This double-sided enamel flange sign for Lipton's Tea is a charming example. The blue and white colour scheme is a traditional and highly evocative combination and this small sign packs a big impact with the bold typography wrapped around the wonderfully detailed Royal Coat of Arms filling the piece nicely. 

 

Thomas Lipton was a Scottish entrepreneur who used his savings to open a shop in 1871... By the 1880s, rather incredibly, his business had grown to over 200 shops! Mr Lipton began travelling the world for new items to stock in this store. One such item was tea; he believed the price was far too high, so in 1890 he purchased his own tea gardens in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) where he packaged and sold the first Lipton tea. Staying true to this vision, he arranged packaging and shipping at low costs and his tea was a big hit in the UK and the United States. 

 

This particular enamel sign is likely to date to the 1930s/early '40s and in my experience this blue and white combo is less common than the red and green examples that can also be found. This piece is a 'flange sign' meaning that it is double sided and it's flange allows it to be mounted to a wall and to stick out at 90 degrees - visible from both directions.

 

The sign does have patches of enamel loss on both sides as well as scratching to both faces that has dulled the usual gloss of the enamel. The enamel loss has resulted in some minor corrosion to the exposed metal and yellow (rust coloured) discolouration is visible on the white lettering - most notable on the 'outer' face of the sign. Despite this, the contrast between the white and the dark blue still has a great impact, the damage hasn't affected the legibility of the writing and the central Coat of Arms remains free of damage. The flange remains in good condition meaning the sign can be displayed as intended and would be a fantastic piece of decor for a vintage themed kitchen, cafe / tea rooms. 

 

The sign measures 31cm wide x 30.5cm high and the flange is 4cm deep.