Newton School copper and brass box
Description
A copper and brass tea caddy made by the Newton School of Metal Work from a design attributed to John Williams, circa 1900.
This particular design appears in the Newton School design archive . The hand drawn, and painted, design is unsigned but from the style and hand written annotations it can be attributed to John Williams.
This piece is a great example of why Newton School metalwork has been hard to identify over the years. This particularly piece has a number of design characteristics which would typically be attributed to other well known Guilds or Classes. The shape of the caddy and the decorative side seam are very reminiscent of designs by the Newlyn Industrial Class. The brass lid handle looks very like handle designs by the Birmingham Guild of Handicraft.
This piece is beautifully made with the slight planishing and use of copper rivets that you would expect from a piece from this period. The copper is a good gauge and lid fits extremely well. The inside of the box is tinned which makes me think it is definitely a tea caddy.
The underside of the box is marked with the initials “AF”. I believe this to be known worker Albert “Bertie” Fuller. Albert worked at the School between 1911 and 1933. I suspect that this piece dates to the 1920s as the side seam design has been slightly simplified versus the original design.
The second box shown in the original design is also for sale on this website:
Details
Dimensions: Just under 4″ tall by 4 1/2″ wide and 6 1/4″ long
Condition: Good. Some patina starting to form
Price: £165