A good-sized Edwardian blue enamel bread bin with original lid and wonderful bold "Bread" typeface in white enamel. If your loaves are on the large side, this one’s for you. It’s also an excellent solution for the holding of open food bags and packets - say all those half-used sugar, rice or pasta packets you may have lurking.

This bin is early, has a good weight, and its lid and sides have a circle of pierced holes, to allow for air flow, as was the way with late nineteenth century/early twentieth century enamel bread bins. 

History of enamel in the home

Up until the mid 19^th century kitchen 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 items of all shapes and sizes had become commonplace.

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 bread bin however is a genuine early piece and was made in the UK.

Year of manufacture: c.1900

Origin: England 

Material: enamelware

Dimensions: Height 32cm  Diameter 33.5cm

Condition: some nibbles and rust spots to the enamel, particularly around the the lid, but nothing untoward - see images.