A massive thank you to GMax for scanning in this historical catalogue from Filofax (Norman and Hill) from 1955. I wasn't even born!
You will find higher resolution versions of these scanned pages here.
The pictorial content of this post is the intellectual property of Filofax Group Ltd. The scans are reproduced here with the full permission of Filofax Group Ltd. for educational and non-commercial usage.
The pictorial content of this post is the intellectual property of Filofax Group Ltd. The scans are reproduced here with the full permission of Filofax Group Ltd. for educational and non-commercial usage.
Don't forget to check out our full catalogue archive, it has taken many hours/days of work to put it together!
If you have any old Filofax catalogues that you would like to donate to our digital archive, please contact Steve: philofaxy at gmail dot com Thank you
If you have any old Filofax catalogues that you would like to donate to our digital archive, please contact Steve: philofaxy at gmail dot com Thank you
Fascinating! However, only the Lefax pages of the catalogue are here. Comparison with the 1937 price list indicates there would have been several pages of Filofax products as well.
ReplyDeleteThanks to gmax and Steve for another fascinating catalogue.
ReplyDeleteI note that 7/8" rings were very much an option, as none are listed in the pricing, only 1/4" and 1/2".
I also like the handwritten note on the back, recording the user's page colour coding; a nice idea...
Tim: the Junior & Senior 'small ring books' on p10 are Filofax products, I think. The 1937 catalogue had a distinct catalogue split between Lefax and Filofax products
This catalogue is another piece of the jigsaw puzzle!! It raises a couple of questions or possibilities.
ReplyDeleteIs the ‘1937 catalogue’ really from 1937… that assumption was made from the 137 on the front cover. I still own that catalogue, but looking at the scans there are no other clues as to its age.
Could there have been restrictions post WW2 on the import of goods from the USA that might have impacted on what is shown in the 1955 catalogue compared to the ‘1937’ catalogue? I don’t know it’s not something I’m an expert in.
Does anyone have a definitive record of the addresses and dates for Norman & Hill? That might help us confirm the dates. I’ve looked on line and I’ve not found anything yet.
I think the combination here of a “555” number along with a sticker referring to the 1955 budget means we can now be pretty confident that the catalogue version numbers do use a “MYY” format as previously suspected, with the “137” catalogue being from January 1937.
DeleteSound logic and good reasoning, thank you.
DeleteYeah, the 1955 Budget sticker serves as a very nice timestamp...
DeleteAccording to this BBC article, there were budgets in April and July 1955. If the MYY guess is correct, which seems likely, the April budget would just have come into effect.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/politics97/budget97/background/bud1945_79.shtml
Another observation, neither the 1937 or the 1955 catalogues list a diary insert. In later catalogues I have used the diary insert to date the catalogue where it isn't shown on the cover or on one of the inside pages.
ReplyDeleteWhich leads to another question.... when did they start to sell diary inserts!??
29 diary, 7 days on a page
ReplyDelete29A ditto, undated
92 diary, 7 days per sheet, undated
100 diary, 7 days on 2 sheets, undated (double)
A 'sheet' means both sides of a leaf, so 2 pages (they're called week on 2 pages later)
page 4 of the catalogue (page 6 of the images).
I checked my insert spreadsheet for the insert #s for diaries; early # means been produced for a long time, big number; later...
29, 92 & 100 were called 'daily memo' in the 1937 catalogue.
530 1 day per page, undated diary (page 5)
288 & 289 came later, as part of the FreeForm management inserts.
Well spotted! It’s a pity they don’t mention the year on the dated ones!
Delete"Daily memo" is also item 29 on pg 6 of the November 1921 Lefax price list. At the bottom of the page it says it's available with printed dates at 25 cents for the full calendar year.
DeleteI had looked up 'Rexine' previously, but had forgotten what it was. So I did it again; a cellulose nitrate based synthetic leathercloth.
ReplyDeleteThe second Google hit (after the wiki entry) was this:
https://ratchford.co.uk/product-category/bookcloth-covering-materials/leathercloth/
Selling 1250 mm wide leathercloth at £10/m. Hmmm... Maybe time for some DIY...
(I've also looked up 'skiver' in the past, as that was stated as a lining fabric. It's a thing leather, presumably named because it has been skived (thinned) across the entire area).
Fascinating, I must go and dig out my Dad's 1938/40+ Lefax and have another look at and what's in it - the most recent entry 1947!! Covers where and with what regiments he served during the War!!
ReplyDeleteWow, that sounds amazing. Please do come back and share!
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