Scrimper's Fretworking Site - Hobbies Catalogues

Hobbies Catalogues

Every year Hobbies produced a Catalogue, the first being the J.H. Skinner version which was published in 1887, the name on the catalogue varied over the years, sometimes it was simply entitled Hobbies then Hobbies Handbook and in the last years of its existence Hobbies Annual.

The number of pages in the early edition was just 32 but over the years this increased until 1939 when it had almost 300 pages. During the war years the number of pages declined for obvious reasons, then after WW2 it gradually started to increase again in the 1950's, however it never again reached the number of pages in the 'bumper' 1939 edition!

As well as featuring all of the items that Hobbies offered for sale each edition carried at least one of Hobbies famous design sheets often for an elaborate design such as a model of the great Liner Queen Mary or a model building of a country inn.

Also included were various 'how to do it' articles such as Building model galleons, how to stain and polish wood, jigsaw puzzles, lessons on Fretwork and often a small easy to cut free design such as making a small decorative box, the mix of articles varied from year to year.

Below are some examples of the colourful and artistic covers on Catalogues/handbooks/annuals over the years. Some are quite rare and hard to find, annuals from the years 1939 - 1949 often turn up, annuals from 1950s & 1960's are quite plentiful on ebay.

Pre 1930's handbooks are rare possibly due to many going for paper salvage during the two world wars. also some would have been owned by men who went to war and never came back their relatives possibly having no interest in them might have thrown them away. I have been collecting the annuals since I was a very young lad.

Left: The first Catalogue published in 1897. Centre: The 1900 edition now entitled Hobbies Ltd. Right: The 1905 edition.

Hobbies continued publishing their Catalogue & Hobbies weekly throughout both World Wars. Shown (L-R) are - 1912,1916,1922 & 1927

The 1930's were the 'heydays' for the Hobbies Annual, during these days the number of pages had increased to almost 300 pages.

During WWII the annual now called handbook continued to be published, The centre image stayed the same throughout the war years. The 1939 handbook contained some 300 pages, but due to wartime it had reduced to 68 pages and only started to increase in the late 1950's.

As the 1960s arrived the page numbers did increase but never reached the number achieved during the 1930s During this time fretwork was of little interest. Plastic models became available, so wooden toys were not wanted and by 1968 the annual was a mere shadow of the old and much-loved original Hobbies Handbook of years gone by. Sadly the 1968 edition was the last as by 1969 the well-respected Hobbies company was gone. The company and handbook had never been the same since 1964 when the original Hobbies sold out to another concern.

Below I show a few of the pages contained in some issues of the annuals from 1905 until the very last one published in 1968.

The early annuals such as this 1905 version contained many very ornate and complex fretwork plans, it also had an unusual cover which looks a little oriental to me, Hobbies did create quite a few designs with an oriental theme.

The 1912 Catalogue. Notice the Companion lathe, this lathe first appeared in J.H. Skinners 1887 catalogue and remained for sale until 1966.

The 1927 edition had a very pro-British theme. and featured several pages with glossy photographs of the Hobbies factory and wood yards. You can see some of the photographs on the History pages.

I found this 1931 handbook in my late grandfather's garage. At the time (1968) it was the oldest annual I possessed and I remember being delighted to have discovered it. By this point the fretwork hobby was no longer in vogue and in later annuals the number of 'proper' fretwork patterns gradually diminished. By now Hobbies were doing a lot in the wireless field, the Hobbies 3 plan was included in the 1931 handbook.

As with all of the Hobbies handbooks published throughout WWII, the page count gradually decreased, and many of the designs supplied had a military focus, such as tanks, guns, ships and planes these were offered alongside the usual fretwork pipe racks and other knick-knacks.

When I purchased the 1968 annual, I had no idea that it was to be the last. Looking through the pages, it is more like a toy catalogue and has very little resemblance to the pre-1960s Annuals. In fairness, it features a lot of the things that would not be out of fashion today for example, Radio- controlled boats and planes and full size boats & canoes. Strangely it also has a page of motoring accessories!

One odd feature of the 1968 annual is that the Anchor heavy-duty fretsaw is offered but without any motor! I can only imagine that they found some hidden away and decided to sell them off. The Anchor was a very well made quality machine first for sale in the 1930's, it disappeared from the handbooks after WWII but resurfaced again in the 1967 Annual. You can find details of the Anchor machine in the Hobbies power saws page

Back in Business

Although the 1968 annual was the last from the old company, it was not the last published. This was due to one man Ivan Stroulger an ex Hobbies manager who in the early 1970s was to bring the Hobbies name and their handbooks back to life.

You can read the whole story of how Ivan restarted the present Hobbies company on the Hobbies History page.

Hobbies Handbooks today.

Hobbies company are now a thriving business and offer their Handbook once per year. It is a very glossy handbook with luxurious colour printing far removed from the old pre 1960's annuals.

Although Fretwork is not now promoted by Hobbies they do sell excellent fretsaw blades and tools for the fretworker.

The handbook now has the largest number of pages since the handbooks pre WWII

You can find a lot more information about the Hobbies company on my History page together with details of their shop and the Hobbies club which-if you are a hobbyist-is well worth joining. Full details are on the History page.

Hobbies do have an excellent website here.

Please note I have no connection with the Hobbies company whatsoever. other than being a customer since the 1960s. I have created the website because of my interest and admiration for the Hobbies name and company-and of course fretworking.

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