spikey Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 Back in the 1950's, a lot of stations still boasted a working example of the Dymo machine's great grandfather. It was a cast-iron cabinet with the letters of the alphabet (and possibly also the numbers 0-9) arranged upon it like a clock face with a large brass pointer in the middle of it. You put your penny in the slot, rotated the pointer to the character of your choice, pushed down a handle on the side, and by repeating the process, you produced a strip of thin zinc with your name or whatever embossed upon it. That was supposed to be a luggage label. I'd wager those machines were Victorian, and when I were a lad they were mainly patronised by bored trainspotters. But I never knew what they were called. Can anyone enlighten me? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium iands Posted January 5, 2018 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 5, 2018 Back in the 1950's, a lot of stations still boasted a working example of the Dymo machine's great grandfather. It was a cast-iron cabinet with the letters of the alphabet (and possibly also the numbers 0-9) arranged upon it like a clock face with a large brass pointer in the middle of it. You put your penny in the slot, rotated the pointer to the character of your choice, pushed down a handle on the side, and by repeating the process, you produced a strip of thin zinc with your name or whatever embossed upon it. That was supposed to be a luggage label. I'd wager those machines were Victorian, and when I were a lad they were mainly patronised by bored trainspotters. But I never knew what they were called. Can anyone enlighten me? Sorry I can't help with the name, but I remeber spending a fair bit of my pocket money on the one at York station. Regards, Ian. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
APOLLO Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 A BAC (The British Automatic Company Ltd) "Print your own metal nameplate" machine More info here https://pennymachines.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?t=631 Brit15 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 Well, there’s a little tin one in this set. 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
spikey Posted January 5, 2018 Author Share Posted January 5, 2018 A BAC (The British Automatic Company Ltd) "Print your own metal nameplate" machine 10 letters for 10p??!!!! Good grief! Anyhow, thank you kind sir. Another mystery solved Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danemouth Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 10 letters for 10p??!!!! Good grief! Anyhow, thank you kind sir. Another mystery solved The machine shown is post 15th February 1971 as the price is shown as 10p - I can't remember the pre-decimalisation price! Dave Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim.snowdon Posted January 6, 2018 Share Posted January 6, 2018 The machine shown is post 15th February 1971 as the price is shown as 10p - I can't remember the pre-decimalisation price! Dave From memory, probably 1d. Jim Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
spikey Posted January 6, 2018 Author Share Posted January 6, 2018 Agreed ... Back in the 1950's ... You put your penny in the slot ... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimly Feendish Posted January 6, 2018 Share Posted January 6, 2018 (edited) From memory, probably 1d. Jim There is a fleeting, almost subliminal, shot of one of the machines in this film at about 7:06. It wes indeed 1d. This machine is in green. https://youtu.be/gs0Vzg7nE_A John. Edited January 6, 2018 by Grimly Feendish 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davey Posted January 7, 2018 Share Posted January 7, 2018 Naughty I know, but having spent your penny to get a stamped metal label, It was then possible to put a right angled bend at one end of the label and then use the label as currency to print off as many labels as you wanted, all for the cost of the original penny. The right angled bend prevented the label from being swallowed by the machine. Davey Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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