WWI era china cup featuring Bruce Bairnsfather cartoon

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Grimwades

c. 1919

Overview

WWI era white bone china cup with a flat base and tapered sides featuring a transferred print of a Bruce Bairnsfather cartoon in sepia tones.
It depicts two soldiers in a trench with explosions and gunfire going off behind them. One is saying to the other 'Well, if you knows of a better 'ole. go to it'.
On the reverse is the Royal Coat of Arms in the shape of a shield in colours of red, blue and gold. The shield shows the various royal emblems of different parts of the United Kingdom: the three lions of England in the first and fourth quarters, the lion of Scotland in the second and the harp of Ireland in the third.
The rim of the cup features gold decoration.
The maker's mark - Atlas carrying the world - appears in green - along with the words 'Atlas China', 'Stoke on Trent', 'Grimwades', 'England' and 'Copyright'.

Historical information

According to the Australian War Memorial, cartoons by English serviceman Bruce Bairnsfather reached their height of popularity towards the end of the First World War. His definitive down-trodden but happily defiant 'Old Bill' character quickly became a favourite.
To cater to the public demand for his Western Front cartoons, many companies vied for licences to reproduce his work on a variety of media. Grimwade Pottery of Stoke-on-Trent (later Royal Winton) was successful in securing an agreement in 1917 and commenced producing cheap and cheerful transferware examples of Bairnsfather's cartoons on a wide selection of their wares. Grimwade's was able to ride Bairnsfather's wave of popularity well into the mid 1920s before war-weariness overtook the public. The cartoon reproduced on this cup is typical of the grim humour employed by Bairnsfather.

There are several items relating to 'Old Bill' in the collection including cartoon books, postcards and a boxed cardboard/papier mache figurine of 'Old Bill'.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-119-RoW00352

Item type

Themes

Social History
War and Conflict
War and Conflict > World War 1