Woman drinking a glass of champagne, 1949 A photograph of a woman drinking a glass...

Woman drinking a glass of champagne, 1949 A photograph of a woman drinking a glass of champagne, taken by Photographic Advertising Limited in 1949. The most common group of images in the archive feature women, usually posed in a conventional way looking straight at the camera. Photographic Advertising Limited was founded in 1926 by a group experienced in photojournalism and film. The company 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. Photographic Advertising Limited's 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