'The Old Curiosity Shop' dish thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

'The Old Curiosity Shop' dish

Dish
ca.1930 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This dish or ashtray is decorated with an image of Codlin and Short, the travelling Punch & Judy proprietors from Charles Dickens' The Old Curiosity Shop, meeting in a street outside an inn with the sign 'Worthington', the beer manufacturers. This was part of a series of ceramic wares advertising Worthington's produced in the 1930s and manufactured in Staffordshire by Newhall of Hanley. Short is holding a figure of Mr. Punch while Codlin carries the pan pipes that he plays in the book.

Charles Dickens was fond of Punch and Judy. Today Punch and Judy shows are a feature of British seaside entertainment. Their history in Great Britain stretches back to the puppet show that Samuel Pepys saw in Covent Garden on 9 May 1662, performed by the Italian puppeteer Signor Bologna.






Object details

Categories
Object type
Title'The Old Curiosity Shop' dish (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Glazed earthenware
Brief description
Glazed earthenware dish or ashtray transfer printed with an image of Codlin and Short, the itinerant Punch & Judy show owners from Charles Dickens' The Old Curiosity Shop. Worthington advertising item manufactured by Newhall of Hanley, 1930s. Gerald Morice Collection
Physical description
Cream glazed Newhall pottery dish or ashtray transfer printed with an image of Codlin and Short, the itinerant Punch & Judy show owners from Charles Dickens' 'The Old Curiosity Shop', Short carrying a figure of Mr. Punch and Codlin the drum and pan pipes, meeting in a street outside an inn with the Worthington sign.
Dimensions
  • Diameter: 11.4cm
  • Height: 0.8cm
Marks and inscriptions
'SHORT & CODLIN / (OLD CURIOSITY SHOP)' (Printed on base above maker's mark)
Credit line
Given by Gerald Morice
Subject depicted
Association
Summary
This dish or ashtray is decorated with an image of Codlin and Short, the travelling Punch & Judy proprietors from Charles Dickens' The Old Curiosity Shop, meeting in a street outside an inn with the sign 'Worthington', the beer manufacturers. This was part of a series of ceramic wares advertising Worthington's produced in the 1930s and manufactured in Staffordshire by Newhall of Hanley. Short is holding a figure of Mr. Punch while Codlin carries the pan pipes that he plays in the book.

Charles Dickens was fond of Punch and Judy. Today Punch and Judy shows are a feature of British seaside entertainment. Their history in Great Britain stretches back to the puppet show that Samuel Pepys saw in Covent Garden on 9 May 1662, performed by the Italian puppeteer Signor Bologna.




Collection
Accession number
S.1898-2013

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Record createdMay 21, 2013
Record URL
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