Monday 14 December 2015

Go To Work On An Egg

The postman brought an unexpected gift this week - a friend is having a new kitchen, and as she cleared out the old cupboards she found 2 Hornsea eggcups. The accompanying note said "I have waited 20 years to say this to someone - I saw this and thought of you!"
I am truly grateful for her thoughtfulness, here is a picture of them
I also received another unexpected gift this week - Bob went to deliver presents to his sister, and collect some stuff for Steph, and my darling daughter sent back a magazine for me to read. A lovely treat after I had been to have a filling. Glad to say my tooth is fine now, and I like my new  dentist. He rides a motorbike and tells bad jokes

The eggcups had reminded me of this great ad campaign - it started back in 1957 and ran for years with posters and TV ads [the slogan was thought up by Fay Weldon, the writer]


The magazine had a lovely feature about a book produced by the British Library called "Try It! Buy It! Vintage Adverts". I've spent ages looking at these brilliant bits of art.




 Some of the posters were for products we still recognise today, although the birds on the custard are now a yellow mum with two little blue chicks, and the Bisto kids disappeared from our gravy twenty years ago. Did you know their names were Bill and Maree? [me neither till I read this]
The name Hovis was from hominis vis meaning strength of man and was a prizewinning suggestion from Mr Herbert Grime in 1886 [better than its original moniker Smith's Patent Germ Bread !]
But the ad that really amused me was the one below for O-Cedar Mop Polish.
Reading the blurb, I cannot imagine how thrilled many women would have been to find this under the Christmas Tree in 1919! And how many husbands might have regretted handing back their WW1 tin helmet as the can of polish was hurled at them across the room!
 

 In the Old Days - before all the modern techniques of colour printing, Photoshop, Computer -Aided-Design etc, when advertising was simply printed in magazines or on posters [no TV, Facebook, or colour films] these adverts were truly works of art.
Thank you S & S for the two lovely gifts, which brought joy and colour to my week!






14 comments:

  1. That's a lovely magazine isn't it? Bit expensive though - I buy it as a treat not a regular

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    1. I think it is only the second copy I have had [and that was a 'treat' purchase] It is sad that magazines these days cost almost as much as a paperback book, but have fewer pages and more adverts!

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  2. Hmmm.. yesterday afternoon I did a deal with my OH. I would do all his Christmas shopping for his Mum if he cleaned the cooker and grill! How times have changed!!!! Jx

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    1. Sounds like a great deal to me! My MIL used to do all the cooking but my FIL thoroughly cleaned the cooker EVERY Sunday afternoon.

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  3. Lovely! Brought back some memories for me. Though I never received a mop and nor did my mother!

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  4. Can imagine a thoughtful husband being whacked over the head with the mop if he dared give it as a present.

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  5. I love the vintage ads.

    Sometimes a magazine is just the thing, even though they are expensive, I have a small pile to enjoy when we have some quiet time over the next few weeks.

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  6. I go to work on a wing and a prayer! I'd like a nice joyful, colourful picture of that at the front door!

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  7. I so enjoyed your column today. Loved seeing the old time adverts. When I think of whole wheat bread Hovis always comes to mind!

    We have a magazine swap at church. When people are done with a magazine they bring it to church and put it in the basket. Others are free to take, read and return when done. You don't have to take in a magazine to borrow one. This is so beneficial and saves on expenses for many and you get to read magazines that you perhaps would never buy.

    Have a blessed day.

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    1. We used to have a magazine swap basket in our library back in Leicestershire. It is such a good idea!

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  8. That's a lovely present! Ha, getting a mop for Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!x

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  9. I've got a dental appt supposedly for a simple 'scrape and polish', but where I am going to need to 'fess up about my wobbly crown and sore gum, which are probably not so simple. I'm not looking forward to it but I could feel better if I thought someone would treat me to a magazine afterwards...I'm going to make a suggestion to my family...

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