A rare early twentieth century grey speckled enamel washing boiler pan with lid and stunning typeface. It would have originally been used to boil clothes, yet now, what with it being so decorative, it can be put to a multitude of other uses.

History of enamel in the home

Up until the late 19^th century your everyday clothes boiling pan was either made from copper or tin. Although the enamelling process had been invented hundreds of years before, it took the Industrial Revolution to drive forward the quality of vitreous enamelling and its application to everyday household objects; and by the dawn of the 20th Century enamelled household equipment, from pans, buckets and kettles through to bins, scuttles and washing boilers had become commonplace. 

Dimensions: Height 31cm  Width 40.5cm  Width including handles 47cm  

Year of manufacture: c.1920

Country of origin: England 

Material: enamelled steel

Condition: it has a few nibbles and knocks to the enamel, but no dints. There's wear to the enamel around the foot of the pan, and a 4cm long split on the edge of the lid (barely noticeable), yet these add to its character and represents its 100 years of service.  See all images. 

Note: much "vintage enamel" popular today was, and still is, made in Poland - and some of it is not as old as it would appear.  This washing boiler however was made in England and is a genuine early piece.