Calvert Carbolic Pot Lid & Base

Victorian

Circa 1870–1910 | England

An antique Victorian Calvert’s Carbolic toothpaste pot from the nineteenth century. Transfer printed in monochrome black on cream earthenware (see The Gen).

Perfect to use today as a pinch pot for salt or pepper, or spice pots.

DIMENSIONS: Width 6 cm, Height 3.5 cm.

SIGNATURES, MARKINGS & INSCRIPTIONS: Impressed 2 and ZO.

CONDITION: In excellent condition, with wear commensurate with antique age and use of such a piece. There is a bit of crazing and light wear. The base has chips around the rim and some stain. These all add to the history of the piece and wonder of the stories it could tell.

REFERENCES: For an example of a similar pot see Science Museum Group. 

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THE GEN

“The story of pot lids starts towards the end of the 18th century when gentlemen tossed away their powdered wigs (a fashion killed off by the French Revolution) and started to wear their hair long. The new vogue created a demand for various perfumes and scented oils and the most popular cosmetic hair care and prevention of baldness was bear grease. Before 1840 the majority of lids were plain and covered with printed paper labels. The earliest transfer printed bears grease lids are usually blue and sometimes green and date circa 1840.

The production of black and white lids started about 1860 and most monochrome and bi-coloured lids date from the period 1880 to 1910.

By the second half of the nineteenth century the production of monochrome lids had reached a peak and other commodities were now contained in glazed pots with advertising lids. The process was cheap enough to enable the corner shop chemist to commission pots with his name printed on the lid in order to retail his own particular brand of toothpaste, cold cream or ointment.” (The Advertising Art of Printed Pot Lids, Roger Green, Salop, 1979, pp 9–10)

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