‘War against Hitlerism’ teapot
Factory: A.G. Richardson & Co. Ltd
Cream earthenware, transfer-printed in black, blue, green, yellow, and red, and banded in blue and yellow enamels.
Squat, globular teapot with a broad up-tilted spout and domed cover with shallow cup-shaped knob. Decorated with flags and inscriptions. On one side are two flags, the Union Jack and the French Tricoleur, with the words 'LIBERTY AND FREEDOM' on a ribbon below; around these are the flags of Canada, New Zealand, Newfoundland, India, France, and Australia, each labelled in small capital letters. On the other side are the same two flags and over them an oval panel inscribed ‘WAR AGAINST HITLERISM’/This Souvenir Teapot was made for/DYSON & HORSFALL of PRESTON to replace/ALUMINIUM STOCKS taken over for/ALLIED ARMAMENTS, 1939'; below is a ribbon inscribed 'THAT RIGHT SHALL PREVAIL' and around these are the flags of France Eastern Colonies, New Zealand, Canada, France, Union of South Africa and Australia, labelled in small capitals. There are similarly labelled flags of South Africa (under the handle), and India, France Western Colonies and Newfoundland (on the spout). There are thin blue bands around the rim, alternating with yellow bands around the widest part of the body, down the central ridge of the handle, and around the cover knob; the cover also has a yellow band set in from the edge. The underside is recessed and glazed.
History note: Private collection
Given by the Friends of the Fitzwilliam Museum
Height: 14 cm
Method of acquisition: Bought (2006-07-17) by Taylor, Derek
20th Century, second quarter#
George VI
Production date:
circa
AD 1939
During the 1939-45 World War, metals- including railings and domestic items - were collected up for recycling into armaments. This teapot was probably added to the Dyson & Horsfall catalogue as a replacement for aluminium teapots the catalogue had previously offered, and perhaps also recognises the company’s own contribution through surrendering their original stock of metal products.
This patriotic commemorative teapot from Richardson's 'Crown Ducal' range, produced at the start of World War II, is decorated with inspiring slogans, the names of Imperial and Commonwealth countries and positive references to an as yet un-conquered France. Dyson & Horsfall, of 222 Aqueduct Street, Preston, was a mail-order catalogue firm; a 1939 Christmas price-list is held by the National Archives (ref.1341/20) and the catalogue seems to be particularly remembered as a source of Christmas presents. The teapot was produced in volume, and was clearly a successful product: examples are held by The Imperial War Museum (EPH 4624) and the British Museum (2006,0901.1) and others frequently appear for sale.
Decoration
composed of
ceramic printing colour
( black, red, green, yellow)
enamel
( blue and yellow)
Handle-spout
Width 21.7 cm
clear
Glaze
cream
Earthenware
Slip casting
: Slip cast earthenware, glazed, printed and painted in enamels
Glazing (coating)
Inscription present: a crown with an oval medallion below crossed by a ribbon with penant ends projecting on either side; TRADE MARK is at the top of the oval frame; CROWN/DUCAL/WARE is within the frame; MADE IN ENGLAND is below the frame
Accession number: C.32 & A-2006
Primary reference Number: 131316
Entry form number: 818
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Applied Arts
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "‘War against Hitlerism’ teapot" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/131316 Accessed: 2024-04-26 07:17:42
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/131316
|title=‘War against Hitlerism’ teapot
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-04-26 07:17:42|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
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https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-131316
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