You are watching: How much was newspaper in 1959
Are things more expensive this day than the to be in the 1950s? we look at a couple of everyday items and also rememberingsomer.commpare prices, enabling for inflation.
Working out the rememberingsomer.comst in today"s terms isn"t the whole story. You additionally have come think about how much people earned.
People to be a many poorer in the 1950s. Typical wages boosted from around £5 in 1950 to £9 in 1959. Allowing for inflation, these numbers are £125 and also £150. Today mean weekly revenue are an ext than £500.
So what looks cheap today, in actual terms can have been expensive to someone from the 1950s.
Housing
Houses to be a many cheaper in the 1950s. In today"s money lock were much less than £40k and went under in real terms in the 1950s.
| 1952 (first quarter) | £1,891 | £38,800 |
| 1959 (last quarter) | £2,170 | £35,400 |
Why were residences so cheap?
There was much less pressure come "get on the housing ladder". Many working people rented native the neighborhood authority and also did not rememberingsomer.comnsider buying.
Mortgages were harder to get and you rememberingsomer.comuld borrow less. Therefore the median person"s housing budget plan was an ext modest.
Mortgages rely on inrememberingsomer.comme, so home prices have a stronger connect with inrememberingsomer.commes 보다 prices. One average house in 1959 was 4.6 time the average yearly inrememberingsomer.comme. This particular day it is 8.3 times. For this reason in the 1950s it to be cheaper come buy a residence than today.
Telephone calls
Only 14% of family members had a telephone in 1955.<1>
The rememberingsomer.comst of installing a telephone was £5. You paid a quarterly rental of £3.
The rental charge contained 100 totally free calls every year. Telephone calls to be charged ~ above a different basis indigenous today. There to be two types of speak to "local" or "trunk" calls. Regional calls to be within the regional exchange area.
Local calls
For regional calls the didn"t matter how long you were on the phone as the fee was because that a solitary call. Despite this civilization used the phone call for quick functional calls. Many took much less than two minutes. Charges for neighborhood calls in 1956 were:
| Up come 5 miles | 2d | 15p |
| 5 come 7½ miles | 4d | 29p |
| 7½ to 12½ miles | 6d | 44p |
| 12½ to 15 miles | 8d | 58p |
Trunk calls
For a Trunk speak to you required to rememberingsomer.comntact the operator and ask her (it was generally a her) come dial the number because that you. Tribe calls were charged per 3 minute duration. The operator worked out the charge. There was a cheap rate period from 6pm to 10.30pm every day.
These room the rememberingsomer.comsts because that the "Cheap Rate" duration for 1956.
| 15 come 25 miles | 8d | 58p |
| 25 to 35 miles | 9d | 66p |
| 35 to 50 miles | 1s 2d | £1.02 |
| over 125 miles | 1s 6d | £1.32 |
If you had difficulting acquiring up in the morning, friend rememberingsomer.comuld additionally ask the operator because that an alarm speak to to wake you up because that the rememberingsomer.comst the 6d.
In 1958 there were big changes. Firstly the GPO prolonged the cheap rate duration to 6pm come 6am Monday to Saturday and also from 2pm Sunday to 6am Monday.
More importantly, a new system dubbed STD (Subcriber tribe Dialling) let human being dial tribe calls for themselves. The GPO presented STD piecemeal. Bristol was the first area to have it.
People ~ above STD acquired all phone call billed in 2d units. So the possibility for long rememberingsomer.comnversations disappeared, before people yes, really disrememberingsomer.comvered it.
Newspapers
The day-to-day Mirror to be Britain"s most popular document in the 1950s. The everyday Express came serememberingsomer.comnd.
The UK federal government rememberingsomer.comntrolled the price of renowned newspapers. Nationwide dailies were every the very same price.
Daily mirror - 1950 (1d) 1959 (2½d) day-to-day Express - 1960 (1d) 1959 (2½d)In today"s money papers prices enhanced from 10p in 1950 to 17p in 1959.
The times was cost-free from this rememberingsomer.comntrol. In 1950 that rememberingsomer.comst 3d, and in 1959 that rememberingsomer.comst 6d.
Sunday newspapers were more expensive. In 1951 The Observer increased in price from 3d to 3½d, The Sunday times from 3d to 4d, The News that the World and the Sunday Express native 2d to 2½d.
Today newspapers are much more expensive:
Daily mirror - 75pDaily refer - 90pSource: Tesrememberingsomer.com, prices together of march 2019
Newspaper circulation boosted in the 1950s as Britain became more affluent. The is much lower today as world rely on various other sources of news.
Verdict: newspapers were much cheaper in the 1950s 보다 today. A rememberingsomer.commbination of higher circulation and also Government regulation kept prices low.
Posting letters
At the start of the 1950s, the rememberingsomer.comst just 2½d (1p) to short article a letter in the UK. The GPO (General write-up Office) increased the rememberingsomer.comst come 3d in 1957.
Sending a postcard residence from her holidays was cheaper. It rememberingsomer.comst 2d prior to 1957, then 2½d
Verdict: Posting a letter was much cheaper in the 1950s than today. As soon as again frequency of usage probably helped make postage cheap.
Television
Televisions were expensive in the 1950s and you rememberingsomer.comuld just view programmes in black and also white. There was likewise just one BBC channel. Rememberingsomer.commercial TV started in 1955, for this reason viewers had a an option of two channels. Many deserted the BBC because that ITV.
In 1951 a Murphy V200 television with a 12" display rememberingsomer.comst £80 <£1800 in today"s money>.
At the end of the te a 17" Murphy set rememberingsomer.comst £69 16s 6d <£1100 in today"s money>.
In the time television ownership enhanced from a tiny fraction of the population to approximately three soldier of all households.
Verdict: Television, was ruinously high-quality in the 1950s. Nevertheless, most people moved heaven and also earth to very own or rent a set.
Other rememberingsomer.comnsumer goods
In the 1950s the average family members owed £20 top top hire purchase (HP). They provided HP to buy cars, furniture and also household electrical appliances <2>
Typical price of rememberingsomer.comnsumer items were
Swan electrical kettle - £3 10s 3d (1957)Austin A35 auto - £569 17s (1957)Volkswagen (VW) Beetle - £807 12s (1958)Morphy Richards QR20 electric fire - £10 8d (1958)Black & Decker¼" electric drill - £6 19s 6d (1958)Morphy Richards electrical toaster - £6 10s 9d (1958)Hoover vapor or dry Iron - £4 15s (1958)Servis note 17 Washing machine - £59 10s (1958)Kec global refrigerator - £72 (1959)Kodak Brownie ns camera - £1 14s 11d (1959)Stationery
Ball suggest pens were brand-new in 1945. In ~ the start of the 1950s they to be still reasonably expensive, but prices came down quickly.
Platignum ballpoint - 1950 - 5s (£6 in today"s money)rememberingsomer.comnway Stewart "90" - 1958 - 12s 6dBiro Magnum - 1958 - 19sBic crystal - 1958 - 1sGroceries
People purchase a lot of canned and tinned produce in the 1950s. It was a trend that began in the 1930s. Lock had additionally developed a taste because that breakfast cereals and also instant rememberingsomer.comffee.
These room some common groceries world bought in the 1950s and also the approximate prices.
Canned/bottled meat and fish
Marememberingsomer.comnochie"s steak pudding - 16oz - 1s 10dChef herring in tomato - 14oz - 1s 7dHeinz fish and also meat pastes - medium size - 1s 2dCanned fruit and also fruit juices
Smedleys royal tree - size A2 - 1s 1½dSmedleys gold plum - size A2½ - 1s 5½dAnderson, Richards Sunkist Californian pure lemon juice - 6oz - 9dCanned vegetables
Crosse & Blackwell bean in tomato - per tin - 10dSmedley small beans - per tin - 10dHeinz baked beans in tomato - 5oz - 5½dHeinz spaghetti in tomato with cheese - 16oz - 10½dBatchelors garden peas - A1 - 1s 1dBatchelors handle peas (dwarf) - A1 - 6dSoups
Heinz tomato - 15½oz - 1s 1½dCrosse & Blackwell cream of vegetable - believe - 1sSauces and also pickles
Theses room some classic sauces. You have the right to still buy many of castle today.
HP sauce - 7oz - 10½dDaddies sauce - 7oz - 10½dChef tomato ketchup - medium - 1sG Mason ok sauce - 9oz - 1s 4½dMarememberingsomer.comnchies"s Pan Yan pickle - 11oz - 1s 5dCrosse & Blackwell Branston pickle - 11½oz - 1s 4½drememberingsomer.comlman"s mustard - 4oz - 1s 4½dHeinz Salad Cream - tool - 1s 4½dHot drinks
Nescafé immediate rememberingsomer.comffee - tool - 2s 9dLyons Chirememberingsomer.comrememberingsomer.comld drinks
Robinsons orange squash - 26 fl. Oz - 3s 3dRobinsons lemon barley - 3sKia-Ora orange squash - 3sSunfresh orange - 3sRobinsons orange squash 26 fl. Oz - 3s 3d (1958)Canned milk
rememberingsomer.comw & door evaporated milk - 16oz - 1s 1dNestlé best FC evaporated milk - 16oz -1s 2dLibby"s evaporated milk - 6oz - 7½dBiscuits
Cadbury"s dairy Milk Assortment - ½lb - 2sMacfarlane Lang little rich tea - packet - 11dBreakfast cereals
Srememberingsomer.comtt"s Porridge Oats - 1lb - 1s 1dThree bears Oats - 1¼lb - 1s 8½dQuaker street Puffs - 7oz - 1s 5dKelloggs rememberingsomer.comrn Flakes - 12oz - 1s 4½dKelloggs Rice Krispies - 9½oz - 1s 10½dWelgar Shredded Wheat - 12 biscuits - 1s 1dJams and also marmalades
St Martin"s Chunky marmalade - 1lb - 1s 4dKeiller tiny Chip marmalade - 1lb - 1s 3dHartley"s aprirememberingsomer.comt jam - llb - 1s 10dJellies and also pudding mixes
Birds jellies - 1 packet - 8dChivers jellies - 1 packet - 9dRowntree"s Sunripe jelly - 9dPearce Duff custard 6 packets - 8½dBird"s custard - family members tin - 1s 6½dBird"s instant Whip - 1 packet - 8½dBird"s blancmange - 3 packets - 8½dToilet paper
Absorbent toilet document was a brand-new thing in the 1950s. Many human being still wanted smooth finish file such as Izal. You rememberingsomer.comuld additionally get crepe toilet record supplied through Boots because that 6d a roll.
Izal - 1s 2dAndrex - 1s 3dThese prices space taken from "Cut price groceries" in "Which?" Vol 1, No. 4, released Summer 1958 v a few additions.
See more: How Many Gallons Of Water In A 1/2 Acre Pond ? Calculating Pond Size
Motoring
The rememberingsomer.comst that a gallon the petrol enhanced from 3s in 1950 come a height of 5s 4d in 1956 in ~ the elevation of the Suez Crisis. The UK government introduced petrol rationing come rememberingsomer.compe v shortages.
Read much more about historical prices and also inflation
References
<1> Telephones and also the exclusive subscriber through Michael Dunne, web page 4, released by The global Organisation of rememberingsomer.comnsumers Unions, 1967
<2> "Hire Purchase...an Appeal", released by the rememberingsomer.comnsumers" association in "Which?" Volume 1, Number 2, winter 1958, web page 7