BRITISH INDUSTRIES FAIR

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22563, 6 May 1935, Page 30

BRITISH INDUSTRIES FAIR

NINE PER CENT. EXTENSION SOME OF THE NOVELTIES. (From Our Own Correspondent. 1 LONDON, February 23. Her Majesty the Queen has set an example to the buyers of the world and has paid three visits to the British Industries Fair. These tours have covered many miles. On two days she visited Olympia and on a third the White City, where the fabrics are displayed. Nearly 140,000 foreign buyers are expected. The fair is the biggest of its kind ever held in the world, exceeding the record display of last year by 9 per cent. Some idea of its size and of the great range of exhibits, which cover .12 acres, is given by the following facts:— Twenty-one miles of canvas, six feet wide, are needed to cover the 1572 stands; 161 miles of electrical wiring 'and 15,000 lights have been installed 20,000 workmen have been employed in building and equipping the stands; the jewellery alone has been insured for £250,000; the furniture section covers double the area occupied by the entire fair 20 years ago. The section which occupies the largest space at Olympia is that devoted to toys and games, an industry which has been obliged by German and Japanese competition to use its originality and efficiency to the utmost. Although in many respects toy makers are leaving little to the ingenuity of the young people there are some firms who recognise that the toy most appreciated is that which requires to be constructed or reconstructed by the owner. Special attention may be called to a new line in constructing material. In this the lad is supplied with a machine for cutting iron, for- shaping it to an angle, and for riveting pieces together. Then the lengths of metal and the angle lengths are supplied at a reasonable price. With the machines he can cut out and shape his material, and join them together just according to his fancy.

New ideas and new designs are numerous. In the pottery section a Burslem firm has an array of jubilee mugs for children, bearing portraits of the King and Queen and the royal arms, and with a line of silver round their rims. The same firm are showing nursery china adorned' with characters from the Mickey Mouse films.

There is fireproof porcelain entirely heat-resisting. This section has the distinction of including what is probably the most beautiful exhibit at Olympia—six pieces of Spode dinner service, white and deep strawberry red, resting by themselves in a lighted window against a pale background.

A new material has been invented which takes the place of plaster in the manufacture of decorative or advertising figures. It can be moulded, and when set has a surface like stone. Novelties in the toilet section include a non-spill face powder box; a floating bath thermometer; bath milk instead of salts; shaving brush with massage device; differently-coloured sponges for each member of the family. PAINTING IN SAFETY GLASS.

In the fancy goods section there is the marble reproduced on plywood by a process similar to photogravure and coloured by a new synthetic lacquer. There is a briar pipe which has a mouthpiece with a "flat,bite" and palate rest which removes strain from the teeth. A very delightful effect is obtained by a process of hand painting inside safety glass. The plies of glass are fixed together merely by creating a vacuum, and once so fixed can never be taken- apart. The painted figure inside, therefore, is permanently protected. Among the plastic materials there is the new synthetic resin, Leukon. Articles made from this can be transparent, opaque, white, ivory, or black. There is also a new material of synthetic resin type which resists acid and corrosive liquors. An interesting and useful application of cellulose material is the bottle cap. This is placed over a cork or stopper when wet, and when the cap dries it grips the top of the bottle so firmly as to make the bottle definitely air-tight. , . A In the printing, stationery, and omco equipment section there are many novelties. A new type of pencil has been evolved which contains enough lead to last three years on the basis of average use. There is the fountain brush-pen which enables the user to write or draw i a etroke of several colours at the same : time, thus not having to wait for one colour to dry before applying the next. There is a rotary producer which does not use inks or stencils, and will reproduce any drawn, handwritten, or typed document instantly in several colours at one operation. SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS. Scientific instrument makers yearly improve in their work and reap the trade that previously went to foreign countries. There are lenses, for instance, for miero- ! scopes which are actually\smaller than ' the head of the shortest pin, and the curves are worked to an accuracy of 1,250,000 of a millimetre. There are balances used by chemists which are easily accurate to a three-millionth part of an ounce. So delicate are. they that the difference in weight of signatures on visiting cards can be determined. Then there are instruments for measuring irregular shaped areas of plans, giving accuracy to the minutest part of an acre. These instruments were previously made abroad. A camera that takes ordinary snapshots on moving pictures, and will also project them on to a screen has been invented, and is to cost £2 10s. There is also the camera for instantaneous colour photography described as the first completely practical instrument to be marketed. A young school boy is demonstrating a deaf aid instrument with which he has learned to hear and speak. Although born deaf, he was able, on taking the instrument to the Zoo, to hear and to imitate the noises of the animals. Electric cleaners, so well developed, already, are carried a stnge further, and are fitted with a headlight which throws a light in the path of the cleaner and so discloses th" dirt.