August 2, 2024

The World of Churchill Collectables

This month’s column features a wonderful full-sized porcelain mug made around 1940–1941 by the Hanley Company. This mug is uniquely shaped like a barrel, complete with impressed “staves” and “metal rings.” The image of Prime Minister Winston Churchill on the front indicates the mug was made as a piece of utility ware—porcelain made for wartime British domestic use and not for export. Another unique feature is that the reverse side includes an additional transfer pattern: the classic British bulldog with the Union Jack seen on a variety of porcelain items made during the war.

As mentioned in a previous column, utility ware is not as rare as other wartime-produced pieces, but it is fun to collect. When one considers it was made under wartime conditions for use in Britain, the history makes owning a piece or two all the more worthwhile. Pieces of utility ware like this one—a uniquely shaped mug with two transfer patterns—should be desired by all collectors. I was excited to find mine at an outdoor antiques fair last June. I would never have passed it by and not brought it home.

Brian Krapf’s book A Churchill Treasury: Sir Winston’s Public Service through Memorabilia has just been published in the UK and the US.