Found in Books 8: The Festival of Britain postcard

[callmemadam]

I should have posted this yesterday, the sixtieth anniversary of the opening of the Festival by King George VI. The charming little tinted card (click on it to see full width) shows The News Chronicle Children’s Zoo, Festival Gardens, London. The South Bank was transformed for the occasion, with temporary pavilions celebrating various arts and sciences (they were keen to emphasise Britain’s role in the technology of the future) and the Royal Festival Hall, which is still with us.

I was too young to know anything about it at the time but later on a visit to the Pleasure Gardens in Battersea Park was a favourite outing. Everyone called it Battersea Funfair and my favourite things were the Guinness Clock and the Tree Walk (this link won't work; it's picture 6). We were also taken to see ballet at the Festival Hall, without realizing how new it all was. I’m one of the few people to actually like the so-called brutalist look of the modern South Bank complex.



These programmes are two a penny; everyone seems to have kept them. They are a guide to how to get the most out of a visit but today the best thing about them is the advertising.



The commemorative stamps.

Comments

[huskyteer.livejournal.com]

There seems to be a pushmi-pullyu in the zoo postcard.

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

Ha ha!

[debodacious.livejournal.com]

I love old adverts too - I was looking at some old Punch magazines with my in-laws recently, and we all agreed the adverts were the best bit.

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

I like the ones for cars and cigarettes best. And Keyser Bondor. Pride of place in this guide is given to a luridly coloured full page ad for processed peas.