help with ladies brollie

hi guys

can anyone help with a gestimate with age of this brollie, i think the company is quite a good one, but ran from victorian times to now

finding it hard to date properly

its a plastic faux mop handle, lucite ?

any thoughts appreciated

 

According to this, Paragon was founded in 1913 so that's your earliest date.

https://bespokeunit.com/articles/style/guide-buy-care-vintage-umbrella/

Debora

 

Is it silk or nylon? Silk would be earlier, nylon would be later.

Debora

 

more high brow than i thought !, thanks deb, great stuff

 

nylon i would think

 

Well, according to the link above, the company began using nylon for umbrella manufacture during World War II because silk was required for the war effort (parachutes specifically.) If I had to guess, I would think 1950s. That's based on the navy color and handle material/shape which reminds me of an umbrella my grandmother owned from that period. Paragon excellent quality umbrellas apparently. (There's even one in the V&A's collection.)

Debora

 

that seems to tie in right with having a lucite handle, dont think it could be anything other than lucite in terms of plastic

 

I agree, it looks 1950s. Really nice, charlie.

Yes, looks like lucite to me, love the shape and the contrast between the white faux mop and that navy blue. The wood is nicely turned (I think) too, good detail.

 

A very handsome umbrella.

Debora

 

cool thanks Aj, a good time for selling as well from the looks of it out there

i forgot to ask, are we presuming its a ladies ?

 

Same here.

We are.

 

Ladies. A men's umbrella would be black, larger in scale and have a larger (less decorative) handle.

Debora

 

Oh heavens. I used to work near Fox's - and walked past it last week. It's now a bloody wine bar. All that remains is the glorious painted glass facade.

I think it's earlier than the 50s given the label. Late 1930s.

Fox sold very high quality, high end umbrellas. Lovely old fashioned shop, I'd love to know what happened to the fittings.

 

Oh, and whilst it may be small, don't be deceived. In the 30s and later, even, chaps had rather foppish brollies at times. Fashionable men about town with co-respondent shoes and all that. It's a little plain for a woman's one.

 

Thanks for the info obb

 

Most welcome.

 

This eBay listing is said to be for a 1950s umbrella. The label says "Fox Frames Ltd." So the question would be... when did company name change from S. Fox & Co. Ltd.?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/391778046137

Debora

 

John Steed umbrella user here - would not be caught dead with a contraption like that, rain or not! Maybe Quentin Crisp or a female impersonator would use it?

 

This seems definitive from the company web site.

https://www.foxumbrellas.com/content/9-fox-umbrellas-ltd

"The Dixon family was quick to realise the advantages of nylon instead of silk and became the first to introduce the material into umbrella covers and they were first shown to the general public in the "Britain Can Make It" exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, 1946."

So, if canopy is nylon (and only you can determine,) it must date to 1946 or later.

Debora

 

Actually, Quentin Crisp was a John Steed umbrella-user too.

Debora