Dealer sleeve · Wimbledon, Kingston and New Malden
Maxwell & Sons, Ltd., Wimbledon, Kingston and New Malden
A dealer sleeve for a south-west London firm selling gramophones, records, pianos and player-pianos.
Dating at a glance
- Printed
- 1923 or later
probably between the wars - In use
- Probably the 1920s or 1930s
- Confidence
- High for the lower limit. Low for anything closer
- Basis
- The record brands named, and the player-pianos and piano prices advertised
The sleeve
Grey-buff paper printed in black. The heading gives three branches: MAXWELL & SONS, LTD. 45 HILL RD., WIMBLEDON, 59B CLARENCE ST., KINGSTON, 42 MALDEN RD., NEW MALDEN.
Panels read COMPLETE STOCKS OF “His Master’s Voice” AND “Columbia” GRAMOPHONES AND RECORDS.
, PARLOPHONE RECORDS.
and EXTENDED TERMS OF PAYMENT
.
A panel headed MAXWELL PIANOS
gives Model 0. 40 Guineas
, 1. (Overstrung) 45
and 2. (Overstrung) 50
, and adds A WIDE RANGE OF PIANOS AND PLAYER-PIANOS BY THE BEST BRITISH MAKERS ALWAYS ON DISPLAY IN OUR SHOWROOMS.
Further panels read PIANOS FOR ALL HIRE PURPOSES.
and FREE DELIVERY.
A name is handwritten at the top right. It is hard to read and we have not transcribed it.
The evidence
- DocumentedNot before 1923. The sleeve offers Parlophone records, and the British Parlophone Company was set up in August 1923 (Wikipedia).
- InferredProbably between the wars. Player-pianos were sold mainly in the 1920s and became rare in the 1930s. Selling both HMV and Columbia gramophones and records also fits the interwar trade. We have not checked the piano prices against a dated price list.
- DocumentedThe firm’s history. A trade directory of unknown date lists Maxwell & Son at 5 Bank Buildings, Wimbledon Hill Road. We have not found when the firm became Maxwell & Sons, Ltd., or when it had the three branches named here.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Parlophone (British company founded 1923): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parlophone
What we could not find
- Dated trade-directory entries for the three addresses, which would narrow the date.
- When the Maxwell pianos were sold at these prices.
Researched 12 November 2026 from Simon’s photographs of that evening.