The Swinging Sixties

Description:

The Bunty annual was first published by D.C. Thompson & Co for Christmas in 1960.  This came after the success of the weekly Bunty comic in 1958.

The annuals/comics appealed to girls under the age of 14 with the mix of comic strip and photo stories, readers letters, competitions and a club to join.  Each issue also contained a drawing of a doll & outfits that could be cut out, pasted onto card & held in place with paper tabs.  Many characters were featured in Bunty and characters like Bunty A Girl Like You, The Four Mary’s and Comp became very popular.

The first comics priced at 4d always had a free gift stuck on the front cover e.g. charm bracelets, rings & badges to entice children to buy them with their pocket money.

The annual in this picture would originally have had a colourful picture of Bunty on a dust jacket to protect it.

Bunty comics stopped being published in 2001 & the annuals ran until 2009.   Other publications by D.C. Thompson & Co include the Beano & Dandy.

Description:

Eumigette Zoom – A super 8 film camera made by Austrian company Eumig in the 1960s.

It has a Eumig Austrogon Zoom lens with manual zoom and a detachable pistol grip.

Super 8 film was first introduced in 1965 by Kodak and quickly became popular with families recording home videos. It was affordable and much easier to use than previous video cameras – it was loved by children and adults alike.

Super 8 cartridges were easy to swap in and out, so whole family events could be recorded, from birthday parties to days out at the beach.

In 1973, super 8 film began to be made with a magnetic strip on the side which made it possible to record sound alongside images.

Super 8 was slowly edged out in the 1980s as VHS camcorders became the go-to for family films.

Description:

A leather football from the 20^th century, comprising 12 sections of leather stitched together that would have encased an inflatable rubber inner.

The first footballs were made from inflated pigs’ bladders with leather stitched around them, until the introduction of rubber inners just before the English Football Association was formed in 1863.

Richard Lindon (30 June 1816-10 June 1887) was a leather worker based in Rugby, Warwickshire, opposite the famous public school, and he invented an inflatable India rubber bladder and the first pump inflator, which he was prompted to do following the sad loss of his wife, who had inflated multiple pigs’ bladders for his business by mouth and died, he believed, from disease acquired during this process.  Lindon’s invention led to the production of the first round-shaped football for association football (soccer), the design of which has changed since to the perfectly spherical ball used today.  Over time there have been changes to the number and shape of the panels, the stitching, the colour, number and shape of panels, the introduction of a cushioning layer, and in the 20^th century, the use of stronger, galvanised rubber (invented by Charles Goodyear of Goodyear Tyres) became commonplace.

This particular ball has the same appearance as one pictured from 1948 (Bush, 2014, ‘The Aerodynamics of the Beautiful Game), which differs from earlier types as it lacks a laced panel to draw the leather outer skin together. This panel was reportedly painful for players if they made contact with it when heading the ball.

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Description:

This book was published in 1961 and appears to have been aimed at older children. It had 150 pages and featured illustrations by Patricia Cullen. It introduced children to the world of dinosaurs and other pre-historic creatures.

The author, Maurice Burton, was born in 1898 and died in 1992. He was an expert zoologist and a prolific, popular author of books and a contributor to encyclopaedias. He wrote for both adults and children. In the year this book was written, he published a book doubting that a large animal was living in Loch Ness.

He wrote another book entitled ‘Prehistoric Animals’ in 1974, again for the benefit of children.

He held important posts at the British Museum of Natural History from 1927 to 1958.

His books were written before the time that dinosaurs featured so widely in books, films and on TV.

Description:

Cadbury’s launched their instant mashed potato granules in the 1960s. As can be seen from the instructions on the tin, the required weight of dried potato is placed in a container, to which is added boiling water, then whisked to produce hot mashed potato quickly and easily. Butter can be added to add to the flavour.

The award-winning advertising campaign launched in 1974 was hugely successful and popular. It featured puppet Smash Martians viewing earthlings laboriously peeling, boiling and mashing potatoes, rather than using Smash granules. The  jingle ‘For Mash get Smash’ was both catchy and memorable. The message was that the traditional method of making mash was outdated. People were not insulted by being seen as ‘primitive’ and enjoyed the humour. As a result sales soared and the advertising campaign continued many years. The ‘Martians’ received so much fan mail that specially designed stationery was introduced for replies.

Smash is now marketed under the Batchelor’s brand. The old tin illustrated contained 13oz or 368g of potato. Currently Smash is available in 280g tins, 176g and 2kg packets. It is difficult to date this particular tin. It was marketed by Cadbury Typhoo. Looking at the history of that company, the fact that the weight on the tin was shown both in ounces and grams and it had three new pence off, suggests the product was made in the mid 1970s.

The current ingredients on a packet of Smash are Dehydrated Potato (98%), Salt, Emulsifier (Mono- and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids), Antioxidants (Ascorbic Acid, Sodium Metabisulphite (Sulphites)), Flavouring.  The biggest difference to those shown on the featured tin is the omission of dried milk.

Tesco website states that to make one serving of mash add 150ml (approx. 1/4 pint) of boiling water to 30g of Smash and mix with a fork. It recommends adding butter or milk, salt and pepper.

Description:

This massager was made in the 1950s -1960s and was advertised as being good for health and keeping you in good shape.

Mains operated, the textured pad vibrates and can be placed on various parts of the body, where it is claimed it will improve blood circulation, decrease stress levels and make the owner feel younger and fitter.

It had 5 attachments for various uses: a massager to relieve cramp and improve circulation, this could be used on the head and scalp to relieve tension headaches; brush attachments for body toning on legs; a massager for the feet and also brushes for facials.

Similar items were produced by a company called Pifco.

Description:

Carmen heated rollers to put a curl into your hair.  This set dates from the 1970’s and were a popular way to change your hairstyle for a night out.  This set consists of 20 different sized nylon rollers, sitting in a carry case along with pins to secure the curlers in place and a box of moisturising conditioner.

The set would have been plugged in and left to heat up until ready for use.  The correct size roller would be chosen and you would roll your hair onto the roller. A clip would then be placed in the centre of the roller to secure the roller in place.  Once all the curlers were in place you could have a whole new hairstyle in 15 minutes.

Carmen, a Danish company started making hair products in 1965.  In the 1960’s & early 1970’s a new set of Carmen rollers would cost you between 7½ to 15½ guineas (£7.87 to £16.28) depending upon the model. To this day their appliances continue to be popular and you can still purchase Carmen heated rollers, hair dryers and straighteners.

Description:

A hand held cine camera that can be used to film movies at home.  It has a long handle to hold to keep the camera stabilised while filming.  It has a view finder to look through at the back and this is connected to the lens at the front.  Once you have the subject in focus that you want to film you press & hold down the black button at the front.  This records the subject onto a film.

This camera would have run on a battery put into the bottom of the handle.  The side of the camera would have opened to put an 8mm roll of film in.  A movie light could be fitted to the top to assist with casting extra light while filming.  There is a plastic strap at the bottom of the camera to help with carrying around when not in use. The lens doesn’t have a cap to protect the glass.

Cine cameras may look portable but are not like the camcorders or video cameras of today as you cannot instantly view what you have filmed. Once filming had been completed the roll of film would have been sent off for developing.  After the film had been developed it would be loaded onto a double spool projector.  The film would then be projected onto a white screen to watch.  Early cine films were in black and white with no sound.

The Kodak company released their first colour 16mm film in 1928 and 8mm in 1934 – these were known as Kodacolor.  Cine cameras were used to film many major historical events including World Wars.

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First issued in 1958, Green Shield stamps became very popular in the 1960s and ‘70s. If you bought your groceries at certain shops, such as Tesco, you would get stamps to stick in a book. When you had collected enough stamps you could exchange them for gifts chosen from the Green Shield catalogue.

Each Green Shield book contained 1,280 stamps and you got 1 stamp for each 6d spent.

People were given Green Shield books and catalogues as wedding presents or for their ‘bottom drawer’.

In the late 1970s, Tesco stopped giving Green Shield stamps. After that Green Shield allowed people to buy gifts from the catalogue with cash and rebranded as Argos, which is still found on today’s High Street.

Description:

These objects are both cosmetics: mascara for eye lashes and blusher for the cheeks. The Collins English Dictionary defines a cosmetic as ‘any preparation applied to the body or especially the face with the intention of beautifying it’. It defines mascara as ‘a cosmetic substance for darkening, lengthening, curling, colouring, and thickening the eyelashes applied with a brush or rod.’

In ancient times a substance known as kohl was applied to the eyes to ward off evil spirits, but by the Victorian period the emphasis was clearly on beauty. The visual appeal of babies, both human and animal, is partly based on the size of their eyes in relation to their faces/heads. It is therefore no surprise that, substances are applied to the eye lashes, eyelids and brows to make the eyes look bigger.

Mascara, as we know it today, was first produced by Eugène Rimmel, who founded The House of Rimmel as a perfumery in 1834, in Regent Street, London. Rimmel remains one of the best known producers of mascara.  Modern mascara is in liquid form contained in a solid plastic tube. However, the mascara illustrated is a ‘cake’ mascara, which was norm until the 1960s. The solid mascara was contained in a cardboard and or metal box, together with a brush and a mirror. The brush had to be dampened, then drawn across the mascara and carefully applied to the eye lashes. Instructions can be seen on the photograph of the bottom of the box. Mascara was also applied to the eyebrows until the introduction of eyebrow pencils after the Second World War. Mascara was traditionally black or brown, but is now available in a wide range of colours. The mascara featured was brown, but blue was available. Ingredients vary, but basically consist  of pigments, waxes, and oils.

Returning to definitions in the Collins Dictionary, blusher is defined as a cosmetic applied to the face to give a rosy appearance. The blusher featured here was produced by the Parisian firm Bourjois, which was founded in 1863 and remains a major manufacturer of cosmetics. Like Rimmel the company is now owned by the American firm Coty Inc. They still make a blusher sold in a round pot. The vintage product featured is a round gold and black cardboard box containing a pressed powder of the classic Bourjois shade of Rosette Brune. It was made in London.

Except during the Second World War, a powder puff was included. Instructions inside read ‘Shading down the sides, shorten a long nose or chin by shading the (illeg), make your eyes brighter by placing the rouge between your eyebrows and above the cheek bones towards the eyes. It’s that easy!’