7 ms·

Argos Catalogue Kettle Pages, 1976/1985 (2017)

48 points by JdeBP 3y ago

JdeBP 3y ago
I take the final paragraph with a huge grain of salt, having had an older relative who lived through it describe to me the hugely aspirational atmosphere of the U.K. in the 1950s and 1960s. We cannot deduce history from the pages of one company's sales catalogue, merely the changing fortunes of that company; nor from a piece of fairy cake.
- ggm 3y ago
  But, since people who lived through this time are still alive we have oral history and other approaches. I think this catalogue is illustrative of an ideal. And, other catalogues will tell a similar story. As a child of prior times I certainly recognised social coding in the change from old kitchen ware to new. The utility function of Teflon was high but the ability to signal "I can afford to buy new things" was also high. Tupperware was pure utility function in colours, but it failed to signify success. Snobs like me rather looked down on it (shamefully, I regret my past)
  - mikestew 3y ago
    Tupperware was pure utility function in colours, but it failed to signify success. Snobs like me rather looked down on it (shamefully, I regret my past) It is an unfortunate outcome of the sales and marketing of Tupperware (multi-level marketing). So the ecosystem of Tupperware was looked down upon, similar to Amway. And if you have Tupperware, then you have been to a Tupperware party. The upper crust, I am confident, do not attend Tupperware parties. But the products themselves? Awesome quality and functionality...at least they used to be.
    - gorgoiler 3y ago
      Elizabeth II kept her breakfast cereal in Tupperware — this article probably just means commodity plastic food storage, but maybe HM sent out secret shoppers to Knightsbridge parties?: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/may/20/what-the-royals-eat-at-home-rachel-cooke https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/may/20/what-th...
mjburgess 3y ago
Amongst the upper working class, the argos catalogue featured as a central part of holiday (christmas esp.) life until perhaps the mid-2000s. You could walk into any argos and take one of the 1000pg+ catelogues of massive pallets of them, and paw them over days. The working class, typically unsentimental in the UK, would then purchase the child's designated item for xmas. The pretence of "santa clause", i think, more often a middle class ritual.
- adhesive_wombat 3y ago
  Kind of off topic but the actual "Santa isn't real" moment for me was that some children really believed it. To us, it was always on the same level as the fairies (led by BDFL Tinkerbell, obviously) in my grandmother's garden or the tooth fairy: fun to imagine but clearly, literally, make-believe and I thought everyone was just playing up to the same fun thought-experiment. And, indeed, the Argos catalogue was, for me, pored over all year round. In turn I discovered the multi-volume RS print catalogue and real desire set in. Sadly Santa didn't have a trade account so took a while to scam an account that permitted no-lower-limit free shipping.
  - Peanuts99 3y ago
    I had the same feeling about God at a Christian camp.
  - Graffur 3y ago
    Most children do not know what a "thought-experiment" is. I actually feel very sorry for you and other children who never believed.
    - adhesive_wombat 3y ago
      Well I didn't know it was called that at the time. If I recall, a book, perhaps Alice in Quantumland, or some other similar book named the idea for me eventually. I also didn't know how what oxygen was called, once upon a time, and somehow managed to breathe. Anyway, I feel grateful to my parents that they managed to feed imagination without deceit, and I also appreciated that gifts came from my parents, some requested, some unbidden and all with love.
mikestew 3y ago
Argos pioneered a new form of catalogue retail where customers made their order in one of the company’s high-street shops before waiting for their items to be brought out from the warehouse at the rear. Sounds a lot like the British version of the U. S.'s Service Merchandise[0]. Write down your order on a little sheet of paper, hand it to store personnel, wait for your items to come rolling down the roller ramp. On an unrelated note, but from TFA: In 1979, 42% of British citizens lived in council housing Wait a minute, wut? Explain to this former colonist what cultural cue he's missing, because how is it possible that 42% of a country's population lives in public housing? Or is it not "public housing", as in U. S.-style subsidized housing? Or were times just that bad in Great Britain in the 70s? EDIT: thanks for the context, responders. Apologies if I worded it poorly. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_Merchandise https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_Merchandise
- philjohn 3y ago
  Not sure it's classed as "times that bad" (although the 70's weren't great), but more a political decision that people of less means could have affordable housing. Then Thatcher allowed people to buy their council houses, and we are where we now are.
- jrmg 3y ago
  Asking if things were 'just that bad' is a bit of a value judgement. Yes, they were 'just that bad', but from WWII to 70s the view that the government _should_ be involved in things like housing was a lot more prevalent in the UK than it is now. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_house https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_house
- hereonout2 3y ago
  That was in 1979, the 42%, it's nothing like that now. But yes they are / were greatly subsidised housing. This was after a period of massive home building and the introduction of the welfare state after WW2. I don't think Britain was a shining economic example back then (it was known as the sick man of Europe), but council houses seemed rather a good thing. My mother's parents were given one in the late 50's, where they raised four children and my grandparents resided until there deaths 50+ years later. Although council housing still exists it's much rarer now, and your chances of recreating what my grandparents had are slim to none.
tiernano 3y ago
on a slightly related note, Argos pulled out of the Irish market on 24th June 2023. I think a mix of Brexit and competition from Amazon and other online retailers was the final nail in the coffin. It could never compete on price, but did have a large selection of stuff...
- throwaway25190 3y ago
  The actual physical locations mostly only exist within Sainsbury's now *in the UK, and apparently > The lack of a Sainsbury’s presence in the Republic of Ireland was one of the deciding factors when it came to this decision https://www.irishexaminer.com/business/economy/arid-41169112.html https://www.irishexaminer.com/business/economy/arid-41169112...
ajb 3y ago
Argos was originally a promotional scheme called "Green Shield Stamps", whereby you could only buy things from them via stamps, which were a perk of buying other things at other retailers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Shield_Stamps https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Shield_Stamps
danw1979 3y ago
All those kettles from the 70s look realy well made. Maybe it’s the abundant chrome.
- adhesive_wombat 3y ago
  How unprofitable. Much better to use bits of metallised plastic which flake to death in a few years. Cheaper to make and those suckers'll be back soon enough. You can probably fix the flex properly too, new ones often have a moulded captive boot in the cable instead of a screw clamp.
  - lm28469 3y ago
    Using plastic is much better, especially for the parts in contact with water. You wouldn't want boiling water in contact with metal, it might leach chemicals that would end up in your system
    - switch007 3y ago
      Huh? Millions of cooks every day boil liquid in metal pans. What’s the issue?
    - actionfromafar 3y ago
      Exactly the reverse.
    - adhesive_wombat 3y ago
      If your water is acidic enough to leach stainless steel, you have bigger issues than the chromium.
  - tragomaskhalos 3y ago
    Last time I bought a kettle my wife did her nut because I went for the 20 quid option rather than spending £80 on some prop from a lifestyle magazine, however I maintain that my reasoning was sound - all modern kit is indeed built with a depressingly imminent obsolescence, to which price point confers only limited immunity, and this is exacerbated by the brutal hardness of London water, which will scale and calcify any appliance that so much as looks at it.
Marazan 3y ago
Argos were well ahead of the curve shopping tech wise which formed a large part of the reason that Sainsburys bought them. While Amazon was being pleased as punch about offering next day delivery on items (actual delivery time highly variable) Argos was offering completely reliable _same day_ delivery. It is quite amazing how smooth the process is, even if you cant get same day delivery you will invariably be able to get same day pickup. In extreme cases even if the item is not in stock locally if you order early enough in the day their logistics are so good they can move it same day to your local store for collection for zero extra charge.
- railton 3y ago
  I get all my high end electronics through Argos as then I don't have to run the "is it fake" gauntlet with Amazon. Highly recommend.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
- adammarples 3y ago
  I actually briefly worked on the backend of Sainsbury's/Argos supply chain data infrastructure
Lio 3y ago
Wow, these take me back. I'm particularly elated to see the good ol' Goblin Teasmade there. It's an alarm clock that wakes you up with a freshly made pot of tea. What could be more British than that? They used to have them as prizes on TV game shows. Seems laughable now, the idea that anyone (other than me) would get excited by the thought of winning a Teasmade.
- scrumper 3y ago
  We never had one because my mum thought they'd burn the house down while we slept...
scrumper 3y ago
Wow, what a trip. The Russell Hobbs chrome-on-copper (number 11, first page of the '76 catalog) is like a wormhole to my childhood kitchen. I remember that red rocker switch so clearly now, how it felt to turn it on and off. It was beautifully spring loaded, so you'd push it a bit then the spring would take over and snap it on. My mum taught me how to make her a cup of tea when I was old enough to reach it - well before I liked the stuff.
- ris 3y ago
  Was going to say the same thing, only ours was the stainless steel one (No. 10). Lasted us well into the 90s.
- kwhitefoot 3y ago
  > you'd push it a bit then the spring would take over and snap it on. Ah, a proper toggle switch! I thought they had gone the way of the dodo.
  - scrumper 3y ago
    I mean they did, the kettle was built in 1976 :)
WediBlino 3y ago
The laminated book of dreams.
HeckFeck 3y ago
Argos had a website put up where you could browse every one of their published catalogues. I think they put it up in 2020 to commemorate the ending of their printed catalogue. Alas, they weren't PDF or any sort of download and the website was discontinued shortly thereafter. Quite the shame; what I'd do to see the 2005 or 2007 catalogues again!
quercusa 3y ago
This American would very much like a 3kW electric kettle.

48 points by JdeBP 3y ago

I take the final paragraph with a huge grain of salt, having had an older relative who lived through it describe to me the hugely aspirational atmosphere of the U.K. in the 1950s and 1960s. We cannot deduce history from the pages of one company's sales catalogue, merely the changing fortunes of that company; nor from a piece of fairy cake.

ggm 3y ago
But, since people who lived through this time are still alive we have oral history and other approaches. I think this catalogue is illustrative of an ideal. And, other catalogues will tell a similar story. As a child of prior times I certainly recognised social coding in the change from old kitchen ware to new. The utility function of Teflon was high but the ability to signal "I can afford to buy new things" was also high. Tupperware was pure utility function in colours, but it failed to signify success. Snobs like me rather looked down on it (shamefully, I regret my past)
- mikestew 3y ago
  Tupperware was pure utility function in colours, but it failed to signify success. Snobs like me rather looked down on it (shamefully, I regret my past) It is an unfortunate outcome of the sales and marketing of Tupperware (multi-level marketing). So the ecosystem of Tupperware was looked down upon, similar to Amway. And if you have Tupperware, then you have been to a Tupperware party. The upper crust, I am confident, do not attend Tupperware parties. But the products themselves? Awesome quality and functionality...at least they used to be.
  - gorgoiler 3y ago
    Elizabeth II kept her breakfast cereal in Tupperware — this article probably just means commodity plastic food storage, but maybe HM sent out secret shoppers to Knightsbridge parties?: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/may/20/what-the-royals-eat-at-home-rachel-cooke https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/may/20/what-th...

mjburgess 3y ago

Amongst the upper working class, the argos catalogue featured as a central part of holiday (christmas esp.) life until perhaps the mid-2000s. You could walk into any argos and take one of the 1000pg+ catelogues of massive pallets of them, and paw them over days. The working class, typically unsentimental in the UK, would then purchase the child's designated item for xmas. The pretence of "santa clause", i think, more often a middle class ritual.

adhesive_wombat 3y ago
Kind of off topic but the actual "Santa isn't real" moment for me was that some children really believed it. To us, it was always on the same level as the fairies (led by BDFL Tinkerbell, obviously) in my grandmother's garden or the tooth fairy: fun to imagine but clearly, literally, make-believe and I thought everyone was just playing up to the same fun thought-experiment. And, indeed, the Argos catalogue was, for me, pored over all year round. In turn I discovered the multi-volume RS print catalogue and real desire set in. Sadly Santa didn't have a trade account so took a while to scam an account that permitted no-lower-limit free shipping.
- Peanuts99 3y ago
  I had the same feeling about God at a Christian camp.
- Graffur 3y ago
  Most children do not know what a "thought-experiment" is. I actually feel very sorry for you and other children who never believed.
  - adhesive_wombat 3y ago
    Well I didn't know it was called that at the time. If I recall, a book, perhaps Alice in Quantumland, or some other similar book named the idea for me eventually. I also didn't know how what oxygen was called, once upon a time, and somehow managed to breathe. Anyway, I feel grateful to my parents that they managed to feed imagination without deceit, and I also appreciated that gifts came from my parents, some requested, some unbidden and all with love.

mikestew 3y ago

Argos pioneered a new form of catalogue retail where customers made their order in one of the company’s high-street shops before waiting for their items to be brought out from the warehouse at the rear. Sounds a lot like the British version of the U. S.'s Service Merchandise[0]. Write down your order on a little sheet of paper, hand it to store personnel, wait for your items to come rolling down the roller ramp. On an unrelated note, but from TFA: In 1979, 42% of British citizens lived in council housing Wait a minute, wut? Explain to this former colonist what cultural cue he's missing, because how is it possible that 42% of a country's population lives in public housing? Or is it not "public housing", as in U. S.-style subsidized housing? Or were times just that bad in Great Britain in the 70s? EDIT: thanks for the context, responders. Apologies if I worded it poorly. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_Merchandise https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_Merchandise

philjohn 3y ago
Not sure it's classed as "times that bad" (although the 70's weren't great), but more a political decision that people of less means could have affordable housing. Then Thatcher allowed people to buy their council houses, and we are where we now are.
jrmg 3y ago
Asking if things were 'just that bad' is a bit of a value judgement. Yes, they were 'just that bad', but from WWII to 70s the view that the government _should_ be involved in things like housing was a lot more prevalent in the UK than it is now. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_house https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_house
hereonout2 3y ago
That was in 1979, the 42%, it's nothing like that now. But yes they are / were greatly subsidised housing. This was after a period of massive home building and the introduction of the welfare state after WW2. I don't think Britain was a shining economic example back then (it was known as the sick man of Europe), but council houses seemed rather a good thing. My mother's parents were given one in the late 50's, where they raised four children and my grandparents resided until there deaths 50+ years later. Although council housing still exists it's much rarer now, and your chances of recreating what my grandparents had are slim to none.

tiernano 3y ago

on a slightly related note, Argos pulled out of the Irish market on 24th June 2023. I think a mix of Brexit and competition from Amazon and other online retailers was the final nail in the coffin. It could never compete on price, but did have a large selection of stuff...

throwaway25190 3y ago
The actual physical locations mostly only exist within Sainsbury's now *in the UK, and apparently > The lack of a Sainsbury’s presence in the Republic of Ireland was one of the deciding factors when it came to this decision https://www.irishexaminer.com/business/economy/arid-41169112.html https://www.irishexaminer.com/business/economy/arid-41169112...

ajb 3y ago

Argos was originally a promotional scheme called "Green Shield Stamps", whereby you could only buy things from them via stamps, which were a perk of buying other things at other retailers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Shield_Stamps https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Shield_Stamps

danw1979 3y ago

All those kettles from the 70s look realy well made. Maybe it’s the abundant chrome.

adhesive_wombat 3y ago
How unprofitable. Much better to use bits of metallised plastic which flake to death in a few years. Cheaper to make and those suckers'll be back soon enough. You can probably fix the flex properly too, new ones often have a moulded captive boot in the cable instead of a screw clamp.
- lm28469 3y ago
  Using plastic is much better, especially for the parts in contact with water. You wouldn't want boiling water in contact with metal, it might leach chemicals that would end up in your system
  - switch007 3y ago
    Huh? Millions of cooks every day boil liquid in metal pans. What’s the issue?
  - actionfromafar 3y ago
    Exactly the reverse.
  - adhesive_wombat 3y ago
    If your water is acidic enough to leach stainless steel, you have bigger issues than the chromium.
- tragomaskhalos 3y ago
  Last time I bought a kettle my wife did her nut because I went for the 20 quid option rather than spending £80 on some prop from a lifestyle magazine, however I maintain that my reasoning was sound - all modern kit is indeed built with a depressingly imminent obsolescence, to which price point confers only limited immunity, and this is exacerbated by the brutal hardness of London water, which will scale and calcify any appliance that so much as looks at it.

Marazan 3y ago

Argos were well ahead of the curve shopping tech wise which formed a large part of the reason that Sainsburys bought them. While Amazon was being pleased as punch about offering next day delivery on items (actual delivery time highly variable) Argos was offering completely reliable _same day_ delivery. It is quite amazing how smooth the process is, even if you cant get same day delivery you will invariably be able to get same day pickup. In extreme cases even if the item is not in stock locally if you order early enough in the day their logistics are so good they can move it same day to your local store for collection for zero extra charge.

railton 3y ago
I get all my high end electronics through Argos as then I don't have to run the "is it fake" gauntlet with Amazon. Highly recommend.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
adammarples 3y ago
I actually briefly worked on the backend of Sainsbury's/Argos supply chain data infrastructure

Lio 3y ago

Wow, these take me back. I'm particularly elated to see the good ol' Goblin Teasmade there. It's an alarm clock that wakes you up with a freshly made pot of tea. What could be more British than that? They used to have them as prizes on TV game shows. Seems laughable now, the idea that anyone (other than me) would get excited by the thought of winning a Teasmade.

scrumper 3y ago
We never had one because my mum thought they'd burn the house down while we slept...

scrumper 3y ago

Wow, what a trip. The Russell Hobbs chrome-on-copper (number 11, first page of the '76 catalog) is like a wormhole to my childhood kitchen. I remember that red rocker switch so clearly now, how it felt to turn it on and off. It was beautifully spring loaded, so you'd push it a bit then the spring would take over and snap it on. My mum taught me how to make her a cup of tea when I was old enough to reach it - well before I liked the stuff.

ris 3y ago
Was going to say the same thing, only ours was the stainless steel one (No. 10). Lasted us well into the 90s.
kwhitefoot 3y ago
> you'd push it a bit then the spring would take over and snap it on. Ah, a proper toggle switch! I thought they had gone the way of the dodo.
- scrumper 3y ago
  I mean they did, the kettle was built in 1976 :)

WediBlino 3y ago

The laminated book of dreams.

HeckFeck 3y ago

Argos had a website put up where you could browse every one of their published catalogues. I think they put it up in 2020 to commemorate the ending of their printed catalogue. Alas, they weren't PDF or any sort of download and the website was discontinued shortly thereafter. Quite the shame; what I'd do to see the 2005 or 2007 catalogues again!

quercusa 3y ago

This American would very much like a 3kW electric kettle.