Yvonne
As happens from time to time, I am making a short diversion away from the ‘bookish’ posts you will usually find here, to share one of my other pastimes with you.
Yes! I am a not so secret dissectologist – or someone who enjoys jigsaw puzzle assembly.
I’m afraid that there is no magnified link for this particular jigsaw, which is a real shame, as it features all those grocery items that I remember so well from my own childhood!
As with so many of this style of jigsaw, the traditional way of making the outside edge first, just wouldn’t have worked for me. So I just got stuck right into assembling the prominent images first and worked my way out, adding the edge pieces as I went.
Although I can remember many of these brands, I would have only been 12 years old at the end of the decade and still a little young for those solo shopping trips, so whilst I probably used or ate the majority of them, I wouldn’t have necessarily taken note of all their names.
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‘1960s SHOPPING BASKET‘ – (From the ‘Memories Of The 1960s’ range)
This was the era when supermarkets, with their carrier bags, really took off. Packaging design had been changing rapidly for some years to make brands more visible on the shelf for the self-service customer – bolder images with brighter colours, along with promotional offers, such as the chance to win the latest technological achievement, a colour television set.
Since the 1930s, there had been a growing demand for slimming foods. During the 1960s, brands like Limmits and Trimmetts were added to the shopping list. A healthy option was the arrival of fruit flavoured yoghurt, a new market that exploded as the number of flavours extended from Ski’s initial taste of bilberry in 1963.
Other new arrivals included Angel Delight, Dream Topping, Mr Kipling cakes, Pop-Tarts and Kellogg’s Coco Pops (changed for a time to Coco Krispies). For washing dishes Fairy Liquid began in 1960, and J Cloth was the wonder of a thousand uses from 1967.
As supermarkets vied for every advantage, the use of Green Shield Stamps, Pink Stamps or Co-0p Stamps became part of the shopping experience – the more you saved the greater the gift claimed. This was the Swinging Sixties, the decade that saw the birth of British pop music and a new wave of fashion, boutiques and discotheques, Mary Poppins and Star Trek.
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THE ROBERT OPIE SERIES
This evocative and nostalgic series of jigsaws illustrate the changing contents of the shopping basket in the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The changing face of familiar brands can be seen, along with the products that have come and gone. Whatever our age, they have played a part in our lives – and our memories.
The items that make up these jigsaws come from the Robert Opie Collection, which is housed at the Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising in London’s Notting Hill.
Having saved the packaging and promotional materials around him since he was at school, Robert Opie gathered together the earlier story of mass manufacture from many sources.
In 1975 he held an exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, and then in 1984 founded Britain’s first museum devoted to the story of our consumer society.
The displays give a sense of the evolving culture and life-style since Victorian times, represented through the everyday items that we all take for granted – from motor cars, telephones, holidays and entertainment, to all manner of branded groceries, sweets and household goods.
The collection traces the changes in social taste and tempo, the whims of style and fashion, the advent of aviation, the jazz age and the gradual emancipation of women. It’s through the fabric of our daily living – the song sheets, toys, souvenirs, postcards, magazines and posters – that the rich tapestry of the British way of life is woven together.
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GIBSONS GAMES
2020 marks 101 years since Gibsons founder, Harry Percy Gibson formed H. P. Gibson & Sons Limited. Now into their fourth generation with Harry’s great-granddaughter at the helm, they are proud of their British heritage and are still providing fun family pastimes for all ages.
The Gibsons team and product offering have grown a lot over the last ten decades, however their values remain the same. ‘Bringing people together’ underpins everything they do: from encouraging people to play games, and creating a happy working culture, to supporting a local children’s charity and valuing the relationships with their suppliers and customers.
Their 1000 piece puzzles are made from the thickest board on the market. They use 100% recycled board for their entire jigsaw range and work with the best artists from all around the world.
Check out the Gibsons website
Follow Gibsons on Twitter
Connect with Gibsons on Facebook
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‘1960s Shopping Basket’ like so many of my jigsaws, was a charity shop purchase, so I am always at the mercy of the previous owner, as to whether or not they have donated a complete item. This time I was not disappointed!
Any thoughts or comments are my own personal opinion and I am in no way being monetarily compensated for this, or any other article promoting Gibsons Jigsaw Puzzles.
I personally do not agree with ‘rating’ a purchase, as the overall experience is all a matter of personal taste, which varies from person to person. However some review sites do demand a rating value, so when this review is posted to such a site, it will attract 5 out of 5 stars for quality, complexity and enjoyment.
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I can’t see all of the labels but those I can read I remember well. This looks like quite a challenging puzzle, Yvonne. But fun, I like the more difficult ones as they last me a while… I’m currently doing a hard 3000 piece snowscene. My husband comes to have a look, shakes his head and walks away saying, ‘I don’t know how you do it.’ I think people are split into two groups, people who love doing jigsaws and people who simply do not get it. LOL
Hi Cath,
Yes! Sorry about the images, I just couldn’t find one anywhere I could enlarge. I am going to have to start taking pictures of the completed puzzles on my phone and upload those instead.
I have just started a new puzzle which is not really my usual thing, but MIL insisted that I should take it from her and give it a go! It is quite difficult, so I can see it being on the board for the foreseeable future, as I generally only get to work on a jigsaw for an hour or so each evening, whereas she will work at them for hours at a time!
I think I am going to leave you to your 3,000 piece snow scene – you are more than welcome to that one, although I can remember a time when I would have relished the challenge!
It is pretty much the same in our house, with Dave really just not getting the whole jigsaw puzzle thing. Rather than seeing it as a way to relax, he tends to have it firmly fixed in his mind that they are complete timewasters and what’s the point of spending all that time making something up, to immediately break it up into pieces and put it back in the box! He isn’t going to change after all this time, so I have given up trying and he usually leaves me to my own devices 🙂
I this this one looks like great fun! I was able to make the photo larger on my laptop, but many of the smaller items were still difficult to read. I’m surprised at how many of these brands are the same as we have (had) over here. I recognize a lot! I don’t remember Mr. Spock ever being on the Sugar Smacks box, though. (they were calling those “honey smacks” the last I looked… guess that sounds healthier!)
When I’ve completed a puzzle and am ready to break it apart, I always let my husband know. He’s a good sport in that he always goes to have a look at it.
Now you have me curious as to what you’re currently working on!
Depending on just how much you really enjoy these ‘blast from the past’ jigsaws, I have either good or bad news … I got a little carried away and managed to grab the whole series of both the ‘Sweet Shelf’ and ‘Shopping Basket’ jigsaws from the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s … but I promise to space them out a little and make up some different puzzles in between, as there will be some product overlap I’m sure!
Your comments got me curious about ‘Sugar Smacks’ and it is as I thought, the cereal is no longer available over here in any guise, although as you pointed out, it is still available to buy on your side of the pond, under the name of ‘Honey Smacks’. The many name changes this particular cereal has undergone is really surprising, but one fact doesn’t change … the huge volumes of sugar we ate as children, in just about all the new and trendy products which came to market.
The puzzle I have just started is much more traditional, although still individual montages. However you will probably find it added to the bottom of another jigsaw post, as there is no ‘blurb’ on the back of the box to tell me anything about the puzzle artist or the origin of the pictures. 🙂