Ceramic cherry toothpaste pot, John Gosnell and Co
c. 1840 - 1898Ceramic toothpaste pot base, made of the same material as the lid and clear glazed. The base is cylindrical in shape and 67mm in diameter. The toothpaste would have sat in the bowl in the top of the base, which is only about 7mm deep. The lip around the bowl sits in from the side walls, so that the lid could fit over it.
1990.5.a White ceramic cherry toothpaste container lid. The design on the lid was applied by a transfer printing process. It is monochrome, being black/grey. Shading is created by stippling (printing many small dots in a space, close together). A clear glaze has been applied over all surfaces, bar the downward facing part of the lid that sits directly on top of the base. The head of a young Queen Victoria in profile is situated in the middle. The top edge of the lid projects about 4mm out past the side walls of the lid. The lid has a hollow space inside, curved at the top. This fits over the lip of the pot base
The name is a little misleading being called Cherry, implying that cherries are, or cherry flavour is added to the blend. It is unlikely that any cherry was added to the toothpaste if it had similar contents to other 'cherry' toothpastes made at the time. The word 'cherry', refers to the colour of the paste only. Cherry toothpaste became red or pink by the addition of carmine or cochineal, made from cochineal scale and the Polish cochineal.
Details
Details
The word "EXTRA" is to the central image left and "MOIST" is to the right. The rest of the text is printed in circles around the image. The words "FOR BEAUTY AND PRESERVING THE TEETH & GUMS" are printed around the top of the inner circle and the words "PREPARED BY JOHN GOSNELL & CO LTD LONDON" are printed around the bottom. A larger ring surrounds this writing. The words are clear (white) and the background is shaded with stippling. The words say "CHERRY TOOTH PASTE" at the top and "PATRONIZED BY THE QUEEN" at the bottom.
Significance: example of product sold by John Gosnell Co. Charles Gosnell, a director of the firm, was a local landowner.
The Gosnells region was named after Charles Gosnell, a director of the John Gosnell firm, who owned land as an investment but only visited the area once.
United Kingdom
