This enamel sign would have advertised a name that once shaped everyday photography in Britain,

SELO Film and its star product, Selochrome, and would have once hung outside A high-street chemist or camera shop,

The story begins in 1920 when several British photographic companies including Ilford, Imperial, and GemGem, joined forces. They formed a new company to strengthen Britain’s presence in the booming world of amateur photography and that company was Selo.

Through the 1920s and early ’30s, Selo rolled out a range of affordable, easy-to-use roll films. 

Their breakthrough came with Selochrome, a fast panchromatic film designed to capture lifelike tones in almost any lighting conditions. 

By 1933, Selo was the second most popular film in the country sitting just behind Kodak.

Selochrome became the everyday film for holidaymakers, seaside photographers and studio portraits. 

But In the late 1930s Ilford steadily increased its involvement and after the Second World War in 1946, the Selo company was officially been absorbed into Ilford Limited.

Although Selo and Selochrome have vanished from our shelves, a few signs like this still survive as vibrant relics of British photographic history.