AA Auctions Ltd

Pot Lid:   'ANDERSON, GLASGOW'

Description:  An extremely rare and sought after areca nut pot lid from this large city in Scotland featuring a fabulous detailed pictorial of Anderson's Royal Polytechnic warehouse (with even the horse drawn carriages and people walking on the pavement visible in the foreground). Superb quality print. Remnants of original gold band. One of Scotland's best pictorial lids and this is the actual one that features on page 547 of the new pot lid book (see below)

** One of several superb lids from various significant pot lid collections, all to be spread over successive auctions **

Invaluable help and support has been provided to these pot lid listings by the authors of the fabulous book: 'Historical Guide to Advertising Pot Lids' by Houghton, Layden & Taylor - Thoroughly recommended at just £70 (softback).  

Era:  c1880-90's

Diameter:    87mm

Condition (please see detailed photo's):    Restored   Although very difficult to spot at first, has been in two halves and professionally reglued to a very high standard indeed (with just limited touching up). You can only just make out the joins on the side walls but very hard to see on the face (the join goes from 4 o'clock and 11 o'clock) and the overpainting on the underside is to such a high standard you'd have thought it was the original surface. There is the odd sign on the outer edge that it's been restored but mainly only visible with a magnifying glass. Overall an excellent job

Grade:  Ungraded   Estimate:  £200-300+   Reserve: N/R

Pot Lid:   'NICELY SCENTED, RUSSIAN BEARS GREASE'

Description:  A striking early bears grease lid featuring a dark standing bear carrying a sash. Attractive fancy border. Exceptional print for one of these. Always very popular due to the sheer size of the rat-like bear. Not so often seen in such great condition

 Era:  c1850-70's

Diameter:  85mm 

Condition (please see detailed photo's):  Good   Just has a very small (1-2mm) fleabite flake on the outside rim at 10 o'clock (barely visible) and a glaze rub near it (hardly worth mentioning), a very minor small (14mm long) area of tiny nibbles on the back rim edge and some very subtle rust crazing also on the back rim (barely visible and hardly worth mentioning) and is otherwise excellent and nothing to really detract  

Grade:  7.8       Estimate:  £150-200        Reserve:   N/R

Pot Lid:   'F. T. LEAK, LOW HARROGATE'

Description:  A desirable and classic rectangular pot lid featuring a fabulous picture of a Victorian bristle tooth brush and from a famous spa town in North Yorkshire. The scarce 'F. T. Leak' variant. Superb quality print. Very appealing overall design. Not so often seen without damage

Era:  c1890-1900's

Dimensions:    94mm long and 62mm wide

Condition (please see detailed photo's):  Excellent   Superb condition with just the odd spot of very minor light wear on some of the side corner edges (barely visible and hardly worth mentioning) and is otherwise mint with just some very subtle crazing on the face 

Grade:  9.2        Estimate:   £200-300     Reserve:     N/R

Pot Lid:   'F. COLE, STRATFORD-ON-AVON'

Description:  Another extremely rare and sought after building pictorial pot lid, this time an areca cherry tooth paste featuring the world famous Shakespeare's House in Stratford-Upon-Avon, Warwickshire. Decent quality print and appealing layout. Unusually contains a quote from Shakespeare's Coriolanus (Act II Scene 3) on the right: 'Bid them wash their faces and keep their teeth clean". Very rarely seen for sale (if at all) and only a handful recorded. Don't miss this one!

Era:  c1880-90's

Diameter:    75mm

Condition (please see detailed photo's):    Excellent   Just has a totally insignificant very small (3mm) shallow flake on the very back of the rim and is otherwise mint 

Grade:  9.4      Estimate:  £1k-1.5k+        Reserve:  N/R

Pot Lid:    'D. JUDSON & SON, LONDON'

Description:   A scarce and attractive London lid with a white banner carrying text above a river scene with a punt carrying five people wearing dark capes and to the left a creeping plant with cherries. Very appealing overall design. Excellent quality print. Double line border. Scarce in this larger size

Era:   c1880-90's

Diameter:   90mm

Condition (please see detailed photo's):  Repaired   Has had what looks like about one fifth of the outside rim repaired to a very high standard indeed (and which only creeps up to the outer black border between about 6 o'clock and 8 o'clock) and about the same proportion on the back/side rim too and a tiny brown mark on one of the cherries but little to detract on display

Grade:  Ungraded    Estimate:   £30-50     Reserve:    N/R

Pot Lid:    'PATEY & CO, LONDON'

Description:  An appealing bears grease lid from this famous perfumer in London featuring a single chained bear looking rather sorry for itself. Exceptional quality print. Fancy border. 

Era:  c1870-1880's

Diameter:  79mm 

Condition (please see detailed photo's):  Fair   Just has a medium (8mm x 20mm) chip on the outside of the face at 7 o'clock that has been repaired to an extremely high standard (so much so that it's nigh on impossible to spot without a strong magnifying glass) and is otherwise mint 

Grade:  4.0       Estimate:   £60-80       Reserve:   N/R

11.30am Fri Mar 4th - Added verification of matching base

Pot Lid/Base printed:   'GELLE FRERES Parfrs., 35 Rue des Vieux Augustins, PARIS' / 'GRAISSE D'OUES DU NORD'

Description:  A fabulous pictorial pot lid (text translated from French as 'Bears Grease from the North') featuring a lovely dark and detailed bear lying down with another scratching at a tree behind, both within their natural surroundings (with pine trees and mountains in the background). The matching base too featuring various scenes (also in exquisite detail and same style) of several polar bears on an iceberg trying to defend themselves against seven men brandishing various weapons (including swords and early pistols) with their large sailing ship at anchor between icebergs in the background. Original gold band on lid. Apparently a previously unrecorded example. Superb overglaze print (with just a little missing on the base). It's been verified by two top pot lid collectors that this is more than likely the matching base (everything is in an almost identical and quite unique style). Ideal for any bears grease collection (.. and what price if it was British!?).  

Era:  c1870-80's

Dimensions:  Lid: 67mm diameter / Base & lid: 62mm tall  

Condition (please see detailed photo's):  LID:  Good/ Very good   Just the odd minor glaze-flake on the rear edge (the biggest being shallow and around 4mm) and is otherwise excellent. /  BASE: (fits very well indeed as you'd expect with just about 1mm difference in size)  Very good  Just a very small (6mm) hairline bruise on the very top of the inside rim (so totally hidden when lid on top) and a totally insignificant very small (3mm) shallow flake on the very bottom and is otherwise excellent

Grade:  8.4 (lid) / 8.9 (base)  Estimate:  £150-200     Reserve:  N/R

Pot Lid:   'DR ZIEMER'S'

Description:  A large (3.5") variant of this popular lid featuring Princess Alexandra in the centre with her pictured facing the left (see lots #106 & #109 for other versions). Excellent quality print. Over half of original gold band still intact. Scarce

Era:  c1880-1890's

Diameter:    90mm

Condition (please see detailed photo's):  Repaired   Has some restoration on the back and sides in places to a high standard with just some overspray up to the gold band on the face at about 7 to 8 o'clock and 1 to 3 o'clock. It's difficult to ascertain the original damage due to the quality of restoration  

Grade:   Ungraded   Estimate:   £40-60    Reserve:    N/R

Pot Lid:   'H.C. BAILDON & SON, EDINBURGH'

Description:  A large and fabulous 'Fragrant Cherry Tooth Paste' pot lid from this Scottish capital featuring a great pictorial of Scott's Monument in the centre. Very detailed print. Original gold band still intact. Guaranteed original (from a top pot lid collection). Rarely seen in such great condition.

The Scott Monument is a Victorian Gothic monument to Scottish author Sir Walter Scott and is the second largest monument to a writer in the world. It stands in Princes Street Gardens (not far from Baildon's premises in Princes Street)

Era:   c1880-1900's

Diameter:   81mm 

Condition (please see detailed photos):  Mint   Superb undamaged mint condition with just a little very subtle fine rust glaze crazing in places (barely visible and hardly worth mentioning).

Grade:  9.8        Estimate:  £200-300       Reserve:   N/R

Pot Lid:   'HUMPHRY, DARTMOUTH & BRIXHAM'

Description:  A very attractive Tooth Paste pot lid from these two South Devon towns featuring Dartmouth Castle and the 'Mouth of the English Rhine'. This being the scarce two town variant with a decorative border (see lot #17 for other example in this sale). Particularly good print for one of these

Era:  c1880-1890's

Diameter:  70mm 

Condition (please see detailed photo's):    Fair/good   Just has a small (4mm x 5mm) shallow flake on the top rim edge at around 7 o'clock on the face (and a tiny fleabite flake about 15mm away, also on the rim edge) on the very back rim edge, a little wear on the rim edge in one area, two small (3mm) flakes on the very back rim edge (and a small fleabite also on the back rim edge) and is otherwise very good

Grade:   6.8         Estimate:   £60-80        Reserve:   N/R

Pot Lid:   'ST PAUL'S'

Description:  An attractive tooth paste pot lid featuring a fabulous picture of the iconic St Paul's Cathedral in London. This being the Areca Nut T/P variant (the 'Carbolic' is lot #15). Double line border. Exceptional quality print

Era:  c1880-1890's

Diameter:   69mm 

Condition (please see detailed photo's):  Good   Has a 3cm hairline bruise on the back rim (which is completely hidden on display) and a small hairline that runs up the side wall and only encroaches onto the face up to the border (by just 3mm) and then fades. Then just a very small hard to spot faint hairline on the back rim/side wall (just 5mm) and a hairline on the underside (doesn't go through to the front at all) and on display is excellent as can be seen in the photos

Grade:  7.9         Estimate:   £40-60        Reserve:  N/R

Pot Lid:     'JAMES ATKINSON, LONDON'

Description:  An attractive genuine 5/- Atkinson's Bears Grease pot lid. Featuring the familiar bear in chains on grass. Decent print quality. Large herringbone border. Most of the original gold band intact. From a top pot lid collector

Although Atkinson bears grease lids have been reproduced in the past, rarely would they fool anyone as the repros have such a modern 'light' feel to them.

Era:  c1870-80's

Diameter:   80mm 

Condition (please see detailed photo's):   Very good  Just has a very faint small minor hairline that runs just 7mm down the side wall from the back rim, some long thin brownish stain (nearly all on the underside so not visible on display), a small patch of light glaze crazing on the side and the odd spot/patch of light stain on the sides, but as can be seen in the photos nothing particularly untoward and is otherwise excellent

Grade:  8.5        Estimate:   £60-80+       Reserve:     N/R

Pot Lid:      'M.F. THOMPSON, EDINBURGH & GLASGOW'

Description:   A superb oblong/square lid from this chemist in Scotland which features a fabulous picture of St Walter Scott's monument in Princes Street, Edinburgh (interestingly still holds the record the second largest monument to a writer in the world). Exquisite highly detailed print (with the tiny wording below the monument quite easy to read). Fancy geometric border. Rarely seen for sale

Mark F. Thompson. 17 Gordon Street, Glasgow & 97 Princes Street, Edinburgh (1879+)

Era:   c1879-1880's

Dimensions:    72mm long and 64 mm wide 

Condition (please see detailed photo's):   Very good/ Excellent   Great undamaged condition with no chips or cracks, just a little wear in the odd spot on the upper rim edge (barely visible without a stron magnifying glass and even then it's very minor), a small patch of rust crazing on the underside, some in-manufacture glaze-runs (and some slight greyness where the glaze is slightly thinner) and a little light wear on the side walls, but all very minor and as can be seen in the photos nothing to really detract when on display   

Grade:   9.0      Estimate:   £600-800+      Reserve:   N/R

Pot Lid:     'J. SHOOLBRED & CO, LONDON'

Description:  An appealing cold cream of roses lid featuring a floral design above with a fabulous (albeit small) picture of Shoolbred's shop front in Tottenham Court Road, London. Appealing overall design. Superb quality print. 

Era:  c1880-90's

Diameter:   80mm 

Condition (please see detailed photo's):    Repaired   Has a smallish (4mm x 15mm) chip on the face edge (at 10 o'clock) that has been filled well (but paint has since discoloured) and a large section of the back rim has been repainted (just over half) but it's difficult to tell the extent of damage beneath it and is otherwise very good 

Grade:  Ungraded  Estimate:   £100-150+   Reserve:  N/R

Pot Lid:   'ST PAUL'S'

Description:  Another attractive tooth paste pot lid featuring a fabulous picture of the iconic St Paul's Cathedral in London. This being the Carbolic T/P variant (the 'Areca Nut' is lot #11). Double line border. Excellent quality print

Era:  c1880-1890's

Diameter:   69mm 

Condition (please see detailed photo's):  Excellent/Mint   Superb undamaged condition (with just the odd very small indentation under the glaze which is totally in-manufacture) 

Grade:  9.7         Estimate:   £80-100        Reserve:  N/R