Souvenir tin - Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II (1953)

« Prev Item Next Item »

Oxo Limited

1953

Overview

Rectangular metal tin produced by the OXO Limited company to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.
The vibrant red lithographed lid displays a black and white portrait of a young Queen Elizabeth II on a pink background, framed inside a central circular medallion.
The circular surrounds contain colourful depictions of the floral emblems of the United Kingdom - Wales (leek), England (Tudor rose), Scotland (thistle) and Ireland (shamrock) - on a white background with thin black internal and external borders.
At the top of the circle is St. Edward's crown and at the bottom is the royal cypher 'E II R" in gold on a blue background.
To the left of the central portrait is the Union Jack flag flying from a white flagpole and on the opposite side, the Royal Standard.
Underneath that is a gold scroll banner with the words 'LONG MAY SHE REIGN' printed in dark letters.There is a wavy white ribbon with a central blue stripe running horizontally along the bottom of the lid.
The underside of the tin features the text 'A SOUVENIR TO CELEBRATE THE CORONATION OF HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH II 2nd JUNE 1953' and 'With the Compliments of OXO LIMITED, LONDON, ENGLAND' in black letters on the bright red background.

Historical information

The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. She acceded to the throne on 6 February 1952 immediately following the death of her father, King George VI, but the ceremony was delayed due to a period of official mourning.
According to the National Archives of Australia, the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II sparked an unprecedented wave of public enthusiasm in Australia. Gripped by 'coronation fever', communities across every state and territory held major public and civic events to honour the new monarch.

This tin would have originally contained six foil-wrapped Oxo beef stock cubes.
Oxo Limited created limited edition commemorative tins for major British royal milestones. They were sold at standard grocery stores filled with the product, intentionally designed so that once the cubes were used up, households would keep the vibrant, decorated metal box as a permanent commemorative keepsake or storage container.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-119-RoW01105

Item type

Collectibles

Decorative Objects

Lithographs

Souvenirs

Themes

Food & Beverage

Social History

Material