EVER READY LAZY DAISY CALL BELL, circa 1910

Used as a portable calling system for master and servant or doctor and patient, simply it consists of a large battery box with a bell on the top a fabric covered lead connects to a bell push, which is unwound and left with the patient/master ready for calling. The system could have many other uses. Dating these units is difficult as the manufacturing period could have lasted for as much as 30 years. Thanks to a comment received from America, one was found with evidence that it had been used in 1904, dating it to the turn of the 20th Century. Carries the nickname Lazy Daisy. This one made by Ever ready.

A1721

PEERLESS SEWING MACHINE, 1890's

Thomas Howard White founded the White Sewing Machine Company in Templeton Massachusetts in 1858 and a partner when he was 22 years of age, he invented a chain stitch sewing machine that could be completely held in one hand. This he sold for $10. It was successful enough within a few years he had to find larger premises, and in 1866 the company moved to Cleveland Ohio. The White company were equal almost to their largest competitor Singer and continued the flourish until the 1960's when Japanese low cost machines stated to flood the market. In 1986 the company was merged with the Swedish company Husqvarva Viking that was part of the Electrolux group. Dating these machines is very difficult, the dates on the machines refer only to the latest patent in this case 1881, and this can be misleading and not at all accurate. Judging by our research from the serial number this machine is dated around 1892, but could be as late as 1900. This model has a unique folding hand crank handle but has lost its bobbins making it almost impossible to use unless replacements could be found.

A1707

JONES SEWING MACHINE, 1930's

The Jones Type CS range started in 1895. This machine is a Type 5 Variant 1 and was made around 1935, its serial number is 15317 indicating a rough guide to its age. CS stands for Central or Cylinder Shuttle, a type patented by William Jones using a vibrating method, different from Singer machines in America being imported in 1895 when Jones decided to design an improved machine in the UK. He opened his first factory in 1860.

Donated by Anna Wallis

A1589

HOOVER 'DUSTETTE' MODEL 100 of 1930

Launched in 1930 the patent for the design was filed on May the 5th, by William H Kato, this was the first hand-held vacuum cleaner on the market. Kato was assigned to the Hoover Company of North Canton Ohio in the United States of America. At the time all vacuum cleaners were of the upright model type, Hoover saw the need for a smaller more portable model. It was launched in 1930 along with the cylinder type 'MINOR' model. They were available from 1930 to 1939 and after WW2 from 1945 to 1950.

Donated by Roy Welford.

A1661

CORN RAZOR, circa 1890

Cut throat style razor for removing Corns on feet. Developed in the late 19th century. An extension to the blade is provided to assist the opening of the blade.

Kindly Donated by G.Welford.

A1656

TINTED SPECTACLES, 1920's

Green tinted spectacles mounted in coil spring frame, sometimes known as 'Aviator' glasses. An early attempt to reduce glare from sunlight. Made from the 1920's onwards.

Kindly Donated by G.Welford

A1655

SUPREME HAIR DRYER, 1940's

Supreme Hair dryer. Made by L.G.Hawkins & Co Ltd. Made in white Bakelite, and in original box. A unique part of the design is that the handle unscrews for easier storage. Made between 1947 and 1949.
In the 1960’s L.G.Hawkins Ltd joined up with EKCO (E.K.Cole Ltd, the author worked for an EKCO dealer during this period, and remembers going to one of there factories in Southend on Sea, and seeing the manufacture of Bakelite toilet seats as well as wireless cabinets. This part of the company became Lin Pac Mouldings Ltd.

Kindly Donated by G.Welford

A1654

ORIC ATMOS COMPUTER 11 X GAMES and 2 X BOOKS., 1984

The ORIC ATMOS was introduced in 1984 and replaced the ORIC 1 Computer; it had an improved keyboard and an updated ROM (Read Only Memory). Soon after ATMOS was released the Modem Printer and 3 inch floppy drive was introduced and released at the end of 1984. Not all games released were compatible with ORIC and ATMOS versions, a modification was released to enable switching between old ORIC 1 tapes and new ATMOS versions. Tape based software could be obtained with ORIC 1 software one side and ATMOS on the other. Earlier titles produced by publishers who had ceased trading were unlikely to be supported. Oric International finally produced the STRATOS version before going into receivership. A French company (Eureka) released the ORIC TELESTRAT after continuing production of the STRATOS. Apart from being gaming machines, users could learn an early computer programming language called 'BASIC' on these machines. The system requires a Television and a Tape player.

Kindly Donated by Brian Horton.

A1639

ORIC 1 COMPUTER. 17 games and 2 X BOOKS. , 1983

Introduced in 1982 the ORIC 1 was based on the 1MHz 6502A CPU with 16 or 48 Kb Ram versions. Made by Oric Products International Ltd formally Tangerine Company Systems. It included a sound chip, Centronics Interface, TV RF modulator (television required), and a tape output for storage of Data. A (a mains adaptor was supplied). In 1983 the 16 Kb version cost £129.00 and the 48 Kb version cost £169.00.
The system requires a Television and a Tape player.

Kindly Donated by Brian Horton.

A1638

SIMPLEX SEWING MACHINE, circa 1950

Simplex Sewing Machine believed to be manufactured in America but some unit were made in post war occupied Japan. No serial number can be found, and other than the word Simplex that has been worn down, no other marks can be found.

Kindly Donated by Marion Potter

A1635

OIL LAMP MARKED ARG DATED 1942, 1942

Oil or Paraffin lamp made in 1942. On the top is a bell dome which when unscrewed one turn will act as a bell if knocked with a suitable object. No more is known about this object, or can be found.

Kindly Donated by Pauline Williams.

A1637

SILEX ELECTRIC AUTOMATIC STEAM IRON, 1940's

Silex Electric steam Iron. Made by Silex Household Products Ltd, or H.Bagott & Company Ltd. On the back is a label with the company name, but the 'G' in Bagott is not clear and looks like the figure '8' so the name is not certain. No record can be found of this Company. Judging by the materials used and the method of manufacture it seems to have been made before World War 2. There are two controls, one on the rear for controlling the temperature and one on the handle for Ironing with steam or dry.

Bruce Hammond Collection

A1624

BELLING BED WARMER, 1939

Bed warmers in early days were filled with hot coals or ashes to remove the damp from the sheets. The Belling Company who originally made this product in 1939 started by making electric fires in 1912 at there factory in Enfield. It consists of two metal shallow spheres joined together with a 40-Watt bulb inside to produce the heat. Originally made in Cream, they were so successful that they continued until the 1960's. The instructions say that the unit must be removed before getting in to the bed. Belling made the Baby Belling cooker (No40) in 1931 with a fully enamelled body, using a glass door on an oven for the first time.

A1620

PIONEER MANGLE, 1950's

Early mangles would wring out washing by passing it through rollers originally made from wood, later rubber. After the Second World War electric washing machines came over from America, which had there own rollers mounted on top of the machine operated by a manual handle (domestic spin dryers were not available yet in the UK). Whittaker Bros Ltd who ceased trading in 1958 made this machine.

Donated By SHAWN fOSTER

A1607

STRAND ULTRA VIOLET EXPERIMENTAL OUTFIT, 1950's

The box provides Ultra Violet sensitive paint that can be put onto items including body and face (no warnings are given as to its safety) when the lamp provided is switched on and used to illuminate the subject the paint glows brightly. As expected. Six colours are provided as well as some face cream.


Donated by Richard P Cook

A1586

SHARP MZ 100 PC, 1980's

An early example of a Personal Computer. It used a domestic television as a display. The program was supplied on a cassette tape run on an internal tape player.

Donated by Geoff Robinson

A0954

PROGRAMMABLE CALCULATOR TI59 AND PC-100c PRINTER, 1970's

The TI-59 was an early programmable calculator, manufactured by Texas Instruments from 1977. It was the successor to the TI SR-52, quadrupling the number of "program steps" of storage, and adding "ROM Program Modules" (an insert-able ROM chip, capable of holding 5000 program steps.) It was one of the first LED calculators. Also available for the TI-59 was a thermal printer (the PC100C); the calculator was mounted on top of the printer. It could print out a hard copy of the calculator's program, where the instructions were listed with the same alphanumeric mnemonics as the keys , not just the numeric key codes.

A1459

HEWLETT PACKARD POCKET PC, 1970's

Pocket sized personal computer, supplied by Zengrange Ltd Leeds, England

Donated by Allen Robert

A1024

EPSON HX20 LAPTOP COMPUTER, 1982

The Epson HX-20 (also known as the HC-20) is generally regarded as the first laptop computer, announced in November 1981, although first sold widely in 1983. Full-size keyboard, an LCD screen, printer, tape storage device, built-in rechargeable batteries. Microsoft BASIC is also included in ROM. Price in 1982 US$795. CPU=Two Hitachi 6301 @ 0.614MHz. Ram 16K, 32K max

Nortell Collection

A1385

AMSTRAD PC9512 COMPUTER, 1985

Replaced the PC8152. which in turn superseded the PCW8256 (Personal Computer Word Processor). Released in 1985. The company Amstrad was launched by Alan Sugar in 1968.

Donated by Dr Richard Grayson

A1562

COMMODORE PET 8296 DISK DRIVE AND PRINTER, 1984

The last of the Pet series this one made in western Germany in 1984 The final version of what could be thought of as the "classic" PET was the PET 4000 series.

This was essentially the later model 2000 series, but with a larger black-and-green monitor and a newer version of Commodore's BASIC programming language.

By this point Commodore had noticed that many customers were buying the "low memory" versions of the machines and installing their own RAM chips, so the 4008 and 4016 had the sockets punched out of the motherboard.

Donated by Geoff Robinson

A0937

SINCLAIR ZX81 PERSONAL COMPUTER, 1981

Successor to Sinclair's ZX80, 1.5 million units were sold before it was discontinued. Programs and data were loaded and saved onto audiotape cassettes; The ZX81 could be bought by mail order in kit form or pre-assembled. It came with 1 Kb of on-board memory, QWERTY keyboard layout, and an optional a 16 Kb RAM pack shown in the picture. The owner supplied a TV and cassette recorder.

Donated by L.G.Bray

A1524

SINCLAIR SPECTRUM PERSONNAL COMPUTER, 1982

The original ZX Spectrum with rubber keyboard, being small in size and with a rainbow motif. Originally released in 1982 with 16 KB of RAM for £125 Sterling or with 48 KB for £175; these prices were later reduced to £99 and £129 respectively. Owners of the 16 KB model could purchase an internal 32 KB RAM upgrade. Shown with printer, Micro drive, tape-loop cartridge storage device, and an Interface, with RS232 port, the owner provided a colour TV and Cassette recorder, for program storage.

Donated by L.G.Bray

A1523

URANIUM GLASS CANDLESTICK, 1930's

The term uranium glass, to the collector, will always be associated with that oily, yellow-green, transparent medium known as Vaseline glass.

The chemistry textbooks tell us that uranium was discovered by the German chemist, Martin Heinrich Klaproth, in 1789, although this may not be the whole story. The element was named after the planet Uranus and what Klaproth reported to the Royal Prussian Academy of Science in that year was uranium oxide, which he had separated from the heavy, black mineral known as pitchblende. The element itself was not isolated until 1841, but this did not stop it from being used in glass-making. Items made using such elements mainly for the colouration have a unique trait, they glow under Ultra Violet light, they are not however usually very Radio Active, this one is unmeasured, as it is too weak. Uranium glass can still be purchased today because of its unique colour.

This item can be demonstrated.

• The Candlestick under UV light
  

A1454

ELECTRIC TRAVELLING IRON, 1930's

Electric Travelling Iron, the first design that became very popular.
Wall sockets were rare before WW2, sometimes only one would be in the house, and often none at all, even if you were lucky enough to have Electricity, the lead for this Iron was usually plugged into the lamp bulb holder hung from the ceiling.
It also has no safety earth connection.


Bruce Hammond Collection

A0352

VOLTA ELECTRIC IRON, 1930's

Early Volta electric Iron.
This one comes complete with a stand

Bruce Hammond Collection

A1212

ELECTRIC IRON, 1930's

Early Electric Iron.

Bruce Hammond Collection

A1213

SERVANTS CALL BOX, 1930's

Servants call system on demonstration board, flaps on the indicator panel (annunciator) moves from side to side when called as the bell rings, and are marked to indicate caller.

Bruce Hammond Collection

A1166

HOOVER 750, 1930's

First Hoover with famous 'beats-as-it-sweeps -as-it-cleans' motor-driven agitator/brush unit, also the first with a polished aluminium body, it replaced the Hoover model 541. It has a switch integral with the black steel handle and an orange triangular badge. Replaced by 1930 Hoover model 725 with snap-action handle and orange motor band. Basis for standard large Hoover upright until 1936 and continuing in modified form up to 1939.


Bruce Hammond Collection

A1160

STYLOPHONE, 1967

The Stylophone is a miniature stylus operated synthesizer invented in 1967 by Brian Jarvis. It consists of a metal keyboard played by touching it with a stylus. Three million Stylophone's were sold, mostly as children's toys, Rolf Harris appeared for several years as the Stylophone's advertising spokesman in the United Kingdom. The Stylophone was available in three variants: standard, bass and treble, the standard one being by far the most common.

A1287

'LITBADGE' AN ILLUMINATED BADGE, 1937

An illuminated badge to celebrate the coronation of George VI in 1937.

Bruce Hammond Collection

A1261

PIFCO ELECTRIC TIE PRESS, 1955

Slide the tie down the blade and plug the unit in.

Bruce Hammond Collection

A1262

PIFCO ELECTRIC TROUSER PRESS, 1950's

A press for the seams of trousers. Once heated the blades are opened and sandwiched over the crease then moved along the length of the legs.

Bruce Hammond Collection

A1266

BAKELITE ELECTRIC WATER BOTTLE, 1943

Although shaped like a standard rubber hot water bottle, no water is needed. Just slip into the bed and plug in.

Bruce Hammond Collection

A1242

OZONE AIR FAN AND GENERATOR, 1930's

Ozone generator with an electric fan mounted on the top.

Devices generating high levels of ozone, some of which use ionization, are used to sanitize and deodorize uninhabited buildings, rooms, ductwork, woodsheds, boats and other vehicles.

Bruce Hammond Collection

For more information see item A1200

A1211

TWO BED WARMERS, 1940's

One made of porcelain one made of Bakelite, simply electric water bottles (without the water), no regulation and fairly low power. Sold before electric blankets were available.

Bruce Hammond Collection

A1171

FULLY AUTOMATIC ELECTRIC CLOTHES BRUSH, 1950's

Gadgets like this were common after the War, this claimed to clean clothes on the wearer better than an ordinary brush.

It consists of a fan and a small bag for catching anything that it could suck up. In reality it was no better than an ordinary clothes brush.

Bruce Hammond Collection

A1170

LAZY DAISY BELL & CALL BUTTON, circa 1910

Used as a portable calling system for master and servant or doctor and patient, simply it consists of a large battery box with a bell on the side a fabric covered lead connects to a bell push, which is unwound and left with the patient/master ready for calling. The system could have many other uses. Dating these units is difficult as the manufacturing period could have lasted for as much as 30 years. Thanks to a comment received from America, one was found with evidence that it had been used in 1904, dating it to the turn of the 20th Century. These items have somehow been labelled as a Lazy Daisy.

A0118

STEWARD 'STICK' VACUUM CLEANER, 1936

A small vacuum cleaner dated 1936

Bruce Hammond Collection

A1158

BUSTLER (STICK) VACUUM CLEANER, 1930

The 'stick' upright cleaner was a popular format in the 20's and 30's. It was cheaper and lighter, though lower-powered, that larger cleaners. The 'Bustler' was a popular British model which was available well into the 1950s.

Best described as an 'electric broom', the motor, fan chamber and bag were all mounted on the handle, with only the nozzle in contact with the floor.

Bruce Hammond Collection

A1159

ULTRAZONE OZONE GENERATOR, 1922

Devices generating high levels of ozone, some of which use ionization, are used to sanitize and deodorize uninhabited buildings, rooms, ductwork, woodsheds, boats and other vehicles.

In the U.S., air purifiers emitting lower levels of ozone have been sold. This kind of air purifier is sometimes claimed to imitate nature's way of purifying the air without filters and to sanitize both it and household surfaces. The United States Environmental Protection Agency has declared that there is "evidence to show that at concentrations that do not exceed public health standards, ozone is not effective at removing many odour-causing chemicals or "viruses, bacteria, mould, or other biological pollutants." Furthermore, its report states that "results of some controlled studies show that concentrations of ozone considerably higher than these [human safety] standards are possible even when a user follows the manufacturer's operating instructions."

The US government successfully sued one company in 1995, ordering it to stop repeating health claims without supporting scientific studies, if that is the case we think it should be classed as Quackery.

Bruce Hammond Collection

A1200

ELECTRIC FIRE, 1908

One of the very first electric fires. The lamps were made by Osram. With spare lamp. The Spare is made by Robertson.

A0917

TRICITY 'SUN RAY' LAMP HEATER, 1927

An electric fire that depended on the Infra-red output of a special light bulb.

The lamp produced both light and heat, and was designed as a standard occasional table lamp with a black painted copper base. Copper light diffusers concealed a 200 volt sausage-shaped Dowsing bulb.

Bruce Hammond Collection

A1267

ELECTRIC BOWL FIRE, 1930's

Electric fire used between the Wars and afterwards, operating from 240-250 volt AC mains.

Bruce Hammond Collection

A1240