Potlids Loaded with History

By Ralph Finch

With flowing hair and inviting smiles, and a few interesting tidbits selected by Ralph Finch, here’s something to enjoy. And the topic connects both sides of the pond. Rare and interesting goodies were offered in an impressive sale held by AA Auctions of Falmouth, Cornwall, England, that closed in early last June.

The firm said that it was “one of several superb lids from various significant pot lid collections, all to be spread over successive auctions.” And I loved the first item!

Lot 1: “BURGOYNE BURBIDGE, a fabulously impressive and small (3 inches) Cherry Tooth Paste pot lid from this well documented London supplier featuring a superbly detailed picture of a smiling girl. Great quality print. Beaded border. Very few recorded examples in this smaller size

“Superb overall condition with just a couple of totally insignificant small old brown flakes on the inside of the back rim (the biggest of which looks like it was caused in-manufacture anyway) and just a little wear also on the inside of the back rim (barely visible and hardly worth mentioning), nothing of course to detract at all on display and is otherwise mint. The tiny white mark on the side of her nose is just a reflection on the surface of the glaze where there is a minuscule in-manufacture dip on the surface of the glaze.

Estimate: £1,200-1,500. It sold for £1,376, with 38 bids.” ($1,917 in U.S.)

FYI: In Charles Moore’s Harmer Rooke Galleries in New York City auction (February 15, 1990, the two parts of the Ben Swanson pot lid collection), an identical pot lid, Lot 300, sold for $2,300, and was described as “extremely rare.” Lot 5: “DANIEL MELIA, another classic lid, this time featuring an attractive girl with long wavy hair and a nice smile (no doubt attributable to using this brand of toothpaste). Decent quality print.

“Scarcely seen in mint condition (the tiny marks on the back rim are the usual in-manufacture stilt marks). Estimate: £300-400.” It sold for £710.

And for someone who has lived two years in Japan was this item:

Lot 6: LORIMER & CO, LONDON & NEW YORK, “An appealing ‘Sanoline’ tooth paste pot lid from this popular perfumer in London with a fabulous pictorial of three Geisha girls. Good strong print.

Sadly, the pot lid has “had restoration work done to a very high standard indeed with what looks like a medium chip on the side wall repaired (and what looks like a hairline across the face or the whole lid has been in two halves, re-glued and touched up) and parts of the back have been over-sprayed too.” Estimate: £80100, selling for £147.

And for someone who once enjoyed the music of Hair, was:

Lot 8: A “preparation assisting to the condition of the hair according to the claim: ‘Giving it a beautiful & lively appearance and keeping it in curl in damp weather or during exercise.’

“Condition: Just has a smallish (4mm x 9mm) old chip mainly on the underside of the outer rim, and is otherwise mint (and because of the marbled design is mostly disguised from view).

It was estimated at £400-500, but despite that, within an hour or two of the auction’s opening, the bid was at £610. It finally sold, days later, for £2,550 ($3,611), with 90 bids.

Lot 9: A “J.E. STILING, NEWTON ABBOT,” fabulous building pictorial ‘Cherry & Areca Nut’ pot lid from this South Devon town featuring the 15thcentury ‘St. Leonard’s Tower’ in the centre. The ‘Clock Tower’ in Newton Abbot (as it’s referred to locally) was constructed in the 15th-century as part of a gothicstyle church and was the site of William III’s first proclamation in England. The adjoining nave was demolished in 1836 to improve traffic flows but the tower was saved by a local petition.

“Condition: Has a large area of chips off the back rim in one area and a series of four smallish (3-5mm) chips in another area, also on the back rim, this time on the edge (with a very faint small (9mm) hairline from one of them on the side wall and is otherwise excellent (the two tiny black lines on the face edge are actual print). Estimate: £300-400. Sold for £850.

Lot 10: “ST. PAUL’S,” a pleasing pictorial *areca nut tooth paste lid featuring this iconic London landmark. This being the scarcer smaller variant without the usual pronounced outer rim. Excellent quality print. (St Paul’s Cathedral on Ludgate Hill was designed by Sir Christopher Wren after the Great Fire of London (1666) fueled a major rebuilding program in London a few decades later.)

“Condition: Just some patches of brown rust on the side wall edge (and some on the face), and an arched hairline bruise on the side wall. Estimate: £40-60, it sold for £135.

Now, if you have a sharp eye (and a good imagination), picture yourself walking in St. Paul’s, going ahead maybe forty feet, and finding a wooden chair. That’s where, a decade ago, I led Janet to be seated and, while about six other bottle collecting friends witnessed, I proposed marriage to Janet. (Thank goodness she said yes, or I’d have to rewrite this story.)

FYI1: AA Auctions added: 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 (£70 softback).

FYI2: The ability (and pleasure) to look through 40-year-old auction catalogs is the result of having an extensive library of important auction catalogs and a ton of books relating to antiques in general and glass in particular, and, of course, being a packrat. (And thankfully having a patient wife.)

FYI3: Information you can sink your teeth into. The internet says: “William Addis designed the more modern toothbrush in England around 1780. The handle was carved from cattle bone, and the brush portion was made from pig’s hair as well. In 1844, the first three-row bristle brush was designed. And, privydug tooth brushes are very collectible in England. Usually, the bristles are gone, but the bone handles survive.”

According to the Library of Congress, natural bristles made from animal hair were still used until Dupont de Nemours invented nylon. Nylon started the development of the modern toothbrush in 1938.

FYI4: Betel nut, also called *areca nut, is actually the seed from the fruit of the areca palm. Betel nut has a stimulant effect, just like drugs such as khat, amphetamines, and cocaine. No wonder the women often shown who used areca tooth product had such happy smiles.

Lot 1

Lot 6 Lot 5

Lot 8