1979 WH Smith Christmas

FileWHSmithIn 1792, Henry Walton Smith and his wife Anna established the business as a news vendor in Little Grosvenor Street, London.  After their deaths, the business — valued in 1812 at £1,280 —(about ~63764 in 2012, adjusted by inflation) was taken over by their youngest son William Henry Smith, and in 1846 the firm became W H Smith & Sonwhen his only son, also William Henry, became a partner. The firm took advantage of the railway boom by opening newsstands on railway stations, starting with Euston in 1848.  In 1850 the firm opened depots in Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool.  The younger W H Smith used the success of the firm as a springboard into politics, becoming an MP in 1868 and serving as a minister in several Conservative governments.

Info gleaned from Wikipedia

1979 Cinzano Rose

Cinzano_logo1979 Cinzano Rose featuring Joan Collins, Leonard Rossiter, Omar Sharif & Gareth Hunt.

Cinzano vermouths date back to 1757 and the Turin herbal shop of two brothers, Giovanni Giacomo and Carlo Stefano Cinzano, who created a new “vermouth rosso” (red vermouth) using “aromatic plants from the Italian Alps in a [still-secret] recipe combining 35 ingredients (including marjoram,thyme and [a species of Achillea called] musk yarrow)”.  What became known as the “vermouth of Turin” proved popular with the bourgeoisie of Turin and, later, Casanova.

Cinzano Bianco followed, based on a different combination of herbs that included artemisia (wormwood), cinnamon, cloves, citrus and gentian; it was followed by an Extra Dry version.  Exports began in the 1890s, to Argentina, Brazil and the USA, among others.  In Paris in 1912, Cinzano was the first product to be advertised with a neon sign.

Info gleaned from Wikipedia

1979 C&A

C&A_logoC&A is an international Dutch chain of fashion retail clothing stores, with its European head offices in Vilvoorde (near Brussels), Belgium and Düsseldorf, Germany. It has fashion retail store branches in Austria, Belgium, Brazil, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey and opening soon in Egypt. Its brands include Angelo Litrico, Canda, Clockhouse, Here+There, Palomino, Westbury, Yessica, Yessica Pure, and Your Sixth Sense.

The company was founded by brothers Clemens and August Brenninkmeijer in 1841 as a Dutch textile company, taking its company name from their initials, who were originally from the German Brenninkmeyer family that traded in linen and textiles since the 17th Century from their hometown in Mettingen, Germany.  Since 2007, C&A has also ventured into high-street retail banking, creating C&A Bank GmbH in Germany, with its primary focus on providing consumer credit under its product “C&A Money”.

Info gleaned from Wikipedia

1979 Bubble Yum Gum

bubbleyumBubble Yum is a brand of bubble gum marketed by The Hershey Company.

Introduced in 1975 by LifeSavers, the bubble gum was the first soft bubble gum created.

In 1977, rumors began to spread that the gum’s soft, chew-able secret was the addition of spider eggs.  The Life Savers Company addressed the issue with an official full-page rebuttal printed in prominent U.S. newspapers (including the New York Times), to dispel the rumor and restore public confidence.  Sales of the gum soon surpassed sales of Life Savers candy, and it became the most popular bubble gum brand.  Nabisco bought Life Savers in 1981, and The Hershey Company acquired the brand in 2000.

Bubble Yum’s official mascot is Floyd D. Duck, an anthropomorphic punk-style duck character.

Info gleaned from Wikipedia