What year is this? #3

  • el
  • pt
  • Another submission from a reader of How to be a Retronaut. Can you date it?

    Post your answers below. Answer to follow.

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    43 comments to What year is this? #3

    • Virol – advertised on shop window, wasn’t it available during WWII?

      This one looks a lot harder Mr Retronaut. Good work!!

    • Sarah Mooring

      My Ma (and the cat) was given Virol on the late 1920s to build her up.
      That said, I’d ave to put it later than that, as some mints seem to be on sale for 9d.
      So, 1956 or last week at one of these ‘ere historical street reconstruction.s

    • SimplerDave

      Going on the bike, the uniform & the contents of the shop: mid-late 50s?

    • Susie

      I vote for last week, as there seems to be an illuminated London Underground sign in the window to the left – just the type of thing a retro-themed shop would sell / use as a display feature.

    • Terence

      I’d put it somewhere in the 1930′s judging by the Selo ad.

    • The historical street thing did cross my mind too. Have one locally to me
      Sain Ffagan

      The Thermos flasks look 1950′s?

    • Simon Prockter

      Virol were regularly advertising in British newspapers in the 1930′s

    • Candida Drew-Prior

      Is it you Chris? T-bar school sandals were still around in the 60′s and and 70′s.. Shop front could be a red herring date wise as there were still quite a few old fashioned shops around then.

    • Rizzo

      I guess 1965 – 1968. I remember Virol (yuck)and I was born in 1963.

    • Paul Barnfather

      Oh, these are fun!

      I think the “Virol” advert means it could be anything from post-war to 1970s.
      The “9s” price makes it pre-decimalisation.
      The bicycle looks 1950-1960s-ish, but I don’t recognise the “triangle” on the frame. I’m sure I had a bike with that logo in the 70s. Can anybody identify it?

      The pavement is remarkably clean and the brass shop sign is very shiny. Then again, it could be a very tidy shopkeeper…

      That London Underground sign makes me wonder. How long has that logo been in use?

    • Candida Drew-Prior

      It is you isn’t it? How old are you? *titter*

    • I’ll “titter” you on your bottom if you’re not careful, young lady…

      (“I’ll “X” you on your bottom” = family saying)

    • Candida Drew-Prior

      We had a few of those sayings in our family too! …

    • HrolfK

      Selo film (probably what this photo was taken with) was sold from 1920 until around 1968… however, it was more likely to be seen in adverts as ‘selochrome’ after the war. So can we say this is pre-1950′s?

    • HrolfK

      Also, does the cap say IPS? Is that Ibstock Place School? That was in Kensington until 1946, when it moved to Roehampton. Not sure if that helps.

      I’m a bit put off by the flasks in bright colours and apparently a cartoon face printed on them. Seem very modern.

    • SimplerDave

      In the light of this big fat hint – 1968?

    • Witte

      Think it’s 1959..

    • Andy Mackenzie

      I’m going to have a stab at 1970

    • Dee

      I have done a bit of digging, so i’m going to say ca. 1945. Here’s why:
      I found a similar poster to the one in the window above (http://www.flickr.com/photos/joey7/3748265395/). In the poster, it shows the box of Selo Chrome film. Its very hard to date by the logo of the film, but what’s in the poster is the film type. On the side of the box is the number ’20′. I then did more searching and found this eBay posting for someone selling Selo Chrome film with the number 20 on the side. that gave the dimensions of the size of film – 2 1/4 x 3 1/4. I then did another search for when that size of film was in production. On Ilford, there’s nothing, but for Kodak, it was 1897-1949 (http://www.brownie-camera.com/film.shtml). And we know that colour film was around during the later parts of those years.

      Again, I could be wrong, but that’s as far as I got.

    • DalekV

      judging from the style of the illustration on the advertisement closest to us, I think it’s 1945 at the latest. Also the boy’s shoes…

    • Colm O'Brien

      I’m a bit suspicious; roller-lever brakes on the bike are certainly 1950′s to 60′s but the headset transfer is odd. Cycle manufacturers’ in the 1950′s and 60′s would have used metal headset badges (Raleigh, Rudge, Sun etc.) but stickers only began to make an appearance in the early 1980′s. The London Underground logo doesn’t tell us much; it’s been around since c.1920… so, I’m going to say last week! Pretty good though!!!

    • Darian Zam

      I would say 1957

    • I would guess 1946-1949.

    • jeni

      From the school uniform and the Viro sign I am pretty confident its 1956-1958
      Why? because i was there…..

    • Paul

      Judging by the material his shorts are made of, the metal brake rods, the boy’s shoes, I would say early 1960s. I was made to wear a similar uniform when I went to a prep school in 1971, but if someone had worn those shoes and those shorts to my school, they’d have had the cr*p kicked out of them!

      His family must have been fairly wealthy because that bike looks new. I don’t know anyone at that age who had a new bike, everyone had second-hand bikes.

    • Kate

      those bikes came out in the late 60s, maybe even 1970?

    • Neil

      In the bottom left of the window is an advertising spread for Carnation Corn Caps in tins of 6 then and still made by Cussons I think. They’ve long since dropped the tin design but I do remember them back in the v early 60′s ditto the bike style, I’d also go with the flasks in the other end of the window being around that period too.

    • Jacki

      Looks like the era of my youth I’d say 1963 the Year Doctor Who first graced our Screens,

    • Carl

      October 1964
      Looks very similar to my old school uniform in London, similar colour and cap, in around 1962-63, scary. We had similar shoes at school in 1968, reddish/brown top swith light crepe soles I seem to remember. I thought they were ‘girly’ when I first had to wear them but they were part of the uniform. Bikes with lever brakes were still around then as well so I would hazard a guess of 1964

    • I think it is from about 1958. The shop is a chemist’s window. It says “Prescriptions Dispensed” as well as selling Virol and films. I haven’t been able to locate it, because the name is partly obscured. It may be Pickard or Piccord or something. The film is Selochrome, which was made by Ilford at least as late as 1967, but probably during a large portion of the 20th Century. There appears to be a display of cough lozenges or mints in the bottom right corner. This is blurry but seems to be either roses or carnations. As for the bicycle logo, I don’t think this is a manufacturer’s logo. I think this is the logo of the Cycling Proficiency Test, and that this is from an advert or leaflet for that organisation. Since that was launched in 1958, I am plumping for that date as the provenance of the picture.

    • norman heeley

      I’d guess 1951. Definitely post-world war 2. The bike is a Triang,Virol and Selo films were everyday names. School uniforms were something to be proud of !

    • Thank you to everyone who has added their suggestion in the last month or so. You’ll find the answer here

    • Dom

      I would date it after 1958 based on the cycling proficiency badges on the little lads bike

    • Dom

      note to self read the comments before posting :^)

    • Paul

      Image of a more innocent era! The overhaul quality and graininess of this coloured picture I think indicates it was taken in the mid-60s, somewhere between 1964 to 1967

    • Jackie

      Late 60s, even early 70s. We used to run about in shorts and sandals in Winter then – when we were all a bit more naive as to how kinky it looked!

    • Jackie

      Just looked at the date which is on a previous post… Wow!

    • Sarah Raynsford

      I think its about 1952, looks like a qood quality colour photo, due to products in window I think after wwii, also the bike looks about that sort of time too

    • Arthur Mathews

      1952!!

    • I would say the photograph was taken in the late 1940s or early 1950s.

    • lionel of twickenham

      I was born 1955 and was dressed like this boy in the late 1950′s/ so I’d say mid to late Fifties judging by kid fashion…

    • Jolene

      early 1950′s, no later than that.

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