UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

Re Whiston's, I well remember their adverts in Exchange & Mart and their catchy slogan 'Seen my cat for this and that?'

As to Hobbies there are two very similar catalogues.

Namely, Hobbies catalogue that Woodchips mentioned in his post above.

Secondly, Hobby's 328-page catalogue, which can be found in WH Smith alongside the Hobbies catalogue.

Hobby's was established 40 years ago and is an entirely different company from Hobbies.

Hobbies of Dereham was established in 1895 and was a major employer in Dereham. Between the wars is had grown to more than 200 employees and became the largest producer of fretwork machines in the world. Hobbies Weekly magazine from 1895 had a huge circulation. The company survived two world wars and periods of economic depression, but its fortunes declined from 1950 onwards, by 1965 Hobbies Weekly circulation had declined to 20,000 a week, ceased publication and the company was voluntarily wound up in 1968.

There's a splendid limited edition 128-page well researched book entitled 'The Hobbies Story' written in 1998 by the Chairman of Dereham Antiquarian Society, a copy of which I bought when it was issued. Out of print but they occasionally crop up and there are a few used ones on Amazon right now for as little as a penny, and one new one for £4.99:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hobbies-Sto.../dp/0947630198

In 1969, Ivan Strouger - a former employee of Hobbies - had started a small firm making dolls house kits which were always a popular line with Hobbies. In 1978 he bought the copyright trademark and designs of Hobbies and brought the name back to life on a much more modest scale. Like the original Hobbies Co – a family firm.

https://www.alwayshobbies.com/hobbies

I have the fondest memories of Hobbies Weekly, which helped kindle my interest in radio. Aged 14 in 1953, as a 'paper boy' I always looked forward to Thursdays when I delivered the magazine to several houses on my round. By the time I popped it through letter boxes it had been well thumbed by me. It often had simple circuits of interest to me for making Crystal sets, one valve TRFs, how to wind coils, LF chokes, transformers and so forth, many written by F.G. Rayer.

Last year I was given a huge pile of Hobbies Weeklies and annual catalogues spanning many decades from the 30s to the 60s. I picked out the ones with radio related articles and sadly, the rest went to landfill as no-one in the woodturning club had any interest in them. (Same fate as radio and electronics magazines).

Hobby's is an entirely different company established 40 years ago selling similar products to Hobbies.

It has an attractive 328-page catalogue. Some info here as to how it came into being:

https://hobby.uk.com/about-hobbys

https://hobby.uk.com/

As an aside, Dereham - a small town in Norfolk - had other major firms that were household names. Jentique made quality reproduction furniture and their offshoot will be known to many on this forum - Metamec clocks. Then there was Freuhauf - formerly 'Cranes' which dated back to 1895, famous for making trailers for carrying huge loads, used all over the world including building the Kariba Dam on the Zambesi in 1960. They built the largest trailer in the world in the late 1950s – a massive 300-ton vehicle with 96 wheels for Wynns.

Nothing at all to do with ‘Hobbies’, but all these companies certainly put Dereham on the map for some time and employed hundreds of people in the area for many decades. A small town of 18,00 population – about the same as the village that I live in. (Which purports to be the largest ‘village’ in England).

Hope that's of interest.