BRITAIN’S SHOP WINDOW

Hokitika Guardian, 9 April 1929, Page 8

BRITAIN’S SHOP WINDOW

CHEAT INDFS'FHIAL SHOW. LONDON. February IP. II tin l I).O/l'.. in other words tin Department of Overseas I rade, bad doin' nothing else in its voting life* that father the British Industries Pair, i* would have justified its existence and its cost to tbe State. Granted that exhibitions are trade stimulants tnc *■. I.F. is a tonic which every doctor of a sick trade will unhesitatingly declare to be ‘'indicated,” as the medical jargon has it. Here at the White City in London there are “umpteen” miles of Britain’s simp windows and at Hronwiek, Birmingham acres of heavy machinery ol the best. The attendance of httyors frim the ends of the earth snows that other countries want our goods. Let 11s pray they want enough of them to lift some of the heavy load oi unemployment from us. MARKETING BOA HD’S ENT EH PHJKE. As ever the Empire .Marketing Board shows it so IT a past-master ol ■l'snlav and New Zealand, which has been a consistent supporter of the 8.1. F. lorn a hotter and bigger show than ever I litre! as it is to ring changes on such of life they are -flu* changes have

een ■eng ;it the White City. It should be added that although the .Bronwick Fair, developed as it is to heavy industries suggests no opening for New Zealand, the publicity department has very cleverly found a way in for a tourist display. At the White C ity the display was o ; l the sporting attractions of New Zealand—big fish, line heads and excellent scenic display, also finds a place alongside the meat, dairy and otlie produce. The usefullie's of wax models of meat carcases has again been seized upon to keep up through a fortnight's exhibition, a dis--1,,;,, uriienvj.su impossible without expensive cold storage installation. The exhibit is, in fine, as striking as an\ in the Imperial Marketing Board’s section. Canada, it should lie added, lias at last been converted to the uses oi the B.T.F. at which it had never before exhibited and lias marked it entry by a bigger display than any of the Dominions.

The Imperial Marketing Board’s work at this year’s 8.1. F., is marked bv a display of value to all the Dominions. More than 50 models of horses, cows, sheep, and pigs are shown at the fair. The Empire Marketing Board is at present working by research, carried on through the Ministry ol Agriculture. to improve the quality o'f the pedigree stock for which Great Britain lias for centuries been famous. The models on view show the various breeds which are available for export. '! iiev are the work of Mr T. Ivester Lloyd of Bucks, a practical Tanner, wlio is well known as a judge at agri-

cultural shows, and who spent more than lour months on their preparation. The animals are all exhibited in appropriate surroundings, tbe horses in stables, and the cows, sheep, and pigs in cow sheds or in open fields. In attendance on them are stable men, huntsmen, cowherds, and dairymaids all accurately modelled to scale.

COSTLY TOYS

America is not above coining to gather up some gadgets at the lair. One buyer from the United States on tbe first day bought a toy which cost L 7-). It is a model exactly to scale, ol the Imperial Airways aeroplane. He declared it to be a marvellous piece oi work, which should he very popular. The representative cl the maker said .

‘ Two hoys can got into the seat, and they drive the machine along the "round bv pedalling. H dees not rise. It- is obviously a luxury toy, but, lor any well-to-do man who has a bit ol a garden lor his children on which to move the machine about, it is also obviously a fascinating lor. If you pur a motor cycle engine on it would rise, but it* chief attraction is that it meets the ambition of the youngster who, when he grows up, will want to fly.” There are thousands of other examples of British ingenuity in devising toys, particularly in the motor car section. Any boy now can have a car looking, on a small scale, exactly like his father’s. Hut the utility <>■ the exhibition, of course, is in the display not of the toys, alone, but ol a thousand other things.

'the more precious spot in all these miles ol shop fronts is that of ti National .Jewellers’ Association. A handful of gems on the velvet ol this window are valued aL £ 100,000. In the centre rests one ol the most wonderful gems in tbe world—tbe South era ( mss Pearl—a cluster of nine pearls cemented together in the hum oi’ a perfect I .til in cross. Many scientists,” said Captain W. T.loweJ-lyn-Amos, the secretary of the association, “have examined the pearl trying to discover how the oyster did it. It was found lift* years ago oil the Coast of Australia. A native brought the oyster shell up and this pearl was found inside. It is exactly tin* same ir make-up ami shape as the group oi stars composing the Southern Cross. The finders were so superstitious that they buried it. Twenty years elapsed helore it was again found.” Tbe first emerald found in Australia is also oxbiiuicd. There is on show Loo,, a watch claimed to he the smallest in oxi stence. It was made 70 years ago by a British craftsman. It is estimated that the precious stones in view arc worth half a million pounds.

Tbe shot's and hoot s-o,tir>ll is a revelation. It is a co-operative one. The British boot and shoe mauufaC'

turers are making a great attempt to capture trade that formerly has gone i to Fiance and the I'nited States. The exhibits are the result of conferences between dyers, tanners, and the manufacturers, and one ol the novelities arising from this co-operation is in tbe women’s reptilian shoes. There are also shoes made of pigskin, with a new and secret finish. They are being bought by tbe big stores as part ol the fashion for (lie spring and summer.