H: 61cm (24.02in)

W: 183cm (72.05in)

D: 1.8cm (0.71in)

Period: 1920's

Virol was first produced, experimentally, by the Bovril company at their Old Street, London works in 1899. An almost instant success, in 1900 the Virol company became a separate section of Bovril and within the decade it was regarded as an independent company. In 1920 production of Virol moved to modern premises in Perivale in Middlesex. Production ceased sometime during the second world war.

This enamel sign for the malty supplement was probably produced during the 1920s and features one of the company's very direct marketing strap-lines; 'The Food For Health' - other examples that can be found include; 'School Children Need It', 'Growing Boys Need It', 'Anaemic Girls Need It', and so on...

Measuring in at 1.83m wide, this sign is the largest example of the company's enamel advertising that I'm aware of and they're very scarce in this size. Condition wise this example is also fairly close to 'excellent' - there's a tiny patch of enamel loss beneath the 'F' of 'for' and a few small patches around the blue boarder. Other than this the upper left corner is slightly folded over and there's a fairly light surface 'blooming' along the lower half where the enamel has slightly lost it's surface - this can be seen in the photos looking like a slight tide mark. Aside from this the sign retains an absolutely fantastic surface gloss and the colours remain very vibrant (especially the bright orange used in the background). 

The size, colours and simple, bold typography make this an excellent statement piece that will fill a wall very well. The sign has been mounted to a basic wooden frame with mirror plates attached for ease of hanging, though can be easily removed and the sign hung from it's original mounting holes.

The piece measures 183cm wide, 61cm high and with the wooden frame is around 1.8cm thick.