Web Page No 2696
19th June 2020
1st Picture. A window display from 1949
2nd Picture. Woolworths Counter Staff
3rd Picture. Holiday Sport Display
1950s Toys and Games
The Wonderful World
of Woolworth’s seventy years ago, thanks to the Woolworths Virtual Museum
All these items were available in Woolworth's
between 1949 and 1959. Before World War II everything had cost sixpence or
less; this was 2½p at the time and the equivalent of
£2.11 today. Manufacturing costs had rocketed as Britain prepared for War.
After the long conflict, as goods became available again, the Woolworth Buyers
were free to choose a broader range to meet the demands of a new generation.
At this time the range was limited as a result of
government austerity measures, as the country exported as much as it could to
help pay off the debts incurred by the War. The toys available included a
mixture of traditional favourites and new lines. At one end of the spectrum Mr.
Noah's Cardboard Jigsaw Puzzles were still sixpence, while Good Companion
Jigsaws, which were to become a particular favourite during the Fifties and
Sixties, had wooden interlocking pieces. The price of two shillings was four
times the pre-war price and was the equivalent of about £3 today. Alongside the
traditional game of skittles, selling for one shilling (about £1.50), new items
in the range included Carpentry Sets, with well-made tools for two shillings
and threepence and a 'Cowboys and Sheriffs Set' for one shilling and ninepence.
Before the war items like these had been sold individually, without packaging.
By 1951 some of the austerity measures had been
relaxed. Some of the stores destroyed during the war had re-opened. The new premises
were larger and brighter. The Buyers went to great lengths to stock them new
and exciting ranges. Some of the most popular items for little girls. Were the
dolls tea sets varying from two shillings and sixpence, 'half a crown' and was
the equivalent of 12½p, up to five shillings (25p). There are also dolls from
the firm's 'Nursery' range. Following a tradition started before the War, the toy
counter is marked out with balloons.
The boys range included 'O' gauge clockwork
trainsets which were seven shillings or 35p (around £9 today), arrow trucks for
six shillings (30p) and ball throwers and catchers for two shillings and
sixpence (12½p). Several of the toys were now made of plastic. This new
material replaced Bakelite and Celluloid during this decade. Plastic allowed
toy models to be more accurate and to be finished in much brighter colours. It
was also less fragile than Bakelite, which tended to become brittle as it got
older.
Some of the popular pocket money items on the
counter were still tuppence or threepence, (between 1 and 1½p), but the most
expensive item, an 'Intric' model car from Minic cost four shillings and eleven
pence (around 25p). Other items included a model of the latest ocean-going
liner, the Steam Ship Queen Mary for two shillings and sixpence (12½p),
traditional boxed games, including Lotto and Draughts, and Annuals featuring
Enid Blyton's Noddy.
Spectacular displays were not just reserved for
Christmas. For Easter there was a wide range of dolls on sale, along with a
selection of Easter Bunnies and wicker baskets, which children used to fill
with eggs that they had painted at Sunday School. A doll range was introduced
in 1951 and for the first time Woolworth’s offered black dolls in its range.
By 1955 the range of toys for the summer holidays
included Mickey and Minnie Mouse buckets for one shilling and ninepence (about
4p), quoits for half a crown (12½p) and beach balls for four shillings (a
princely 20p). There are also a number of toys intended for rainy days. These
were best sellers in the days when many people went on holiday to British
coastal resorts rather than travelling abroad. The selection includes picture
books about Famous Trains for one shilling (5p), and miniature colouring books
for just fourpence (about 2p). For little girls there is a choice of dolls from
half a crown (12½p) to two shillings and eleven pence (about 15p). Miniature
tin telephone and pillar boxes were a popular gifts and parents encouraged children
to use these to save some of their pocket money, ready for the holidays.
With more than a hundred of the thousand stores at
the seaside or in major tourist destinations, the Buyers also came up with
extended range of outdoor sports goods for these locations. Among other items
there were tennis racquets, and a selection of buckets and spades, including
some huge buckets for extra-magnificent sand castles, or super-wet parents!
By 1956 the toy range was becoming more
aspirational. The cheapest jigsaw had risen in price to one shilling (5p),
twice the sixpence of earlier years. Branded dolls from Pedigree added new
spice to the range at five shillings (25p), ten times the pre-war limit. The
Wonder Car, became the must-have toy of the year at Woolies.
In 1956 the stores offered a choice of traditional
gifts or a touch of the exotic. Chess and Draughts Boards were sixpence, with
the pieces or counters sold separately. 'Chromocine' was an early version of
Plasticine for two shillings (10p) per pack. The stores also offered a wide
assortment of pop guns, swords and rifles for two shillings and ninepence
(about 13½p), as well as cowboy suits, which came complete with a waistcoat for
three shillings and sixpence (17½p). Imitation leather trousers were also available
for three shillings and ninepence (approximately 18½p). A cowboy outfit with
gun now cost eleven shillings or 55p, the equivalent of around £15 today.
To complete our visit to the Toy Departments of the
1950s take a look at the forth picture. In keeping with the customs of the day,
all of the family dressed up to go out shopping. Both Father and Son are
wearing ties, while Mum is one of the few women pictured who is not wearing a
beret or a hat.
Stay in touch
Peter
grseditor@gmail.com
You Write:
News and Views:
On this day 19th June 1960-1965
On 20/06/1960 the number
one single was Cathy's Clown - Everly Brothers
and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack.
The top rated TV show was Sunday Night at the London Palladium (ATV) and the
box office smash was Psycho. A
pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming
the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the week was Arnold
Palmer wins US Golf Open.
On 20/06/1961 the number
one single was Surrender - Elvis Presley
and the number one album was GI Blues - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show
was No Hiding Place (AR) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A
pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way
to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.
On 20/06/1962 the number
one single was Good Luck Charm - Elvis Presley
and the number one album was Blue Hawaii - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show
was Coronation
Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A
pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Ipswich Town were on the way to
becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.
On 20/06/1963 the number
one single was From Me To You - The Beatles
and the number one album was Please Please Me - The Beatles. The top rated TV
show was Conservative Party Political Broadcast (all channels) and the box
office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64
and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.The
big news story of the week was Cassius Clay defeats Henry Cooper in London
On 20/06/1964 the number
one single was You're My World - Cilla Black and the number one album was
Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada)
and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A
pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Liverpool were on the way to
becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.
On 20/06/1965 the number
one single was Crying in the Chapel - Elvis Presley
and the number one album was The Sound of Music Soundtrack. The top rated TV
show was Coronation Street (Granada)
and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was
worth £11.69 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's
Division 1 champions. The big news story of the week was UK drink-drive alcohol
limit to be introduced
No comments:
Post a Comment