A 1927 CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE

 

Even though this year has felt longer to me than any other year in living memory, somehow Christmas is only one week away. Yet again, all of my best efforts of getting organised have failed and I am panic buying anything that can be delivered the next day.

You can only imagine the sheer relief I felt when I discovered this advertisement in our collection: 'Presents that can be purchased with one or more £5 notes.' Exactly what I am looking for, consider my friends and family sorted!

 

This advertisement was created in 1927 by Watson Prickard, a clothing store based in Liverpool. It's a 'flashnote', which is a fancy way of saying an advertisement or coupon that looks a bit like a banknote.

Now as jovial as this all is, the company that issued this advertisement ended up getting in a fair bit of trouble, which is why this advertisement became part of our museum's collection. An important memo was tucked behind the flashnote which gives a bit more background to the case.

... the Bank of England wasn't tickled with the reproduction so closely resembling a banknote. I can't imagine HM Treasury was too chuffed either, as apparently Watson Prickard also copied £1 Treasury banknotes, although we sadly don't have examples of these in the collection. In the end, the matter was passed to the Public Prosecutor.

Now you might be saying, hang on, the advertisement was not intended as a forgery! It certainly wouldn't convince anyone if you tried to use it in a shop. But according to the Bank at the time, it did copy enough elements of a banknote to be considered risky.

I don't know what happened next with the trial, but the company made it through this hiccup. It continued as a family business and liquidated in 2017. Regardless, what I can say is, if you are currently panicking and need a last minute gift idea, might I suggest a dumb valet or motoring gloves?

Happy holidays from all of us at the Bank of England Museum!

To read the complete article, see:
A 1927 Christmas Gift Guide (https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/museum/blog/a-1927-christmas-gift-guide)

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