20th 1935- January 25th 1936.

The ticket was for entrance to the funfair only, not the circus!

Coin money bank bags

2010-11-06T13:27:00.005Z

On a recent trip back to London, we popped up to the Market at Covent Garden. Monday was the antiques market, and was always interesting and occasionally there were some good finds. I used to go a lot when I was touting my folder around.

I was surprised that unlike so much of London, it was relatively unchanged. The stall holders were still chatty and were happy to talk about their finds and share their stories.

These pre plastic coin bags came from one of the stalls, and include some bank tags. They come from the British banks, Lloyds and The Midland, (now HSBC). Made from a heavyweight paper, with serrated edges, they come in some attractive colours. Most un-bank like!

Fantastic Four Mega Bloks

2010-11-01T12:59:00.004Z

Three of The Fantastic Four as created by Mega Bloks. Mr Fantastic, The Thing, and The Human Torch, and their nemesis Dr. Doom.

Beware of Imitations

2010-10-28T22:36:00.003+01:00

Gummed label that was used on rolls of fabric.

Football Special - British Rail 1972 leaflet

2010-10-22T11:40:00.004+01:00

Back in the Seventies British Rail ran football special trains, so fans could get to games. It kept the hooligans separate and meant the general public werent inconvenienced. Seems logical really, until one day they stopped them!

Todays post is a relic from that era. The A5 leaflet, advertises transport for Arsenals FA Cup game at Swindon, on January 15 1972. Tickets cost £1.25 for adults (and 75p for children).

The image features a child that I always thought would look more at home on a Knitting pattern!

Misregistered Medical Mayhem

2010-10-18T08:12:00.002+01:00

These mis-registered 1960s scraps came from Pollocks Toy museum in London. A fabulous museum round the back of Goodge Street, London. The museum was fantastic, but small. Although it did have a lovely shop.

Not only did they sell these 1960s version of Victoria scraps, you could also buy their trademark facsimile toy cardboard theatres. As well as some great repro clockwork toys.

3 more Puffin covers by Grace Gabler

2010-10-06T17:18:00.012+01:00

Yesterday, I picked up a copy of Postcards from Puffin. The box contains 100 postcards, featuring many childrens classic book covers. I was delighted to find two more covers by Grace Gabler.

Above you can see Jam Tomorrow, 1947 *. A counting Book 1957, & A Spelling Book, 1948. Last Christmas I posted the letter X , from her charming book "A child's alphabet", from 1945.

* The image of Jam Tomorrow is taken from Phil Baines new book, Puffin by Design.

Vector Park

2010-10-05T14:37:00.008+01:00

Todays post is slightly different, in that its not an object, and it doesnt have much age to it!

I was sorting through a whole hoard of online bookmarks and rediscovered Vectorpark . Above is a screen grab from Feed the head. Its so simple and really quite beautiful! With its ephemeral noises, and bizzare goings on, theres a touch of Svankmajers Dimensions of Dialogue about it!

If you have a moment, I recommend hopping over and interacting with some of the other creations. Its a visual feast! Patrick Smith is the designer behind Vector Park and you can see more over at his blog!

Who knows perhaps this could be the start of a whole bunch of multi media posts!

Wicker Man Cheeseboard

2010-10-01T16:34:00.004+01:00

This lovely Cheeseboard turned up at the local charity shop, last month. It measures 13.5" in diameter and has a metal rim, but like so many of my favourite things, it has no makers mark.

The figures are all in national costume and have a Scandanavian folk feel, but, underlying that, theres something sinister. It could be their raised hands! Are they praising the cheese? ( I like that idea!)

Whatever it is there's something a little bit Wicker man!

1969 Britains Cotton- Education Pack

2010-09-18T18:44:00.007+01:00

Heres a curious find from a car boot, this summer. As is so often the case, just as we were about to leave, this brilliant educational pack turned up on the penultimate stall.

Released by The Textile Councils, Education department, this box has all manner of samples relating to the cotton industry. Britain's Cottons- Samples of Cotton, from field to fabric is beautifully designed and details various aspects of the industry for the year 1969.

A couple of statistics from the printed sheet above, stand out. In 1969 a total of 122,029 people were employed in the textile industry, and the UK exported £53,227,000 worth of cotton and man made fibre that year. I wonder what the figures were for the UK, last year?

Above are some close ups of the sample book, along with a Cotton Boll sample. I bet The Textile council dont send boxes like this out to schools anymore?

Fisher Price Jolly Jalopy

2010-09-17T19:34:00.005+01:00

I just couldnt resist this pull along toy from Fisher Price. Apparently made between 1966 and 1978. He has a wooden base and a plastic grill. As he goes on his way his sprung head wobbles, and the wheels makes a great "putt-putt" sound

Richard Scarry Playskool Puzzletown figures

2010-09-10T13:08:00.005+01:00

Over the years weve picked up a small collection of Richard Scarry Puzzletown figures. They were released by Playskool, in 1976, and there were five sets in the series. The 2" figures were solid plastic, but the buildings were made of card, that all slotted together, and sat on plastic bases. Below you can see one of the buildings from Set E, Lowly Worms Rail Roadway .

The wonderful world of Galt

2010-09-06T22:34:00.003+01:00

Apologies for the lack of posts recently, but while we were away, we did pick up some gems. Including another lovely set of dominoes from Galt.

I do wish there was more written about all their stunning products from the sixties. Ken Garland one of the designers for Galt has some information, but I do wish there was more!

Isnt it time you changed your shorts?

2010-08-14T22:22:00.001+01:00

Sad Wooden Donkey

2010-08-11T07:56:00.005+01:00

A sad wooden donkey, who is in desperate need of a restring. Hence his weird posture! Hes beautifully made & is around 12" in length. There is no makers mark, but he could be Galt or Brio. His rubbed edges hint as his history and just add to his charm.

UK Decimal Currency Converter 1971

2010-08-04T20:47:00.005+01:00

On Monday 15 February 1971, Britain went decimal. Old money - pounds, shillings and pence was replaced by a new system that had a 100 pence in the pound. Shillings became a thing of the past!

There was much confusion at the time and a whole set of promotional items were created to launch and promote the new money. Todays post is a rather nice information wheel which converts old money into new.

Unobtainable Under Private ownership

2010-08-02T22:55:00.005+01:00

The pick of yesterdays booty. One of a number of beer mats.

Pretty Plastic Pooches

2010-07-28T23:06:00.006+01:00

Two more unknown plastic figures. They look like they could come from the Fisher Price range, but Im not sure. They both have articulated heads, tails and legs, and were made in Hong Kong.

Poor old Lassie! Looks like shes been in a rather nasty fight!

Say NO to Strangers- Gloucester Police Force

2010-07-24T00:10:00.003+01:00

Two Striking Matchboxes

2010-07-21T16:48:00.004+01:00

Two lovely matchboxes from Spain featuring two Spanish football teams. Made by Fosforera Espanola, they look to date from the Fifties.

If you like theses, you may be interested to know that the collecting of Matchbox labels, Phillumeny is big business. Theres even a Matchbox society!

Its been a while since Ive been to a Matchbox Society fair, but there was always lots to see, and the prices were pretty reasonable too. Ill add some more soon.

An old friend

2010-07-14T20:05:00.003+01:00

Phrophetic 1960s New York Souvenir Beer Stein

2010-07-06T22:00:00.006+01:00

A while back I picked up this kitsch New York souvenir. Made in Japan, the beer stein sat happily in the corner of the room, until one evening, when, for whatever reason, I gave it a second look. Everyone had gone to bed and what I saw left me slightly spooked. There lurking towards the World Trade centre was this plane. Now I know the events of 9/11 may well have changed the way we see planes in urban spaces, but this porcelain depiction, seems eerily prophetic.

HOMS Dial a phrase rubber stamp collection

2010-07-03T22:04:00.005+01:00

Perhaps one of my favourite finds ever, was this enormous 12 motto office rubber stamp, that my father in law, rescued from the bottom of a skip in Cardiff, in the late Eighties. Ive always treasured this rather special find.

All the rubber stamp messages relate to late payments in the account department. Unfortunately the rubber belt has ceased up, and the rubber stamp is now stuck on motto number 3 which says
We missed you payment for last month wont you send it now?

The Rubber stamp is made by Homs and has a catalogue number of M4.It is unlike the more usual date stampers in that is measures 7" high. The handle is wooden and the guard, is made from tin. The key once turned the rubber belt, which in turn moved the phrase on, but that no longer works.

1960s Milk for Stamina badge

2010-06-28T19:10:00.003+01:00

Amongst the recent haul of badges was this "milk for stamina" badge. It was produced by The Milk Marketing Board, who came up with some of the most memorable catchphrases of the Sixties & Seventies. Slogans included "Full of natural goodness", "Is your man getting enough?", "Milk's Gotta Lotta Bottle" "Drinka pinta milka day", and "Watch out there's a Humphrey about"

Theres some nice news reel footage, below, from the 1961 British Cycling Federation Tour of Britain. The race was sponsored by The Milk Marketing Federation, and features The Milk for stamina logo. Clicking the image below will take you to the Pathe website.

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you can see more milk badges, over at Alan Edwards website. He appears to collect all manner of things, but I like his milk related memorabilia best.

1982 World Cup England Scarf

2010-06-26T11:24:00.004+01:00

In doing a little bit of research for the 1970s England football scarf, I posted last week I unconvered this Eighties one, on ebay. It was too good not to purchase and for the princely sum of £3.32 this little piece of football history was mine!

While not quite in the same league as the scarf from 1974, it does amuse me. Thankfully most of the perms have been checked, although it appears a few players; Kevin Keegan, Terry McDermott, Tony Woodcock & Bryan Robson were still tinkering with the style.

The 1982 England team qualified for the World Cup in good shape, they were hard to beat and had only lost 4/32 games under the manger, Ron Greenwood. Having won all the group games, hopes were high, but sadly England went out in the next group stage even though they had never lost a game. In 1986 the tournament format was changed.

Hinde Site; Queens Staircase, Nassau, Bahamas

2010-06-19T18:32:00.006+01:00

Following last nights' debacle, it was nice to find this, today in the local hospice shop for 5p. I needed something to raise my spirits after Englands, depressing 0-0 draw with Algeria in the World Cup!

Shot by Elmar Ludwig for the John Hinde studios, the postcard has a catalogue number of 2BH11. Is it possible a pink carriage really exists?

Daddy Sugar Wrappers, France 1998 World Cup

2010-06-17T22:54:00.005+01:00

Another topical post tonight, as France crash to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Mexico in the FIFA World Cup. Back in 1998 France hosted the Tournament and won it, but tonight that must seem a distant memory.

As with all these Global events, companies are only too pleased to produce commemoratives, and back in the 1990s, Daddy, the king of paper wrapped sugar cubes produced these rather fetching sugar wrappers. I do believe that like matchbox labels, theres an army of collectors of paper wrapped Sugar cubes. These wrappers are the sort that used to be very popular at service stations and cafes.

Jill McDonald The Royal Potwasher

2010-06-15T22:55:00.003+01:00

We had a bit of a tidy up of my eldest sons room, the other day and Im embarrassed to say we found another Jill McDonald book. Jills images are everywhere at the moment with the 70th anniversary of Puffin books.

Only last week we were at The car boot and I got very excited when I spotted a woman with a brilliant, new Puffin bag. The bags are being given away when you buy three classic Puffin books. Also spotted at The Hay Festival were some brilliant mugs featuring Jills Puffin logo in several fabulous colours. The mugs were created by Art meets matter, but I cant find the cups online.

The Royal Potwasher was written by John F Waters for Methuen in 1972, and while not quite in the same league as The Pirates Tale, it is still enchanting. The story is a nice tale about following your dreams, below is a spread from the book.

Brio Pull along Daschund

2010-06-14T22:52:00.003+01:00

Two wooden dogs. One with tail, and one without.
Brio are still making the popular, black Daschund. The red one is so similar, that I presume it must have been made by them too.

1970s England nylon Scarf

2010-06-10T19:36:00.005+01:00

With less than 24 hours to go to the start of The World Cup, it seems apt to have another football related post. Not that I really need an excuse!
Its because of this England scarf, that I picked up the Showaddywaddy one, the other day. They seem to perfectly epitomize a point in time. Printed on the most horrific 1970s nylon, it predates my favourite England kit by a couple of seasons.

The team group includes Alan Ball, Ray Clemence, Dave Watson & Colin Bell, while on the reverse, (above) I think Ive spotted Kevin Beattie and Dave Thomas ! If like me, youre excited by the prospect of the World Cup, you may be interested to know theres a fantastic online wallchart. It seems to owe a lot to those information wheels, that I posted a while back.

Promotional Dough scraper tools

2010-06-08T22:36:00.005+01:00

Four stunning dough scraper tools, from the massive, Flea market at The Malvern Three Counties Ground, last week. I had to have them! Apparently companies would send these plastic tools direct to the bakers along with their various products. Theyre almost too nice to use!

Typographic display font system

2010-06-06T21:31:00.004+01:00

Ive had this display type kit for a while. Its a lovely thing! It came in the plastic tray, that you see here. While the font looks Thirties, the tray makes me think its much later.

Each letter slots in to the next, and has a small base. Ive always thought it was for a window display, perhaps a jewelers? but today for the first time it looks too big, as each letter has a height of 20mm!

Ive got a few other signage kits, like this. Ill try and post the others at a later date.

1970s Showaddywaddy Beetle crusher silk scarf

2010-06-04T21:15:00.006+01:00

Heres another item that could only come from the Seventies. It made me laugh, when I found it last week. It evokes strong memories of The Scots coming to Wembley in 1977, winning 2-1, and then tearing the goalposts down ...... Like you do!

Tomy Pokemon figures

2010-05-31T19:45:00.007+01:00

I showed our boys the London Olympic mascots, and asked them for their thoughts. They werent particularly vocal, but they did bring down their Pokemon figures, and decided I should put these six on the blog.

Apparently the owl is called Hoot hoot, the duck is Dodou, the cucumber moon is Metapod, the star is Staryu and the mushroom is Vileplume.

I hope you like them, as much as they do?

badly drawn Canadian Puzzle

2010-05-28T22:16:00.005+01:00

Id like to be able to tell you more about this rather odd wooden eight piece puzzle, that I picked up recently. Its naivety makes me think of David Shrigley. Printed on wood, and with its limited palette, Its hard to resist.

J Otto Seibold Swatch watch

2010-05-26T20:58:00.004+01:00

All the talk about mascots the other day reminded me that J Otto Seibold created a character Glüp for The Hanover expo in 2000, that the organising committee rejected. Mores the pity.

Seibold was the first artist that really exploited the possibilities of drawing on the computer.
When Space Monkey & Mr Lunch were first released, they were like a breath of fresh air, but unfortunately they spawned a 1000 poor imitations. In 1998, at the height of his success, Swatch released two watches by Seibold. I bought this one, while you can see the other design here.

R Dakins' Dream Pets

2010-05-25T07:45:00.005+01:00

Weve picked up a few of these recently at different car boots, although it took a while to realise they were from the same series. Apparently Dream Pets were first released in 1957. They were originally made in Japan, and the story goes the stuffed toys had been used to protect toy trains imported by R Dakin & Co. They caused quite a stir and by the late seventies there were over 2000 characters to collect.

Reissued in 2004, The characters stand about 5" high and are made from a mixture of felt, and a suede like product. The three above, are #19. Roquefort #18. Pancho & Demo Donkey. Below is a label detailing the range. You can see a few more over at Pidgeonblog, and a few more here.

Wenlock & Mandeville

2010-05-20T21:02:00.003+01:00

Well that explains a lot!

I wondered why my World Cup Willie pos t was getting so may hits yesterday. Today Wenlock and Mandeville were unveiled to an unsuspecting public. The mascots for the 2012 Olympics! Ive got to say it made my heart sink. Perhaps over time Ill warm to them, but Im not convinced. Here was an opportunity to produce something special, but instead we get some shoddy, silver Gogos, or worse still, one eyed mobile phones? To be frank one even looks like hes soiled his pants.

I appreciate that the brief may have been difficult: to embrace multi cultured Britain, not to offend, and to produce something modern, but they just look cheap! They lack charisma, and look like theyll have a shelf life of two minutes. The result, no doubt, of design by committee!

Michael Morpugos story may have some substance behind it, as do the characters names, but will anyone delve beyond the childish facade?

We actively sought out Cobi, Mariscals mascot for the Barcelona Olympics. We were enchanted by the five Olympic figures from Bejing, but poor old Wenlock & Mandeville look in danger of being remembered for all the wrong reasons.

I suppose at least everyones talking about design today.

Holiday on Ice Musical memory Record Card

2010-05-19T21:50:00.007+01:00

Wow! On our way over to my sisters this weekend, the car came to an abrupt halt along the A46, as we saw the signs for a Saturday Carboot in Beckford. The sun was out and our hopes were high! You cant beat the joy of an unexpected trawl.

The boys were happy because they found a mountain of this years Match Attax. (Football trading cards. See, Ive even managed to get them collecting too!) Then I found a pretty battered copy of Angela Banners' Ant & Bee. So everyone was happy! But then, just as we were leaving, I spotted the above. Its in a sorry state, and sadly unplayable, but it's a fore runner of the flexi disc!

Odd, because only last week me old mucker, Nainesh was on about our friend Paul Bayley putting a programme together for Radio 4 on The Wonderful Weightless World of the Flexidisc. The programme goes out on Thursday 27 May 11.30am. Ill be listening!

I didnt get anything to Paul in time, but this Holiday on Ice record is a bit special. Published by Lyntone Recordings of London, the reverse (below) is a postcard! Imagine getting that in the post? The track from the show is The Song is You & Wunderbar, sung by Iris Villiers.

Now I just have to find the other flexis I wanted to get to Paul!

You can listen to the show here on the bbc iplayer.

1960s badges

2010-05-17T22:20:00.005+01:00

Heres three more badges, from the vast collection I found the other week. I hope you like them?

1950s Cup Final Blow Football

2010-05-14T16:25:00.006+01:00

Its that time of year again! Tomorrow sees Portsmouth take on Chelsea in the 2010 FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium. I always think of it as a special day and remember fondly as a child going up the high street with my father and buying the Official programme from WH Smith.

Back then, the Cup Final was the only live televised game, and the pre match build up was legendary. Now every game is on the internet, or live on Sky. Somehow, some of the romance has gone. But here from those halcyon days are two fantastic Cup Final commemoratives; Blow Football. It really doesnt get much more glamorous than this!

The top box is from 1958, while the bottom one is from 1960. Neither has a makers mark, but the contents are identical. Round the side of the box, the winners from from that decade are listed. The goalkeepers are beautifully printed on tin, and are threaded along the crossbar, to allow them to move.

Should you want to fill in a 1975 Tiger FA Cup wallchart you can download it from last years Cup Final Post.

The Return of The Hinde

2010-05-11T16:23:00.006+01:00

Three more postcards from the John Hinde studio for your consideration. Super saturated and brilliantly composed, they do make me smile! If you missed the first Hinde post you can view it here.

Lyons ice lolly badges

2010-05-10T20:33:00.008+01:00

Last week I picked up a lovely collection of Seventies badges. They were fairly mixed, but it was these three, that initially caught my eye. They were given away free, in 1973 with Lyons Maid, Childrens range of ice lollies. There were twelve to collect, and you can see them all here. Its a shame Captian Cody wasnt amongst the lot I found!

The kzwp site is well worth exploring, and according to them, Lyons produced a number of button badges for a wide range of their products. The original prices for the lollies are unbelievable! In 1974 ,the Jelly Terror lolly cost 4p, it had a strawberry jelly centre with a vanilla kreem ice shell and a choc dipped top covered in sugar strands. Wow!

I promise to post some more of the badges later!

Terraced House Books 2

2010-05-07T21:02:00.004+01:00

Heres some more books from Peter Heaslip in the Terraced House series.

My Dad, Terraced House Books

2010-05-04T21:13:00.008+01:00

Last week I missed the Saturday morning trawl round the charity shops, as I had to work, but luckily Becky came back laden with goodies. Including a set of dual language picture books, in English & Panjabi. Ive been picking up 1970s photographic childrens books, for a while now.

This set entitled " The Terraced House Books " document Britain in the 70s brilliantly! The pick of the bunch was My Dad first published by Methuen in 1978. Written by Peter C Heaslip with photographs by John Bennett.

If you cant view the text, its worth double clicking the image, to get a closer look! Some of the highlights below.

Tomorrow would have been my Dads 80th Birthday. Sadly he died over ten years ago. As a little tribute Ive posted a photo of him, in the front room in the 1950s. He didnt like beer! Happy Birthday Dad!

1970s Post office booklet cover

2010-04-28T19:19:00.004+01:00

Another small collection, that turned up recently, this time of stamp booklet covers. Back in the Seventies, the booklets were dispensed from machines outside the Post Office.

How simple, and beautiful, one colour printing on a heavyweight card is, and stitch bound too.
There are a few more examples here.

Admission tickets

2010-04-26T20:55:00.003+01:00

Early Lego Duplo figures

2010-04-20T22:07:00.003+01:00

Small collection of Duplo figures that date from 1976 -1981.