Thursday 8 March 2012

There were pills for everything ...

... even these.
(Pre-1928)  I like 'containing nothing injurious' ~ well yes, I should hope not.
This is an extremely rare example of a label that didn't feature the face of Richard Parkinson ~ instead we're treated to ... well, is that supposed to be Queen Victoria?  If it is, you might think that would date the label to somewhere before 1901.  Not necessarily, though: Parkinsons were never shy of playing the nostalgia card with their labelling.
P.S. I suppose an 'occasional pill' is a distant relative of the occasional table.  [Yeah, funny, Ewie.]

Tuesday 6 March 2012

One from home

Parkinsons advertising sign on the Culvert canal bridge ~ entrance to Yorkshire Street, Burnley, probably 1910s/20s.  The bridge was demolished decades ago and replaced with a far less interesting one.
Reproduced from ... oh I don't know, wherever it was I found it.

Ghost signs

These hand-painted advertisements were once a common feature of gable-ends throughout the North of England and beyond ~ sadly most of them are long gone
Here's one [bottom left] from an old postcard, in the days before it became a ghost.

Bedford Road, Kempston (Beds.), late 1960s.  [Source: no idea]

Brougham Street, Burnley, 1960s/70s.  [By permission: Burnley in the 60s and 70s]

Madeley, Telford, Shropshire.  Thanks to commenter Andrew for the location and photo.  I'm sure the owners must repaint this one regularly

Unknown location see above, 1990s?  [Source: no idea]



This one's on Rochdale Road, Walsden, near Todmorden.  I suspect it's actually the remains of more than one advert, painted at different times.  Shame about the ivy.

I had a go at 'repainting' it but (inevitably) got bored very quickly.  [Both these photos are my own, hence the poor quality] ... By the way when I say I had a go at repainting it, I don't mean I waited till the residents had gone out then shimmied up a ladder with a bucket of white paint.  I wouldn't do that kind of thing.  Mainly because I hate going up ladders.  Anyway, no, what I meant was I had a go at repainting it using a computer art program ~ like Photoshop but not Photoshop, I forget its name.

STOP PRESS! STOP PRESS! [07/04/12]
The nice people who own the house have recently ripped down a lot of that ivy to reveal more:
 Thanks, folks :O)
 Lorne Road, Leicester [photo by Amy Barnes, reproduced by kind permission of ghostsigns.co.uk]
Southfield Lane, Bradford [photo by John Grogan, reproduced by kind permission of ghostsigns.co.uk]
No idea where this one is because I've forgotten where I found the photo ...
[EDIT] This one's at Honley, near Huddersfield ~ I drove past it yesterday (24/12/12).
Queensway, Rochdale [photo by me]
N.B. This ghost sign has now been pretty well destroyed (22/01/14).

And finally ...
 A cutting from the [erm ... erm ... I must start labelling stuff ...], 1960s/70s/80s.  Briston is in Norfolk, between Fakenham and Sheringham (apparently)

Do you know any of these men?

The photo shows a party of Parkinsons Ltd employees about to set off on a works outing, dated 10th October 1936.  If you know anyone in this picture, please let me know.

In fact, I'd be pleased to hear from any former employees, or their descendants, who might have photos or reminiscences they'd like to share.