Beswick wall pockets

Hello people here is the next item on my blog these

are a pair of Beswick wall pockets that used to hang on my nans wall for as long as I can remember.

   Beswick was founded in 1892 by James Wright Beswick, based in Longton Stoke on trent England, and has been producing pottery ever since with a few changes of ownership along the way but the name keeps going.

   So what are they well basically vases that you can hang on the wall and put flowers in, I believe these date from the late 30s early 40s. They made a lot of different types of these which are great quality and look good on the wall. 

The Back has the Beswick stamp on with the pattern number 1609 and made in England molded into the ceramic.

50s 60s Scenic wallpapers

yee haa cowsboys and indians every kids favourite

Ok my next blog is 50s and 60s wallpapers boring hell no just look at some of the fantastic designs and think of all the effort of designing these choosing the right colours then printing roll after roll of these papers. Again these have come from the hardware shop that was closed down in the 60s and have been stored for nearly 50 years. Most of the samples have the original side strips on them which used to be cut off prior to selling them and a lot of the paper I have was made by crown in England. 

  Some of the papers have no edge strips so makes them very hard to trace and find out who made them. 

  I hope you enjoy some of the fantastic designs.

A beutifull lake scene I love this paper

Lovely summer scene the Ladies out in thier posh frocks



The little side streets of a massive city?



Reminds me of an old cottage in the autum

Imagine relaxing in the bath with this tropical water scene

A lovely summer holiday scene little village by the water

Spot the diffrence look at the paper above

A very romantic scene couples together





Looks like an old castle scene with the bridge and out houses

A simple Oriental design

A bit more colourful Oriental Design

This is the same scene as earlier looks more like spring now



Municipal money box "Home safe"

Well here is the next item to appear on my blog it looks like an old iron and is rather heavy, but in fact its a money box or a home safe. These where first introduced in 1922 for the Birmingham municipal bank which was originally set up in 1916 by the Lord Mayor Neville Chamberlain and started its life in the council House the idea was so that working class people could save money and help with the war effort.

http://www.qlhs.org.uk/oracle/birmingham-bank/birmingham-bank.htm

Quite a bit more info on here.

 The box was made by a company called Wilkins and Right in Birmingham, It has a slot in one side and a round hole in the other, so I knew what the slot was for obviously coins but thought whats the hole for and it turns out if you were lucky enough to have a pound note you would roll them up and post them in.

The key slot is at the bottom and its quite a sturdy lock, next thought ok where's the key after doing some digging I read a thread that apparently the keys were held at the bank so you would take your full money box to the bank they would open it and put any money inside into your account.

Dunlop Reddiplug

Well what have we here its called a Dunlop Reddiplug and as the name suggests made by Dunlop in the 60s.
   This is a complete kit for repairing punctures in your car tyres.
 Imagine being able to buy a kit these days and repair the puncture yourself, I can't see anyone wanting to do that its just so convenient to take your car to the local garage and pay someone else to repair it.

60s Timex watch

 My Timex watch I brought from Ebay for a bargain i think about £5 and it has the loudest ticking on a watch i have ever heard it has to be left out the bedroom at night because thats all i can hear tick tick tick.
  I've had it about 3 years I'm not sure if this is the original strap or replacement but its comfy and light to wear, I forget ive got it on sometimes untill I here it tick.
    Its fantastic for timekeeping the ultimate eco friendly watch just give it a windup every couple of days and away it goes no need for a battery ever.
   Although Timex is an American company this watch was actually made in Great Britain I believe in thier factory in Dundee so i am giving this a place on my Blog.

Great Britain shockproof V-conic Escapement

1950s/60s Triang train set


   This is an amazing toy from the 50s/60s the ultimate boys toy which was kindly given to me by my father in law.
     These were all made in England the main factory was in margate.
   The quality and detail on these little engines and rolling stock is superb i've also got stations platforms, fencing, trees and more all excellent quality you just don't see anymore.
     The helicopter pictured right is designed so when it hits a certain part of the track is flies up in the air fantastic well i think it is anyway.
   Check out this website for loads more info on Triang http://www.tri-ang.co.uk/

 Another shot of a few of the coaches these are quite dusty as they were stored in a cardboard box for 40years, but i have had parts of the set out and it all still runs great hours of fun watching a train go round a track!

                                        

Notice the price sticker on this box brought from Rackhams in Birmingham another fantastic company that started in 1881 and still trades today as the house of Fraser

30's 40's Volt Meters

 Here are some examples of 30's/40's Voltage meters.
   The picture to the right shows a meter in a wooden case made by White elec Inst Co Ltd London and it also has 1935 printed on it possible the date!
   Well why have i got this in my house i brought this from Ebay too use with my electric chair that i made for Halloween.  I've added a light to the display so at the flick of a switch you see the needle shoot up unfortunately i'm not actually allowed too electrocute anyone.

This is a forties model made out of bakelite solid plastic last forever, not much info on this one but it weighs a ton wouldn't fancy carting this round in my tool case all day.

             My modern multimeter compared to the size of these two giant volt meters.

Babes in the wood 1899

 OK this is something different this is a souvenir of the Babes in the wood Theatre Royal Christmas 1899 written by A. Constance Smedley who was born in Birmingham Trinity road Handsworth 1876  and the anniversary of her Death is actually today 9th March 1941, worth a google a very interesting woman.

  Its showing signs of wear but imagine how we are going to look when were nearly 113 years old.

       

         

Printed by Crescens Robinsons & Co

Newington Causeway,

    London S.E.

Not the descriptions that would be accepted in today's society

The story is great and well illustrated, I have only found one other copy of this on the net 7600km away from me in an American Library but cant see any pictures of it.

More Fantastic Designs

What about these as far as i can tell there like a rubber plastic spout to go on a bottle, but they are rather large so may be a milk bottle don't know but i bet someone out there does.

Chrome and plastic handles again from the 50s but these actually have a name printed on them S.H. plastics in B'ham so made right here where i live i could have passed the person in the street that actually made these very handles, but can't find any trace of that company now.

A few more samples of quality handles look at the fantasic shapes these wouldn't look out of place even in the most modern expensive kitchen.

I love these little beauty's ok bit girly but really fresh and vibrant, made of solid clear plastic with molded flowers in them, then not sure if it's another coloured plastic or painted inside these would make great bedroom drawer handles.

60s Hardware made in England

Just a few items of hardware again from stock from the stores, Harrison Picture hooks that you could hang your most prized Van Gogh on without fear of them bending and it falling off the wall.
      Brass Bolts that would stop the most annoying person bursting into the bathroom while your sitting on the toilet.
      The top pictures are brass curtain rings and handles from a company called Beacon and made in England.

Soap dishes from the sixties again great quality plastics super design and fantastic colours notice the price 2'6 well I believe it would be about 13p in todays money, try buying a soap dish for that.

Ok Handles not very exciting but wait these are from the 1950s and the quality on these is fantastic,the colours are vibrant the plastic is solid not like the cheap stuff these days.
They are made of solid plastic with a pearl finish and chrome. Rediscovered recently from a stores that housed old stock from two Hardware shops closed in the sixties, so they've survived 50+ years not bad.

The first of many

This is my first Blog so here goes the idea of this is that I have come across many items of old everyday items, things that your parents and grandparents may have had at onetime in there lifes, but when you search online you can never find anything about them does this mean there very rare and valuable or just rubbish that know one cares about, who knows make your own minds up as i post the pictures.