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A Merry Christmas from Minsons! (c.1964)
Curtains, it might be argued, don't really make for the most exciting presents around. True, there might be the odd Wizard of Oz type out there who'd be genuinely delighted to open a package under his Christmas tree and find a fresh set of window coverings ready to hang and hide behind, but my guess is that he'd be in something of a minority.
So it's likely that the Christmas greetings offered here by Minsons, 'Nottingham's Leading Curtain Specialists', no less, are pitched more as a goodwill gesture for all the custom they've received during the year than a specific plea for their shop to be considered as the place to buy all your family and friends' presents from.
After all, I can only imagine the picture little Henry or Henrietta's face would make when opening a big shiny box, hoping to find a robot dinosaur and a Frozen songbook inside, but pulling out a length or two of floral fabric, cut to match the conservatory carpet instead. Let's just say: I seriously doubt it'd be one for the happiest of family albums.
To be fair, even Minsons' own advert suggests waiting till the new year to make more curtain purchases behind their rather beautiful, mid-century designed shop windows, but for those of us approaching the end of 2015 that won't be possible.
Sadly, the elegant typography of Minsons' illuminated signs has long since disappeared from Nottingham's urban landscape. Which is curious, to say the least, as any store installing them right now would probably be about two years ahead of current trends in retail design.
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