An Edwardian ironstone Pyramid food warmer jug, invented and patented by Samuel Clarke, England, at the turn of the nineteenth century. 

Below the pouring lip the jug is marked “ No 2 ¼ Pint Price 5/-” and it is branded all over with various trademarks and also with some fitting poetry: “When nights are dark, then think of Clarke, who’s hit the mark precisely, for his night-lights create light-nights, in which you see quite nicely.”

History

This ironstone jug was originally used to heat a pint of milk, keep food warm or to prepare “pap”, a mixture of bread and milk diluted with water, which was used to wean infants off breast milk. The jug was placed in a metal pan that contained water, and this in turn was placed on a stand set over a tea-light – the warmth from the candle heated the water, which then very gently heated the contents of the jug. The device was trade marked by Samuel Clarke as a ‘Pyramid’ food warmer as the different parts stacked up like a pyramid. Clarkes also manufactured nightlights, and advertised their own-brand nightlights all over their products, as seen here.

Year of manufacture: c.1900

Origin: England

Material: Ceramic ironstone

Diameter 10cm  Height 10cm

Condition: excellent

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