PARTY PIECES

Stocking Up, 1958 ...

Wine for the Price of Beer ... Cool Comfort

... Leslie Adrian ••• Cyril Ray ... Kenneth Allsop

• • •

Stocking Up, 1958

By LESLIE ADRIAN SIR HENRY COLE would have been quite upset had he seen the Christmas card I saw the other day. A plain black line drawing of a man's back huddled up in an overcoat, the slogan says merely `I hate Christ- ,) Inas.' Sir Henry's private card; designed by a Royal from in 1843, looks like an illustration' lebin Pickwick. The curious may see a coloured reproduction of it in a new King Penguin called Compliments of the Season (3s. 6d.), which is a b, rief history of the Christmas card and, as the pub- lishers intend, would make a good ,substitute for the conventional card if you have anyone •on Whom you don't mind spending just that little bit More, _ lletween now and Christmas Penguins are operat- ul, g What they call their Christmas Carton scheme, °Y Which the purchasers of their books may request a special gift carton in which to post the book of their choice. The choice ,is not irrevocable either, boo- ks which recipients have read or do not want• to ,read may (at the bookseller's discretion) be WaPped. The book noted above "As a special wrapper of its own. Economy is certainly afoot in the l'eeliligs business this year. The Soho Gallery (18 .Soho Square, London , WI) is offering a corn- Whci postcard and Christmas card. „ en Your friend has finished with the whole card he can cut it down t`h. the middle and the left-hand por- tion becomes a postcard with all the 1,4'1111 markings ready printed or it: keep it for the summer holidays. ,.1 costs 7d., cheaper than the last endless.greetings cards of rasi season, in which one was in- structed to write only in pencil, the Zrd being marked for every feast , the calendar. It has been supple- 'uented this year by an 'endless excuse' card. This, too, may be passed around until it wears out.

On a more serious note—and hunting up cards which are cheap and unusual is a serious matter —the Ward Gallery cards (124 King's Road, London, SW3) are good value at 6d. and 8d.,, with a really attractive line. in black and white, at only 2d. each. The Phwnix Gallery in William IV Street and Ostmoare selling these. A visit to the Stationery Office is always; worth while, especially if the hunt is for a card with which to impress one's thoughtful friends. The prices range from 3d. to ls., the 8d., I think, being the best bargain. The cards, as everybody will know by now, carry reproductions of works in the 'LnticlOti galleries and museums[generally with a bias towards the' seasonally religious subjects. On this theme; the' Pallas Gallery offers a line in classic reproduc- tions at 41-d. each, and much more elaborately produced versions at. 11d. There are some '01 course they get a substantial grant from the Arts Coun cur humorous cards, called Citation Cards, to be bought from the newly opened Christmas card shop in New Oxford Street, The Cardshop. Not too inventive with names, they still have some good ideas in card design.

The ,UNICEF cards are again available this year, 7s. 6d. for ten, half the price going to the fund. There are some pleasing designs, and the. UNICEF Greeting Card Fund, Department B, 14-15 Stratford Place, London, WI, will,send you, an illustrated brochure in colour before you choose your cards. Finally, that discriminating friend who has been getting the same Fraser Gallery cards as you for the past five years (they are. still 'good wilue even so, and their more ex- pensive ones are a delight) may get a kick out of a is. 3d. card taken from the illustrations to Grandville's Vie privee et publique des animaux. They are sold at Better Books, Charing Cross Road.

Christmas cards are dear, and if in mid-December—having put off the whole beastly bnsiness because you don't believe in it, and then collapsing under the moral pressure applied relentlessly by the postman —you feel you would like more value for your money, there are a number of little gifts which cost no more and will be appreciated (per- haps—echoes of 'It's just what I wanted' linger in the memory). At Heal's, for example, there are some teak paper-knives made from the timbers of the Ajax and the War- spite and other such gallant vessels. They have little commemorative plaques attached and cost only ls. 11d. There are also ashtrays and napkin rings.

Am I right in thinking that more imagination is being applied to gifts now? There is a variety of colour- ful and charming gadgets of the semi-useful (you could live with- out them) kind. Again at Hears, there are some pretty porcelain bottle- stoppers for 9s. 6d. (a good small gift for a man who drinks, but keeps the bottle for a day or two), and for that same difficult male Harrods can provide enamel bottle-labels on chains (7s. 6d.) so that he will know what was in the decanter. If he is a teetotaller he may appreciate a combined coat and trouser hanger, clothes brush and `kingsize' shoehOrn. At any rate, he would have to be sober to make good use of it.

There are inexpensive gifts for women, too. What about an umbrella cover in a bright colour, for example (Liberty's, 7s. 6d.), or a pair of stockings with the 'discreet' clocks now being sold at Harrods for 10s. lid.? Liberty also have a range of sponge and make-up bags made of plastic with a silky finish, originally decorated, priced at 8s. 6d., 10s. 6d. and 15s. 6d. For the home you could send the happy couple or bachelor girl one of Primavera's (149 Sloane Street, SW1) pleated-linen lampshades (9s. 6d.), collapsible and easy to pack, or a carved butter-print roller (Heal's, 6s. and I Is.), a papier mache tray in a lacquered design from Arts and Crafts of China, Baker Street (8s. 6d.) or a Gogay cane toast-rack from Sweden (Heals, 6s. 11d.). For a gourmet friend, and at .a price which would surprise him if he knew it, you could send Harrod's fancy pack containing two tins of Swiss pate, enriched with truffles and madeira (7s. 6d.). If he's a party- giver he might like 100 hand-carved wooden cock- tail sticks from Jacksons of Piccadilly and Wig- more Street (8s. 6d.).

Three menacing suggestions for other people's children, and at bargain-basement prices: a hamster (at Harrods, 8s. 6d.); a camper's knife with can-opener, fish-scaler, screwdriver and dis- gorger from Boots (3s. 6d).; and a set of poster paints, six jars for 8s. 6d., from Druce of Baker Street. More original, and less likely to be a threat to Yuletide peace, are Primavera's circus acts in carved and painted wood by Sam Smith. 'Jumbo and Trainer,' Little Circus Horse Act' and 'Little Circus Quintet,' each in a tinselly bag, would make the perfect stocking present for the eight- or nine-year-olds. The first two are 10s. each, the last 15s. 6d. There are also the Sam Smith fishing boats, all seaworthy, for 9s. each.

Going up the scale a little, Primavera also have an interesting miniature cookery set from Nor- way, rolling pin, spoons, pastry marker and all, with a wall rack; 12s. 6d. of sheer delight for a little girl, who might also be expected to be very pleased with a wall bookshelf to hold a set of Beatrix Potter books. This Peter Rabbit shelf is from Ostmo, 23 New Quebec Street, and costs 31s. Glove puppets have always been popular with the young, and Heal's have some beauties this year in fantastic costume, for 18s. 9d. On the subject of toys for the little ones, the Kiddi- craft range should be mentioned. Sensible, safe, unbreakable, graded for age groups and produced in a scientific spirit, these constructional and other toys can have their parts replaced by the makers at, they assure me, non-profit-making prices.

Up to thirty shillings there is a wide choice of presents for men and women. Only a selection can be mentioned. Ostmo's copper ear-rings, 12s. 6d. and 14s., Liberty's silk stoles from India, 17s. 6d., or a 'fascinator' (evocative Victorian word for a mohair scarf) from Harrods. The lady smoker (there is an Edwardian touch here) may like to be given an ivory cigarette-holder, 16s. 6d., Liberty; and for the lady-in-the-kitchen there are some lovely aprons from Dickins and Jones for 14s., printed with designs based on herbs and spices. For the leisured lady, a suede sash from Galeries Lafayette, 31s. 6d., or a set of six swans- down puffs in a transparent box from Debenham and Freebody, 17s. 6d.

Less choice for the men, as always, but Austin Reed have some good driving gloves, string- backed with rubber palms, for 21s. For the colour photographer there is a transparency store for one hundred slides, with an index and a carrying handle, all for 18s. 6d. from Boots. Ostmo supply the drinker with some more equipment-bamboo handled bottle-opener, corkscrew and nutcracker in a set for 31s. 6d. For the gambler, Harrods (given forty-eight hours' notice) will initial tad packs of cards and charge only 15s. Some card' players might appreciate a pack of the new De La Rue cards designed by Jean Picart Doux. They cost 25s. for two packs in a box. A collotype print of a Saxton county map may II' bought from the Stationery Office for 17s. 6d.. looking like the real thing in the British Museum; at the moment, Essex, Sussex and Devon are available. A jar of Stilton from Jacksons in 3 number of weights, costing between 8s. and 16s.' is probably a present for a man, but his wile will like the stoneware jar to use in the kitchen.

Other thoughts for presents in this price range: Primavera's cheese, snack or bread board is Danish teak, carved handsomely and with a sen- sible handle (25s. 6d.); the same shop's stoneware mugs (14s. 10d.); six fit.eproof bowls in a rain- bow of colours, stacked up in. a Cellophane cylinder, from Heal's (25s.); Georg Jensen's ash- tray and cigarette cup in delicately coloured porcelain in the Jensen tradition (17s. 6d. and 21s.); Liberty's hand-painted tiles, alone or with a wrought-iron stand to prevent scratching 01 polished surfaces (7s. and 10s. 6d. and the stands 8s, and 14s.); and for the town-dweller who likes to bring the country into her home Heal's grace- ful wicker fruit basket (29s. 6d.).

Over thirty shillings and the choice is immense and luxurious. Within reason are Jensen's Danish silver brooches from 77s. 6d. to £5, an angle" poise type of make-up mirror from DebenhaIns for 45s. and Liberty's Indian evening bag in black velvet with gold embroidery for 35s. The garden' ing man may enthuse over a 97s. 6d. set of tools in stainless steel from Debenhams-trowels, fork and weed-remover. Last year I found a present -it was a wedding present, come to think of it-- of some miscellaneous linens from the RosernoYhie Company, Jordanstown, County Antrim, proved very popular : this year they are putting out some hand-embroidered handkerchiefs for men and women, with initials if desired; purchase can be arranged by post. As for gadgetry-the vacuum-clothes-brush- cum-electric-torch is a new one (at least to me) at 45s. The internally illuminated shaving mirror with magnification which makes blackheads 10°1‘ like moon craters is not new, but with the growntg use of the dry shaver many men will appreciate it (Boots, 70s.). Dolls are generally costly if the!, are to be of any quality (soft toys, especially small ones, tend to be cheaper, of course) and the COn.' sumers' Association lately made a survey of all° popular makes. They did not, however, say any- thing about dolls' expressions. The most delight' ful faces on any dolls I have ever seen are given by Mrs. Stevens to the ones she makes for Heal e• Orders, however, have to be in promptly 0; these 60s. dolls,'as they sell like hot cakes an take time to replace. Harrods have an amusing s toy in the shape of a hen on wheels which clue; convincingly when towed round on a string. clue; convincingly 37s. 6d. and should enliven many Christmas mornings. Other ideas : a three-legged occasional table; Liberty, 59s. 6d.; a log basket of willow and hazel, Primavera, 45s.; and porcelain fish /Ow Denmark, Jensen, 25s. and 70s.