Comments on: Crowden & Keeves’ Hardware

By: Bill

Bill — Sun, 10 Mar 2024 01:38:53 +0000

Wowza! Wouldn’t it be neat to find a treasure trove of this stuff tissue wrapped, in the original boxes! What fine metalware!

By: Terry Kirkman

Terry Kirkman — Fri, 08 Mar 2024 19:00:30 +0000

Many years ago I acquired a Fellows and Bates Universal Marmalade Machine, produced by a Manchester firm, and I am still using it today. Each year when the Seville oranges appear in the shops, I buy several kilos to make enough marmalade to last throughout the year. These machines were manufactured in the late Victorian era as a labour-saving device. I wonder how many articles made today will still be in use over a hundred years later!

By: Christine Swan

Christine Swan — Fri, 08 Mar 2024 17:34:33 +0000

A huge range of interesting items – even for kitting out your ferret! I have a vacuum washing dolly and carpet beater that belonged to my grandmother and various tools from my dad that are equally old. They fit well in my Edwardian house. Hardware shops and ironmongers are fascinating places!

I didn’t like seeing the snare wire though and am glad that they are now banned ( but sadly still found).

By: gkbowood

gkbowood — Fri, 08 Mar 2024 16:23:42 +0000

I saw many items that my Grandparents used and I still have. I saw even more that I want to buy now! What an excellent selection they offered and I would love to have a copy of the whole catalog.
Thanks for sharing these images.

By: Lydia

Lydia — Fri, 08 Mar 2024 15:46:36 +0000

What lovely pre-plastic tools, containers and such! Made to last but when they wore out and could no longer be repaired or repurposed, could actually deteriorate!

By: Mark Byfield

Mark Byfield — Fri, 08 Mar 2024 14:12:41 +0000

What a catalogue and what an Aladdin’s Cave.
I absolutely love a hardware shop, I could spend happy hours just looking.
Sadly A thing of the past.

Thanks for your post my friend.

Mark

By: Lynne Perrella

Lynne Perrella — Fri, 08 Mar 2024 13:06:23 +0000

As a collage artist and former commercial illustrator, my studio is absolutely REPLETE with
archival clip-art books, on every topic imaginable. Images of hands, music, people, costumes, shoes and hats, flowers, travel motifs, furnishings, maps, plus the requisite “Hecks” book that covers every topic known to man or beast. Its a doorstop. My favorite thing to look for in any used book emporium are old out-of-print Dover publications, with even MORE clip art. How I would love to be able to walk over to a shelf, pull down this beautiful volume, and make copy prints of the images inside. Especially the page of keys, and the wonderful array of bird cages.

While we are praising the makers of the tools, how about some applause for the skilled engravers who did such wonderful depictions of the wares? Hurrah and huzzah.

By: Marcia Howard

Marcia Howard — Fri, 08 Mar 2024 10:32:51 +0000

Most of my life has just flashed by with all the items shown above, not necessarily originating from Crowden & Keeves, but identical looking and many of them still used regularly in my current kitchen and garden, some of which originated from my grandparents, but then used by my mother before coming to me. I still also have and still use some of my dad’s old tools – and he passed away in the mid 1960s. ‘Stuff’ was made to last back then!

By: Mark

Mark — Fri, 08 Mar 2024 07:43:42 +0000

I love these!
Some of these items must survive!
Cheers!

By: Saba

Saba — Fri, 08 Mar 2024 01:04:56 +0000

Those were some beautiful tools that would last four lifetimes, if not eternally. But, when I look at those big, heavy pots, I am so grateful not to have been a woman living back in the day when I most likely would have spent the entire time in the kitchen wielding those big pots and taking care of my twelve children!