This large, vibrant enamel sign is one of the best examples I've encountred in a long time. "Clarke's Melox - the Perfected Food for Dogs". A large sack of dog food (with wonderfully delicate shading) is set against a vibrant yellow background and on that sack is a wonderful array of typography set against a large banderole type centerpiece. 

 

Measuring in at just over 1.5m high by 1m wide, this is a real statement piece, but it's not just it's scale and fantastic stylings that make this example stand out from the rest - if you Google 'Clarke's Melox enamel sign' you'll see that there aren't many examples in the world, but those that have found their way onto the internet are all "By Royal Warrant to His Majesty the King" (Edward VII / George V) ... this example however is slightly earlier than the others and is "By Special Warrants to Her Majesty the Queen and H. R. H. the Prince of Wales" - referring to Queen Victoria and Edward VII before his appointment as King after his mother's death in 1901. That makes this example Victorian and dates it to the late 19th century... Therefore this enamel sign is about as early as they come. It was produced by the Patent Enamel Co. Ltd - which is believed (though there is some dispute) to be the first company to produce enamel signage. Supposedly Benjamin Baugh developed the process of making enameled iron plate signs for advertising. He patented his process in 1859, and ran Salt's Patent Enamel Works in Bradford Street, Birmingham. In 1888 the company was registered to take over the business carried on at Birmingham under the name of the Patent Enamel Co. and in 1889 Baugh opened the sign factory at Selly Oak, Birmingham under the name of Patent Enamel Co Ltd. The "499" in the lower left corner is a date marker that shows this sign was produced in April 1899 (the Patent Enamel Co dropped the date marker around 1908... Despite it's size and age it's survied in remarkably good order, retaining it's vibrant yellow background along with a good, deep surface gloss... There are some patches of enamel loss around the outer edges and a few patches across the main face along with some light surface scratching but nothing that affects the legibility or impact of the piece. 

 

The sign measures 153cm high x 101.5cm wide. It's been mounted to a simple wooden frame work to aid it's rigidity and minimise damage - it can be hung with this in place or directly using it's original mounting holes. 

 

S/N: #1272