The Fun of the Fifties: Ads, Fads and Fashion

Summary:

A nostalgic celebration of the fabulous fifties.

The 1950s was a heady mix of American excitement – cowboys, rock'n'roll, Elvis, Marilyn Monroe – and the British sense of fun that included Airfix kits, Plasticine and Hornby Dublo trains. It was a boom time for DIY enthusiasts, seaside holidays and space fiction. The Fifties also saw the birth of self-service shopping and sugar-coated breakfast cereals. Ultimately, there was a new optimism that followed the Festival of Britain, the Queen's coronation, the end of rationing and the increasing distraction of a new entertainment – television.

The Fun of the Fifties is jam-packed with over 500 colourful and evocative items, everything from tantalizing toys and electric kitchen gadgets, to frozen foods, furniture and fashions. Here too are the popular TV programmes that pervaded this remarkable era. This book is not only stuffed full of vibrant 50s graphics, but also reveals an insight into a decade of consumer change.

A celebration of this most memorable era, this book will take all those baby boomers back to their childhood – Noddy, Sooty and Muffin the Mule, Meccano, Magic Robot and Dinky Toys, Watch with Mother, road safety kerb drill and novelty soaps, Spangles and Corona drink.

A nostalgic celebration of the fabulous fifties.

The 1950s was a time of Bakelite phones, Sooty puppets, little blue waxed paper twists of salt in packets of crisps, Spangles and black-and-white television sets. With the birth of rock ’n’ roll, a spirit of post-War camaraderie, the end of rationing, the Festival of Britain and the Coronation, this was an optimistic and more innocent time.

Jam-packed with wonderful colour photographs of everything from toys and household items to fashion, food and film posters, and from the magazines and comics we enjoyed to the television programmes we watched, this wonderful collection celebrates one of the UK’s most vibrant and celebrated decades.

This toast to the Fifties is written and compiled by the Founder and Curator of the Museum of Brands, Robert Opie. This fascinating and hugely popular museum is a time tunnel of over 12,000 original items reflecting the history of consumer culture.

This celebration of one of the most memorable eras will take all those baby-boomers back to days of 1950s childhood innocence that should never be forgotten.

Sales points:

A toast to the 1950s, covering such topics as shopping, leisure, entertainment and travel and holidays
Written by Robert Opie, the Director of the Museum of Brands, which explores the fascinating story of daily life since Victorian times
Illustrated in full colour with over 500 stunning original photographs of ads, memorabilia, packaging and ephemera
From the publishers of The 50s and 60s – The Best of Times (over 100,000 copies sold)

About the Author:

Robert Opie

Fifty years ago, Robert Opie saw the need to unravel the fascinating story of how consumer products and promotion had evolved since Victorian times. By 1975 he had enough material to hold his own exhibition, ‘The Pack Age’, at the Victoria & Albert Museum. After a sixteen-year career in market research, he opened the first museum devoted to the history of packaging and advertising in Gloucester in 1984. In 2005 his Museum of Brands moved to London, recently reopening in larger premises in Notting Hill. Recognizing the need to save our ever-changing consumer society, his research has focused on how our culture and lifestyle has been influenced by Britain's consumer revolution. Having written some twenty books and presented a two-hour DVD, In Search of our Throwaway History, he has become a leading authority as a consumer historian, appearing on a wide range of television and radio programmes.