Introduction Pirelli are an Italian company well known for manufacturing tyres. In 1964 Derek Forsyth, a British art director created the first Pirelli calendar. The annual calendar became known as the “Cal”. The production of these were limited to 20,000 calendars per year. They were not available for general saleRead More →
What are Ladybird books? Ladybird books are a publishing company based in London. They are part of the parent company Penguin Group, publishing children’s books. Ladybird books have been published for over 150 years. They were founded in Loughborough, Leicestershire by Henry Wills. Ladybird Books In Schools – Reading InRead More →
Matchbox In 1947 Lesney Products produced the first Diecast toy, known by the household name of Matchbox. The company operated until 1982. Diecast is the name given to the process in which the toy was made. Zinc or lead alloy in a Moulton form, is poured into a reusable mouldRead More →
Introduction Here at Wildcard Curiosities we have a large client base for vintage board games. It is exciting when we purchase the board games as they have to be checked to see if they are complete. That means a little bit of family fun time. It is so satisfying toRead More →
Introduction Ordnance Survey maps are such a useful tool. They provide digital map data for route planning, finding local businesses and residential streets. Usually these are large scale (to include more detailed mapping) or small scale (to show fewer detailed areas). Ordnance Survey is the national mapping agency, although todayRead More →
Happy New Year to everyone from Wildcard Curiosities. Thank you all for your continued support. In this blog we will take a look at the year gone by and the new year ahead. I am sure we have all heard the saying out with old, in with the new. ForRead More →
Introduction Advertising Businesses and products has been the norm dating back to ancient times. The Egyptians used papyrus for advertising. Mosaics and walls were also used in such a manner. This is no different from the 19th and 20th Century where newspapers and brick walls (usually side of buildings) wereRead More →
Who is Phil Monk? Phil Monk was born in 1946 in Gloucestershire and unfortunately recently died this year (2021). Phil was taught at The Royal Masonic School in Hertfordshire. At 16 he went on to study sculpture at the Southampton College of Art. In 1962 he attended Ravensbourne College ofRead More →
Brief History Christmas decorations have been in existence since ancient times. Evidence of this is noted in descriptions of the Saturnalia feast (a festival to honour the god Saturn) from around 5th century BC. The decorating of the tree was something already being observed by the Scandinavians for the YuleRead More →
A Brief History Oil lamps have been a source of heat and light for thousands of years. An oil lamp has a container at the bottom in which oil is stored. A fabric strip is placed in the oil via a small opening into the container. The end of theRead More →