AA Auctions

7pm Weds 18th Jan - Only the second of two undamaged examples recorded

Pot Lid:   'THOMAS LUNN, WORCESTER'

Description:  A striking and exceptionally rare building pictorial cold cream lid featuring Worcester's historic cathedral in the town centre and overlooking the River Severn. Excellent quality print. Fancy border. Only a handful of these lids recorded. This one being the actual lid featured in the pot lid book. Apparently only 3 examples of this lid recorded and the third is cracked down the middle. Another one not to miss!

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

Invaluable help and extra information 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:    84mm

Condition (please see detailed photo's):    Very good/Excellent   Great overall condition with just a totally insignificant tiny (2mm) fleabite flake on the back rim edge and a patch if ingranined rust stain on the back rim edge, underside and part of the face (at 3 o'clock) which looks like it has been partly removed with rust remover in the past (and may well come off completely but would take many months of soaking)

Grade: 9.0      Estimate:  £800-£1k+     Reserve:  N/R

4.30pm - Fri 13th Jan - Updated photos added

Pot Lid:   'FRANCIS EARLE, HULL'

Description:  Another very rare building pictorial pot lid, this time a 'carnation or clove pink tooth paste' example featuring the Holy Trinity Church in Hull. Double line border. Excellent quality print (see lot #9 for other variant)

Era:  c1880-90's

Diameter:    84mm

Condition (please see detailed photo's):    Mint   Superb undamaged condition with just some light rust crazing on the side/face edge that looks like it could come out with rust remover (nb the rust crazing has all but been removed now with an overnight soak in rust remover, please see new photos) 

Grade:  9.7     Estimate:  £600-£800+   Reserve:  N/R

Pot Lid:   'LEWIS, MANCHESTER'

Description:  A fabulous pot lid with a well detailed building pictorial of Lewis's large shop premises in Market Street, Manchester. Excellent quality print (you can even see the people in period dress walking in front of the shop and the name flying on a flag on the roof-top). Once again very few of these lids recorded. Retains much of the original gold band. Another one not to miss!

Era:  c1880-90's

Diameter:  87mm 

Condition (please see detailed photo's):  Good   Just has a tiny (2mm) fleabite flake on the back rim edge (and the odd pinprick fleabite also on the back rim edge) and a hard to spot small (25mm long) hairline bruise (with a very subtle fleabite flake in the centre) on the outer rim edge at 1 o'clock (which is barely visible as seen in photos) and is otherwise excellent with just the odd tint mark in the glaze   

Grade:  8.0      Estimate:   £800-1k       Reserve:   N/R

Pot Lid:   'W. BOWATER, BIRMINGHAM'

Description:   A superb pictorial lid featuring a set of false teeth from this surgeon dentist in Birmingham. Great quality print. Single line border. According to the consignor this is only one of three recorded examples of this pot lid. 

Era:  c1880-90's

Diameter:  89mm 

Condition (please see detailed photo's):  Repaired   Has had restoration work to the back rim to a high quality (in fact it is very difficult to ascertain where the original damage was) but the face and back are totally unaffected   

Grade:  Ungraded  Estimate:  £400-600   Reserve:  N/R

Pot Lid:   'J. SWIFT, ROCHDALE'

Description:  A well detailed Queen Victoria pictorial lid from this market town in Greater Manchester. This is the earlier version before they moved to Huddersfield in 1879 and from 'J. Swift and not 'C.H. Swift'. Quite possibly also the only lid to mention hair 'falling off'. Superb print quality.     

Era:   c1870-79

Diameter:    80mm 

Condition (please see detailed photos):  Good   Just has a hard to spot small (3mm x 8mm) shallow chip on the back rim (mostly on the inside so all but hidden from side view) and is otherwise mint

Grade:  8.0        Estimate:   £60-80      Reserve:    N/R

Pot Lid:   'BLANCHFLOWER, THE FARM YARD'

Description:   A fabulous and classic lid featuring some of the most popular British farm animals. Often considered amongst the most impressive of pictorials. Excellent quality print. Very rarely seen in such great undamaged condition

Era:  c1880-1890's

Diameter:    95mm

Condition (please see detailed photo's):  Mint  Superb undamaged mint condition (nb the tiny marks on the back rim are just tiny in-manufacture creases in the clay 

Grade:  9.8      Estimate:   £300-400      Reserve:   N/R

Pot Lid:   'B. HAWKES, BIRMINGHAM'

Description:  Another exceptionally rare and particularly early regional bears grease lid, this time the 'B. Hawkes' variation from this large West Midland city and featuring a dark well detailed standing bear with chains (not dissimilar to the familiar Atkinson's bear). Fancy border. Interesting mention of 'Opposite the Hen & Chickens Hotel'. This being the actual lid pictured in the pot lid book. According to the consignor this is only one of two or three recorded examples of this lid. 

See p641 (#31)  Historical Guide to Advertising Pot Lids where it is reported that during the mid-1840's Hawkes later formed a partnership with George Wallington (see page 647) which lasted until 1851

Era:  mid-1840's-1850's

Diameter:  70mm 

Condition (please see detailed photo's):  Repaired   Has had restoration work to the back rim to a very high standard indeed (in fact it is very difficult to ascertain where the original damage was). The underside has yellowed slightly with age, but the face is mostly as original with just a small (2mm x 8mm) chip on the rim edge (at 10 o'clock) that has been filled sometime in the past and a tiny spot of overspray on the rim edge    

Grade:  Ungraded   Estimate:  £300-400  Reserve:  N/R

Pot Lid:      'J. BRIERLEY, BURTON-ON-TRENT'

Description:  A superb lid featuring a fabulous portrait of a young lady's head (with roses in her hair) and a roses border too. Excellent print quality. Superb design/layout. Quite possibly one of Britain's top lids and another not to be missed. You may never see another for sale!

From a top pot lid collection and the exact one that features in the pot lid book

Era:  c1870-80's

Diameter:   96mm 

Condition (please see detailed photos):   Repaired  Not that you'd know it but this has had a couple of repairs done by Simon Bennett at his very best about 25 years ago. The consignor saw the lid with a chip on the outer edge (at around 12 o'clock) which is nigh on impossible to spot now (even with a strong magnifying glass) and a couple of very small glaze flakes on the face (to the right of the portrait and possibly the very edge of her hair). Saying that though you can clearly see that 98% of the face is genuine and untouched and what repairs there are and to the absolute top quality. The outer edge also has a very small glaze flake but this has not been repaired and looks partly glazed over. This could easily be passed for a near mint lid if the repairs were not pointed out and even then you'd struggle to spot them.

Grade: Ungraded  Estimate:   £300-400+  Reserve:  N/R

Pot Lid:   'FRANCIS EARLE, HULL'

Description:  The second of two rare and entirely different Earle lids featuring the Holy Trinity Church in Hull, both 'carnation or clove pink tooth paste' examples, but this smaller one with a left hand view of the cathedral. Dotted border. (see lot #2 for other variant). Rarely seen for sale

Era:  c1880-90's

Diameter:    75mm

Condition (please see detailed photo's):  Good   Just has two tiny (1mm & 3mm) fleabite flakes on the back rim edge (and the odd tiny fleabite flake on the very back rim and edge) and some very subtle glaze crazing and is otherwise excellent

Grade:  8.0     Estimate:  £800-£1k+     Reserve:  N/R

Pot Lid:   'HIGHLY SCENTED, RUSSIAN BEARS GREASE'

Description:  A striking early bears grease lid featuring a dark standing bear carrying a sash, this one being the larger 3.5" size. Attractive fancy border. Detailed print. Always very popular due to the sheer size of the rat-like bear. 

 Era:  c1850-70's

Diameter:  90mm 

Condition (please see detailed photo's):  Fair/Good   Has a medium (4mm x 12mm) chip on the underside of the outer rim (which is all but hidden on display), a couple of very small (2mm) fleabite flakes on the back rim, some glaze-lines on the side wall (close to the chip) that don't go all the way through, some areas of light glaze-crazing, some tiny in-manufacture marks in the glaze, a totally insignificant very small (4mm) hairline bruise on the top rim edge (barely noticeable) along with a small area of wear, but nothing really untoward

Grade:  6.9       Estimate:  £60-80+     Reserve:   N/R

Pot Lid:   'FAWCETT & SON' GENUINE RUSSIAN BEARS GREASE

Description:  A very appealing early bears grease lid featuring a standing bear carrying a sash. Superb detailed print. Fancy border. 

Interestingly 'Fawcett & Son' are now believed to eminate from the Lake District area (NW England) and not London as previously believed 

Era:  c1860-70's

Diameter:  70mm 

Condition (please see detailed photo's):  Fair/Good   Has three medium chips on the back rim edge that have been filled (badly), from (3mm x 5mm) to (8mm x 15mm) (with one on the inside so hidden from side view) and three small flakes (one being filled) and some wear in parts of the outside rim and as can be seen in the photos is otherwise very good, especially on the face

Grade:  6.5        Estimate:   £60-80       Reserve:   N/R

Pot Lid:   'BAYLEY & CO, LONDON'

Description:  An appealing and early pictorial London lid featuring a superb pictorial of a civet cat. Fancy 'barley twist' type border. Decent quality print

The dried secretions from a gland on the rear end of a civet cat were used (and still are) in the perfumery business. This North American mammal was in fact not a cat but from the raccoon family. 

Era:  c1860-1880's

Diameter:    74mm

Condition (please see detailed photo's):  Repaired   Has had restoration work to the back rim to a very high standard indeed (in fact it is very difficult to ascertain where the original damage was). The underside has yellowed ever so slightly with age, but the face is mostly as original with just the odd small spot of overspray on the rim edge and a small area on the barley twist border that has been touched up (at around 2 o'clock)

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

Pot Lid:   'SENIOR'S CARBOLIC TOOTH PASTE'

Description:  This very appealing small lid features a detailed image of a kiwi in its natural habitat in superb copper print. Decorative border. Scarce. 

Era:  c1880-1890's

Diameter:    59mm

Condition (please see detailed photo's):  Good   Just has a medium (3mm x 13mm) chip on the back rim (mostly on the inmside so is all but hidden on display) and is otherwise excellent

Grade:  8.0       Estimate:  £80-100        Reserve:  N/R 

Pot Lid:      'GENUINE RUSSIAN BEARS GREASE'

Description:  An appealing 'two bruins' bears grease lid with a large fancy border and featuring a standing bear with another behind (with its tongue out). Superb quality print. Delicately made. Not so often seen in mint condition with such clear print too

Era:  c1870-80's

Diameter:   73mm 

Condition (please see detailed photos):   Mint  Superb undamaged mint condition

Grade:  9.8      Estimate:   £100-120      Reserve:   N/R

Pot Lid:    'GENUINE RUSSIAN BEARS GREASE'

Description:  This larger 3" 'Two Bruins' pot lid features the two bears in their natural habitat and has a geometric border. This variant with the bear with its mouth open. Decent quality print

Era:  c1870-1880's

Diameter:  76mm 

Condition (please see detailed photo's):  Very good   Just has a tiny (1-2mm) fleabite flake on the inside of the back rim and a barely noticeable fleabite on the back rim itself (both insignificant) and is otherewise mint with just a very small patch of lust rust crazing on the edge and some in-manufacture glaze-runs

Grade:  8.9       Estimate:   £80-100       Reserve:  N/R