This enamel sign for Lipton's Tea is a charming example. The vibrant 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. It was produced by Griffiths & Browett Ltd of Birmingham - one of the less common manufacturers of enamel signage. 

 

The sign has survived the decades well, there are some losses to the enamel around the outer edges as well as a scattering of damage over the 'A'. There's a little 'mottling' to the enamel below the 'L' and a few small patches of discolouration and some light surface scratching. Nothing that affects the legibility or impact of the piece and in my opinion this is in-line with the sort of wear and tear that you would expect of an original piece of enamel advertising. 

 

The sign measures 42cm wide x 33.5cm high. It can be hung using it's original mounting holes and displays well.

 

S/N: #1470