Pifco
Pifco is a name familiar to masses of people in the UK and abroad. Few know that it is derived from the full name of “Provincial Incandescent Fittings Company”. With a history dating back over 60 years, they have supplied household & electrical items to millions. This page is an affectionate tribute to some of those items.
I drove out to their factory in Failsworth, only to find that they had no archive material of any kind and seemingly no interest in it. The large tower on the factory had massive enamelled signs on each side of the classic red logo. I came back a few weeks later to get a better photo, only to find they had been torn down, thrown away and replaced with “Salton” logos, their current owner.
Mini Boiler
Mini Boiler
No kettle in your motel? Untie the patent plastic travel case & plug in your mini-boiler, making sure you don’t over or under fill it and that your container can “withstand the action of boiling water”!
Drink Mixer
Too lazy to stir things with a spoon? Just strap in your HP11 battery & press the base. Wonderful for Milk Shakes, chocolate drinks, fruit drinks, baby foods, salads, cocktails & slugs.
Trouser Press
To pull in the 50’s your trousers had to have a “knife-edged” crease. This was the tool of choice! Early models had a wooden handle, later ones featured an exciting new plastic one with “arty” press design!
Hooters
Bells on a bike were always considered a bit “girly” for most lads in the 60’s. What they wanted was a bell capable of shattering ear-drums that looked modern & cool. Enter the SuperSonic Bicycle Hooter.
Silver Jet Headlamp
Your bike wasn’t complete without a sci-fi inspired lamp on the front of it. Powered by two “large unit cells”, the beam was nearly equivalent to 3 million candlepower. The streamlined design added and extra 3mph to your top speed.
Lamps
Bedtime
No child could rest properly without the Bedtime Lamp to light up their Ladybird books and collection of jazz mags. This one was Empire Made from quality thin pink plastic and delivered a staggering 20,000 candlepower.
Red Dome
Every car should have one. The flashing warning side could be seen from at least 7 feet away, ensuring the nearest AA motorcyclist would screech to a halt to assist you. Earlier models have a nicely spherical dome.
Wonderglo
This marvel of technology allowed children to ignore the alien body snatchers as they traipsed off to the loo in the middle of the night. Made as ever, from top-notch pink plastic, sourced from the Pfico Mines in Failsworth.
Explorer
Every garage should have had one. This model of economy made use of 5 batteries! A handy devices for stunning rats in the attic before disposal.
Slumberlite
More illumination for the kiddies room. This time a diffuse, white light from behind a thin sheet of white plastic. The on/off switch makes a very musical “ping”! Constructed from 1mm thick “crap-o-plastic” to guarantee a long life in the little kiddies hands. The box probably gave them nightmares of giant moles slashing their teddies to bits.
Motorist
The successor to the Red Dome, this “powerful spotlight on a swivel stand” must have sold well, judging by how many show up on car boot stands.
Signalite
When scouting for boys, it’s always useful to have a variety of colours in your torch! This beauty has 3 colours, plus a flashing mechanism, activated by repeatedly pressing a button….
Space Cadet / Zeta Ray
Moon landings were still a science-fiction tale when these amazing lamps went on sale. Classic devices!
Screen Pointer
When showing slides of your holiday in Rhyll, what finer way to point out the highlights than to use this amazing device? Remember, this was way before the time when your could buy a laser pen from Tesco for 99p.
