A pewter box with Ruskin Pottery roundel made by the Newton School of Metal Work in January of 1904.

This piece enables me to do what I love most.. give it back it’s full history. The design is a known design by the Newton School of Metal Work and it appears in their design archive. It was one of a number of designs for cigarette boxes in folded metal by George S. Tanner. The designs are all dated 1903. It is well known that the School used Ruskin Pottery roundels and many were found in their workshops when they were finally cleared out.

In this instance we can also be confident on who actually made this box and when it was made. It has “E.A. 11/1/04” faintly scratched on the underside. Pieces were often marked in this way so that the workers at the School knew it was their work in progress. It is highly likely that “E.A’ is known worker, Ernest Andrews, who was an agricultural labourer in Newton in 1904 when this piece was made. The classes were held during the winter evenings when the workers had little work on the farm and Ernest worked at the School for several years, winning multiple prizes in competitions.

The box itself is nicely made from folded pewter which has been lightly planished. The sections of the box are held together by rivets in the Arts and Crafts fashion. The blue-green Ruskin Pottery roundel is simply mounted to the top of the box.