Superb 1917 Early Bruce Bairnsfather 'Old Bill' Plate by Grimwades

Towards the end of 1917 the Bystander magazine granted Leonard Grimwade permission to reproduce a limited number of cartoons from the 'Fragments from France' publications and place these on items from the Grimwades range of pottery then in production. The first piece to be made by the Staffordshire firm was their 'wartime butter dish for a family of ten' followed quickly by a whole range of pieces from plates to teapots, it was a huge success and became known as 'Bairnsfather ware'. Many of the early pieces featured on the back a stamp which read 'made by the girls of Staffordshire during the winter of 1917 when the boys were in the trenches fighting for liberty and civilisation', when the war ended in 1918 this stamp was changed to 'a souvenir or memento of the Great War'.
This example is entitled 'give it a good ard un Bert,you can generally ear em fizzing a bit first if they are agoing to explode' it comes complete with the early backstamp and has the Bruce Bairnsfather signature bottom left. Very good condition with no chips or cracks, measures just under 10 inches in diameter.
Ref.19842

Code: 25323