One-Off Winsor & Newton Queen Elizabeth Jubilee Sterling Silver 1977 Artist Box

Please note the delivery fee listed is just a guide, for an accurate quote please send me your postcode and I’ll price it up for you

Where to begin, of its type this is the largest Winsor & Newton artist box you will ever see, its easily twice the size and weight of any I have come across, this was made as a presentation gift to Queen Elizabeth II on her Silver Jubilee in 1977, I have no IDEA if it was ever given to our good Queen as it doesn’t come with any paperwork, sadly Winsor and newton have donated all their historical archived data to the Hamilton Kerr Institute and at present they are waiting for funding to catalogue it all, once catalogued they will be able to tell the new owner the exact history of this piece

Now for this wonderful box where to begin, firstly as mentioned it is huge, the dimensions are below, this piece is exhibition size and quality throughout.

The box itself is Calamander wood, Winsor & Newton founded in 1832 have been making these types of boxes for well over 150 years, they were almost always allot more compact and designed primarily to be used on the go. The box is pinned in the corners with what looks like sterling silver nails and the sculptural hinges also look to be silver although I would imagine they are plated, the pièce de résistance of the box is the stunning 1977 Queens crown crested sterling silver Jubilee hallmarked plaque, it is a a work of art

Opening the box you find inside the lid a lovely water color template, running onto the first platform we find 6 numbered 100% cut crystal bottles, each engraved to the base with what looks like the Baccarat signature. The next row consists of 4 good sized sterling silver engraved boxes, two are original and bare all the same Jubilee sterling silver hallmarks, these hold inside sets of used and unused Carres Pastel crayons. The other two tins were missing so part of the restoration this lovely box went through was to have them made anew, Clive Burr at the Silversmiths college London undertook the project for me and the end result simply put is perfect. In between these silver boxes is a lovely pottery pot stamped to the base S inside a U, inside said pot is three natural sponges. The next row down has a sterling silver artists sharpener, a selection of 24 mixed watercolor tubes, there are two sliding removal shelves which house a total of 24 mixed brand new in the original packaging water color tabs, you have one custom-made to size tub with a yellow tab in

The first drawer houses five new old stock Winsor & Newton paint brushes, these aren’t the original brushes or perhaps they are but they were maybe used on the lower shelf. We then find four pottery mixing bowls silver leaf painted with the same hallmark S inside the U, in between these pots we have a pair of brand new in the original packaging Kneaded rubbers and a portable Winsor & Newton artist set with telescopic paint brush

The last drawer houses 16 new old stock Winsor & Newton artist brushes and then an absolutely magnificent original custom handmade Oxblood leather bound artist book, the book has handmade paper and the exact same size Jubilee Queen Elizabeth 1977 sterling silver plaque as the main box, it is mouth wateringly beautiful

So there you have it, a rather spectacular find and certainly the only one you will ever see, if you are in the market for simply put the finest example of this type of piece, I mean museum quality which is I’m sure will be where this ends up then look no further, this is the only one of its kind and will never be on the market for sale again

In terms of the condition as mentioned above I’ve had the piece restored, it was a light process that consisted mostly of cleaning, the silver plaque on top was removed and professionally polished by Clive Burr at the same time as him making the two matching silver boxes that were missing, the old boxes were also professionally polished to the same mirror finish as was the artist sharpener. The box itself is in fine condition, there is a very small piece of wood missing from the front left foot, you can hardly see it so I’ve left it as it is, I can have it sorted prior to dispatch for a small fee should the new owner wish

Dimensions
Height 18cm
Width 52cm
Depth 34cm

Details of the silversmith

Anthony Gordon Elson: born 1935 Worthing, Sussex.

Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths. 1956 trained under Dunstan Pruden at Brighton College of Art where he received a diploma. 1960 to the Royal College of Art with a BA and Silver Medal for geometrical decoration in 1963 and in 1964 received a travelling bursary. Worked for William Comyns Ltd. 1964-68 where he was introduced to the production techniques that governed commercial viability. He went to Geneva and Tiffany’s factory in New York. 1968 bought Blunt & Wray, an old established ecclesiastical manufacturer which produced mainly brass church work but had a small silversmithing workshop.

By 1976 the company employed 25 producing Elson’s designs, the domestic silver production subsidising the ecclesiastical business. He aimed at mass production through retailers and a Fine jug (1972) and cigarette box (1974) in the Goldsmiths Company collection illustrates his work. With the decline of the ecclesiastical market and tough economic climate of the late 1970’s he appointed a liquidator in 1981 and this side of the business was sold to A E Jones in Birmingham. In the same year he formed Anthony Elson Silversmiths establishing a successful design and prototype workshop in Clerkenwell, London, working with freelance specialists, concentrating on individual silver commissions.

In 1979 he edited a book published by the NAG “A Silversmith’s Manual” by Bernard Cuzner. Elson has been the Chairman of the Council for Craft at the Goldsmith’s Company and also served on the Council of City of London Guilds. Many prominent commissions from the City of London, London Stock Exchange, City livery companies, universities, corporations, Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, Lincoln Cathedral and the King of Nepal.

Has exhibited widely in the UK, Europe, USA, Canada, Australia and the Middle East. His work can be found in many private and institutional collections. In 2002 he moved his studio and workshop to Sussex where he continues his commissioned work. He is currently developing a new technique to color silver with stunning results.

Please note all measurements are taken at the widest point, if you would like any additional or specific measurements please ask

Any questions please feel free to ask before you bid

Delivery or collection

This item is available for collection from our Wimbledon warehouses SW19-3BE, we can have it delivered nationwide to include Scotland Wales and Ireland, please contact me with your postcode for a delivery quotation, please be sure to include which item you would like to buy as the price is determined on size and distance, if you would like more than one piece of furniture we offer a substantial discount on the second and third item, for international shipping please view the below information

Condition

Please view the very detailed pictures as they form part of the description around condition

Please also ask any questions before you bid and not after, all of our items are sold as seen and as listed

Please note vintage period and original items such as leather seating will always have natural patina in the form of cracking creasing and wear, we recommend regular waxing to ensure no moisture is lost, also hand dyed leather is not recommended to sit in direct sunlight for prolonged periods of time as it will dry out and fade

Courier (large items only that can’t be posted)

We can arrange delivery nationwide, mostly with Wimbledon couriers, for the very far North and South we use KDM couriers, for Europe we use Anyvan to find the cheapest quote, for the rest of the world it is location specific

Whoever delivers will usually require some help on the larger items to unload, if this is not possible please let us know as it will affect the price to send a two man team

Delivery is to the ground floor only, again if you need help upstairs or in flats etc that’s absolutely not a problem, the couriers charge £10 per flight per man per item, if you have a working elevator then naturally there’s no additional fee

All courier fees are paid by yourself directly to the courier company, the contract for delivery is between yourselves the client and whichever courier you chose from those available

I’m happy to accommodate your own courier after a cleared payment has been received, they need to book in a collection time with at least 24 hour’s notice, all collections must be made within 14 working days of the close of the auction unless agreed by prior arrangement

International

Delivery time can take two to three weeks depending on the courier’s routes for the above mentioned countries

The price listed is just a guide, please contact us for a quote before buying, if you have your own courier or wish to book the collection in yourself we are happy to accommodate you.