Man admiring the laundry, 1950

Man admiring the laundry, 1950. A photograph of a man admiring a freshly laundered shirt as a woman checks the laundry bill at the kitchen table, taken by Photographic Advertising Limited. Before most people had washing machines, laundry could be sent away and returned ironed and starched. Photographic Advertising Limited, founded in 1926, created multi-purpose stock images with the potential for selling a range of products. Whilst enjoying its greatest success during the 1930s, it continued in business until 1977. Their trademark, the staged studio photograph resembling a film still, was its selling point and, later, its downfall. Sophisticated, adaptable and generic, this kind of image gradually fell out of favour as clients increasingly demanded targeted advertising campaigns with specific photographs. ©SSPL/NMeM/Photographic Advertising