It's been a while since I've posted anything in my vintage books and magazines blog so was very pleased when the week's Sepia Saturday gave me an opportunity to do some, with thankfully only a little bit of thought on my part. As Kat said, there were so many available prompts in this week's image to chose from, and I have decided to follow the bike theme. The images below are both vintage advertisements from the back cover of 1920's guide books. My blog post from a couple of years ago features the font cover and other advertisements from a similar guide.
I'm intrigued by the sign post on the first advert. I think one of the places on the sign is Cheltenham, and the other one possibly Stow, which would make sense as they are relatively close together
Vintage advertisement for Palmer cycle tyres, from back cover of 1920's London guide book
I do wonder how much this all steel bicycle would gave weighed ... probably significantly more than today's aluminium or carbon fibre models. A bargain though at £6 7s 6d (which for those of you not familiar with the UK's pre-decimal currency is 6 pounds, 7 shillings and 6 pence).
Vintage advertisement for the Raleigh All-Steel Bicycle, from back cover of 1920's Barnstaple guide
More vintage books and magazines can be found on my web site
I seem to remember that during my grammar school arithmetic lessons (in The Netherlands) we had to do Pound Sterling exercises. I also remember that when I started working back in 1965 the rate of exchange for the UK Pound was almost 11 Guilders to the Pound. That would we approx € 5 today! Don't think I would be able to buy a bicycle for a little over € 30 today.
ReplyDeleteThat advertisement has me thinking I should wrap up my reading and go for a ride!
ReplyDeleteI love the Palmer logo with the sort of echo effect. Interesting that they gave away the map book free. Isn't that how the Michelin guides began? Great vintage advertising.
ReplyDeleteAn interesting twist on the theme, especially the phrase, "rubber-as-it-ought-to-be"! A few years ago in the middle of the night, a drunken cyclist abandoned a vintage black Raleigh 3-speed in front of my house. What made it very curious was that this is North Carolina and the Sturmy-Archer hub dated the bike to circa 1952! I've restored it, but it is not a practical bicycle for the mountains, as it is quite heavy and is missing the low gear. Perhaps it needs genuine Palmer Buccaneer tyres?
ReplyDeleteI too, need to pick up my bike riding...there was a day in my childhood that you couldn't get me off my bike! This was just a delightful post, thanks!
ReplyDeleteA Raleigh bike was what we all wanted when I was young. I've always regretted that I never had one.
ReplyDelete"12 easy payments" - I see that hasn't changed in advertising.
ReplyDeleteInteresting advertisments. An all-steel bike? Yes, that does sound like it would be rather heavy!
ReplyDeleteMy dad used to have Raleigh bicycles. In fact, those were the only bikes he would buy. Unfortunately, back in 1984, he was out on one of his Raleigh's on a country road, and was struck in the back of the head by a truck's mirror. He survived, but with brain damage, was never quite the same again.
ReplyDeleteI still am very nervous about bicycle riding.
I had a couple of Raleigh bicycles in a nice British green color. I haven't ridden a bicycle for many years because I am afraid of falling and breaking a bone.
ReplyDeleteI see I have been here before... :)
ReplyDeleteSo you cycled there and back again :-)
DeleteMe too -- I thought that red ad looked familiar!
ReplyDeleteThese are neat! $1.00 down and one per month sure does seem affordable and fair.
ReplyDeleteKathy M.
For countryside cycling..... I guess nowadays we would say off road and still need the same things.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how these old bikes would fair "off road". A pretty bumpy ride I should imagine. Maybe the countryside just meant on country roads, where perhaps you only saw the odd farmer, livestock, and other cyclists ... unlike today.
DeleteVery affordable and fair! I have to agree, all these photos, and if there weren't so much winter outside where I live right now- I'd be on my bike!
ReplyDeleteGreat old adverts. As well as the content, the colour and type were interesting - you would never see adverts printed in those colours today as some advertising guru would say that they didn't stand out enough. But they drew me in and made me want to read the content - a challenge almost.
ReplyDeleteOne of the wonderful side benefits of Sepia Saturday-- in addition to great pictures, I get the benefit of such a wide variety of talent, places and folks. This post was a real treat for me.
ReplyDeleteOyeh, I see what you did here. All that re-cycling rubbish has taken over bloggers too!
ReplyDeleteAlmost made me rewrite my comment! :-D
Am I Being Naive? The Heavier The Bike,The Less Likely It Is To Be Blown Over in The Wind?
ReplyDeleteA very interesting ad. I've never heard of Raleigh bikes. I wonder if they ever were exported to the U.S.
ReplyDeleteNancy