Gamages was a department store in Central London[1]. It began in 1878 in a rented watch repair shop and, after quickly becoming a success amongst its customers, was established as a London institution. In time it was to grow large enough to take up most of the block on which it was situated. The store finally closed in 1972, but prior to that had been unusual in as much as its premises were away from the main Oxford Street shopping area, being on the edge of the City of London at Holborn Circus.[2] Gamages also ran a very successful mail-order business.
Many of those who were children at the time remember Gamages because of its unparallelled stock of toys of the day, and the Gamages catalogue which was used to publicise them, and was a well-loved gift during the autumn, in time for Christmas present requests to be made. One of the store's main attractions was a large model railway which alternated between a day and night scene by the use of lighting.