British dealer sleeve · London S.W.11

H. Heath, 39 Winstanley Road, S.W.11

A London dealer’s sleeve dated from the record brands it advertises.

Dating at a glance

Printed: c. late 1928 – spring 1932
In use: Possibly reused to the mid-1930s (c. 1935), perhaps later
Confidence: Print window: medium-high. Period of use: low-medium
Basis: Overlapping trading dates of the record brands named on the sleeve

The sleeve

Buff paper printed in dark blue. Two classical columns, each held up by a pair of cherubs, frame the shop’s name, with a lyre, violins, horns and music between them at the foot. The wording reads:

H. HEATH
39 Winstanley Rd.,
S.W.11.
OUR MOTTO:- DESIRE TO SERVE PLUS ABILITY,

Left column: Depôt for Selecta Regd. Gramophones, then Depot for COLUMBIA REGAL WINNER ZONO RADIO BROADCAST PICCADILLY RECORDS and, in small capitals, PIANOFORTE TAUGHT. Right column: Depôt for Selecta Regd. Gramophones, DULCETTO, Repairs done on the Premises and Open Sundays.

The dating below was first worked out from a transcription. Simon’s photograph of 12 November 2026 confirms the brand list. It shows no telephone number, no printer’s imprint and no record-company logos, and “Radio” is printed simply as RADIO, not “Edison Bell Radio”. Simon reports that the back is blank or the same as the front, so only the printed face was photographed.

Buff dealer’s sleeve printed in blue for H. Heath, 39 Winstanley Rd., S.W.11, with columns held up by cherubs listing record brands and Selecta gramophones. — Simon’s sleeve, printed face. Select the image for a larger view.

The evidence

A dealer’s list of brands is a useful clock, because labels came and went. The overlap of the brands below gives the window.

Brands named on the sleeve and when they were active
Brand on the sleeve	Active	Basis
Piccadilly	Oct 1928 – Apr 1932	Documented
Radio (printed just “RADIO”; taken to be Edison Bell Radio, 8-inch)	1928 – 1932	Documented
Broadcast (Vocalion)	Jul 1927 – early 1933 (briefly revived later by Crystalate)	Documented
Winner (Edison Bell)	1912 – 1935	Documented
Regal and Zonophone, listed separately (“REGAL”, “ZONO”)	Before their merger into Regal Zonophone in January 1933	Not yet researchedgeneral knowledge, not separately sourced
Columbia	Throughout the period	—
Selecta gramophones	Mid-1920s – early 1930s (company file dated 1933)	Documented
Dulcetto (British Polyphon gramophones and needles)	Brand from c. 1905; British Polyphon range in the 1920s	Documented

InferredPrint window, late 1928 to spring 1932. Piccadilly began in October 1928 and ended in April 1932, and Radio ran from 1928. Piccadilly alone gives this window. Regal and Zonophone being listed separately, and Broadcast’s end in early 1933, agree with it. Confidence would be lower if “Radio” does not mean Edison Bell Radio; the photograph shows only the word RADIO, so this is still an assumption.
ObservedNothing else on the sleeve dates it. The photograph shows no telephone number or printer’s imprint. “Open Sundays”, “Pianoforte taught” and “Repairs done on the Premises” describe the shop but are not dating clues.
InferredPossible reuse to about 1935. Dealers used up their printed bags, and Winner, one of the listed brands, lasted until 1935. Nothing ties this sleeve to any particular year of use.
InferredThe postcode. Numbered London districts such as S.W.11 date from 1917. That fits, but does not narrow the date.

Sources

Piccadilly label, M. G. Thomas: http://www.mgthomas.co.uk/Records/LabelPages/Piccadilly.htm
Edison Bell Radio, M. G. Thomas label index (R): http://www.mgthomas.co.uk/Records/labelindex-R.htm
Edison Bell Radio, Museum of Obsolete Media: https://obsoletemedia.org/edison-bell-radio/
Broadcast label, M. G. Thomas: http://www.mgthomas.co.uk/Records/LabelPages/Broadcast.htm
Winner label, 78rpm.club: https://78rpm.club/record-labels/the-winner/
Selecta, University of Surrey, Early British Disc Record Labels 1898–1926 (S): https://www.surrey.ac.uk/early-british-disc-record-labels-1898-1926/a-z/s
Selecta Gramophones Ltd company file, The National Archives: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C6799932
Selecta, The Gramophone Collector: https://www.thegramophonecollector.com/copy-of-news-11
Dulcetto and British Polyphon, talkingmachine.info forum: https://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewtopic.php?t=50845

What we could not find

A directory entry for H. Heath at 39 Winstanley Road. A Post Office directory scan we found shows only other traders on the street.
Any other example of this sleeve online.
Which “Radio” label is meant. The sleeve prints only RADIO.

Researched 8 November 2026. Checked against Simon’s photograph on 12 November 2026.