A vintage 1930s white enamel canister with lid, titled Sugar.

Enamel canisters and bins became an Edwardian alternative to the stoneware jar, and the first half of the twentieth century saw their heyday, when enamel kitchenware became all-the-rage. Apart from being much lighter in weight and therefore far easier to use, they survived the rigours of a busy kitchen - for they didn't shatter when dropped. Canisters, caddies and bins that bear the name of their contents - such as Sugar, the caddy we offer here - are now much sought after and are still very much relevant today as they were one hundred years ago.

Year of manufacture: circa 1930

Origin: England 

Material: enamelware

Diameter 14cm

Height 18cm

Condition: good, with slight knocks to the enamel on the handle and a chip to the edge of the lid (see image). This adds to its character and is typical of enamel vessels of this age.

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 canister however has a Made in England stamp applied within the enamel to its base and is a genuine early piece.

History of enamel in the home

Up until the mid 19^th century kitchen storage vessels were either ceramic 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 end of the 19th Century enamelled kitchen vessels had become commonplace.