Seventy years of West End Christmas lights

December 6 1935: 19 years before organised Christmas lights reached Regent Street, Harry Gordon Selfridge's world-famous department store, then at the apex of its fame, boasted its own impressive display Photograph: David Savill/Topical Press Agency/Getty

November 1955: A snowstorm theme on Regent Street, where seasonal illuminations had begun the previous winter Photograph: Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis

November 30 1957: Gas-filled balloons offer a strangely fantastical touch to Regent Street's Christmas display Photograph: Bettmann/Corbis

November 1960: Oxford Street, seen here at the Bond Street end opposite Selfridges, offers a traditional snowflake theme a year after it followed Regent Street's lead and launched special Christmas lights Photograph: Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis

November 24 1961: Chinese-style lanterns, traffic signs and cars compete on a typically crowded Oxford Street Photograph: George Freston/Fox Photos/Getty

November 1964: A newly introduced Routemaster noses its way north up Regent Street, past London taxis and underneath reindeer ornaments and strings of lights Photograph: Hulton Archive/Getty

November 21 1967: Christmas decorations on Regent Street take the theme of castles in the clouds Photograph: Leonard Burt/Central Press/Getty

November 22 1970: The lights on Oxford Street, seen for the first time in colour. The contours of an 88 bus (Clapham Common to Camden Town) can be seen on the right Photograph: Bettmann/Corbis

1992: Twenty years later, and Oxford Street's Christmas lights have taken on a French theme. Les Misérables, advertised on the front end of the second bus on the right, had been running for seven years in the West End at the time this photograph was taken - it's still going strong Photograph: Times Newspapers/Rex Features

1997: Given the cost of putting on each year's display, commercial sponsorship has long been a reality on Regent Street Photograph: Louisa Macdonell/Rex Features

November 21 2000: A more conservative display on Oxford Street facing west, photographed from a similar vantage point to photograph 5 Photograph: Peter J Jordan/PA

2002: A swarm of buses on Regent Street Photograph: The Travel Library/Rex Features

2002: Angels make their presence felt in Oxford Street the same year Photograph: Rex Features

2003: Cycle lanes now feature beneath a more classical and restrained style of lights on Regent Street Photograph: Alex Segre/Rex Features

November 2004: The Incredibles put in an appearance on Regent Street Photograph: Paul Brown/Rex Features

November 2007: The 'Enchanted' Oxford Street display, with Richard Seifert's much-reviled Centrepoint looming overhead Photograph: Chris Jackson/Getty

November 20 2007: Regent Street, with Hamley's toy store glinting away to the right Photograph: Stuart Wilson/Getty