Anyone date these items?

[trsomian]

That mouse trap looks like a good idea; I might build myself one of those (and no, I won't be earthing it either)

[peter_scott]

Given that the playing cards show the Alexandra Palace transmitting aerial I think they are unlikely to date earlier than 1936 but I don't think Alba had a television offering prior to 1939. The relevance of that would be lost when the regions started to get their own transmitters. My guess would be in the range 1939 to '46.

Peter

[G6Tanuki]

Originally Posted by Dave757

I remember back in the 1940s my gran had a batten type light socket
fitted under a shelf above the kitchen sink. This had a double bayonet adaptor
plugged in with a bulb fitted to the one socket, and the other was used for
her electric iron.

Indeed: I remember once being at my Aunt's house - she had a similar 2-way bayonet adaptor for the kitchen-light & iron.

On one occasion when she was ironing (did middle-aged aunts spend their entire lives ironing? It always seemed like it!) I remember there being a loud BANG! and a shriek of distress and astonishment from my aunt: when my father came to collect me he looked at the wiring and found that the 2-core rubber/cotton-covered cable from the ceiling-rose to the pendant BC socket had perished [years of rising heat from a 100-Watt lightbulb coupled with repeated flexing I guess..] and eventually the crumbly mass had shorted.

Wire replaced with a short length of the clear-PVC-covered "figure-of-8" stuff that was common for table lamps etc in the 1960s, and Aunt's iron rewired to use the single [2-pin 15A] kitchen power-socket when needed instead.

[Refugee]

I still have memories of pendant lights going bang and falling down. 10 years was a long time for a bit of that rubber wire with a 100W bulb hanging on the end of it.

[Oliver35]

The 'MAGNET' name was, i think, used by GEC through the late '20s and '30s, this looks very much like a '30s product to me. I've got a few MAGNET items here, I have the two-ring and broiler oven, which is in regular use (fully earth bonded from new!), plus the wall switch to match (boxed) and the kettle that went with it. It even has a branded plug! I've got the ubiquitous MAGNET iron with the thumb rest that I use on the rare occasions that I do any ironing. I've found their products to be very well made. I've also got a cheap unbranded toaster like the one above, although it took me a lot of work modifying a Dualit element to make it work, as the original had disintegrated. That's boxed, too..

Oliver

[emeritus]

Long after GEC ceased using "Magnet" on their products, the name maintained a ghostly existence into the rebranded "Marconi" era as the name of their in-house travel bureau, which was called "Magnet Travel".

[G6Tanuki]

GEC's headquarters-building [45 Kingsway] - built 1922/23, demolished in the early-1960s - was called "Magnet House".

http://archiseek.com/2013/1920-magne...ngsway-london/

[60 oldjohn]

Thank you for all your help and information. Mods please close this thread.


John.