Smiling bride looking at her wedding cake, c 1948

Smiling bride looking at her wedding cake, c 1948. A photograph by Photographic Advertising Limited, sold for use by Stevens Bakeries Limited. Romantic images proved popular in the Photographic Advertising archive. These photographs of a wedding show a typical attention to detail in the use of costume, sets and props. 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