Antiques with In A Nutshell

This marks my 100th article for The Moorlander - how time has flown! I’ve enjoyed writing

about life as an antique dealer and it’s been lovely to meet those of you who have come

into the shop. If there’s something you’re longing to know more about please do contact

me or feel free to pop in to the shop for a chat.

If that wasn’t exciting enough we’ve also been involved in lots of filming over the past

couple of weeks for both the BBC’s Antiques Road Trip and Drew Pritchard’s Salvage

Hunters - life as an antique dealer is certainly never dull!

Of course, between the filming, I’ve still been out and about buying lots of pieces to keep

the shop full including the biggest table we’ve ever owned - so big that we couldn’t shut the

doors of the van! At over 3m long you’ll never be short of room at Christmas! The top is

made from three large thick planks that have seen plenty of use over the years and given them

such a depth of colour that you just want to touch it.

I’ve also picked up some interesting enamel signs including this one for “W.H.Vine. High

Class Tobacconist & Fancy Dealer”. Often smoking or tobacco related items are not so

desirable now but the colours of this sign were so striking and I was particularly drawn to

“Fancy Dealer”!

Before the digital age, enamel signs played an important part in advertising and they were

commonplace outside shops, at roadsides and railways. They were designed to grab a

passer-by’s attention and are often bright and colourful with catchy slogans. The signs

were made by enamelling coloured glass onto flat steel and were popular because they

were far more durable than their printed or painted equivalents. Who knew they would

become such collectable items nowadays?

In the UK, production centred around the industrial hub in the Midlands and the first patent

for enamel signs was registered in Birmingham in 1859 and there were a number of

dedicated factories in Birmingham by the end of the 1800s.

Their heyday really came in the late Victorian era and into the early 20th Century and

production all but ceased during the Second World War because steel was in short supply

and it was needed for the war effort - some signs were even melted down as scrap to

make planes and ammunitions. Even after the war, production never returned to what it

was and plastic soon came onto the market and neon signs were introduced from

America.

However there is still a strong collectors’ market for enamel signs today and they are

increasingly popular with people looking for something unusual to decorate their home with

as well as interior designers. You’ll find enamel signs advertising everything from

toothpaste to cigarettes to sausages - the more unusual the better as far as collecting is

concerned! The most desirable signs are ones with pictures and many different colours -

not only do they look better but they were much more complex to make and are therefore

rarer. Do watch out for modern copies that imitate genuine signs as they can be hard to

spot.

If there’s something you’d like to know more about or have any questions don’t forget you

can send me an email : contact@inanutshellantiquesandinteriors.co.uk