Man wearing a monocle, c 1950

Man wearing a monocle, c 1950. A photograph of a man wearing a monocle, taken by Photographic Advertising Limited. A secretive-looking man in a bowler hat puts some papers into his top coat pocket. Some photographs by Photographic Advertising suggest emotions, mood or character. Photographic Advertising Limited, founded in 1926, created multi-purpose stock images with the potential for selling a range of products. Whilst enjoying its greatest success during the 1930s, it continued in business until 1977. Their trademark, the staged studio photograph resembling a film still, was its selling point and, later, its downfall. Sophisticated, adaptable and generic, this kind of image gradually fell out of favour as clients increasingly demanded targeted advertising campaigns with specific photographs. ©SSPL/NMeM/Photographic Advertising