Object of the Day: Punch Presents Quick Meal Coal Ranges, circa 1904

"QUICK MEAL"
DRAWING BOOK 
-------
This little booklet will amuse the Children. Let them
copy the pictures on the Tissue Paper.
--------

Punch and Judy 
          of olden times
     Are now the subject of
          our rhymes.
Punch’s appetite was
          great,
     So he ordered Judy to 

          cook a steak.

Now Judy, you know,
     had an old time
          stove,
     And to cook for
          Punch she often
               strove;
But Punch could not
     be pleasant or glad,
     And oft at mealtime
          he was mad.

One day, when he was
          in a fit,
     And Baby cried ‘till
          it was sick, 

Punch threw it madly,
          out of doors;
Poor Judy shrieked
          aloud, of course.

A Policeman came
          into the door,
      And Judy cried
          aloud some more;
But Punch could not
          be taken in,
     And swore the battle
          he would win.

He won the battle
          To be sure,
     But could not win
          Poor Judy more.
A bright idea popped
          in his head—
     “I’ll get a QUICK
          MEAL RANGE,”
               he said.

So when the Range
           was set up right,
     Judy worked with
          all her might,
And cooked, and
     cooked—morn,
           noon and night,
     You never saw such
           a pretty sight. 

Click images to enlarge.

This fanciful little booklet, complete with its original tracing paper inserts, was made to advertise St. Louis-based “Quick Meal Coal Ranges” and Gas ranges for the Ringen Stove Co. of Missouri. Since the booklet mentions the World’s Fair, we can guess that it was made after the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair.

This American company has cleverly featured Britain’s Mr. and Mrs. Punch and their baby. Punch, as you’ve just read, is annoyed by Judy’s slow range and tosses the baby out of the window. But, after gleefully smashing the Beadle, Punch decides he can make everything right by buying Judy a new range. And, actually, it does seem to do the trick.

I can’t tell you how much I love the illustrations in this booklet. They’re too wonderful, and I adore the look of utter joy with which Punch approaches everything he’s doing. He’s as happy with his meal of turkey and hams as he is just to throw the baby out of the window. And, that’s why we love Mr. Punch.

I’ve scanned most of the book for you. Enjoy the pictures. They’re quite a treat. You’ll see that some of the pages are covered by the original tissue paper. I’ve moved the paper out of the way in the next image.  I'm just surprised it was never drawn in.

The Home Beautiful: Sèvres Sauçières, 1780

Sauce Boat
French
Soft-paste Porcelain and Enamels, 1780
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection 
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Dating to about 1780, this sauce boat, is the work of the Sèvres Porcelain Factory. The piece is crafted of soft-paste porcelain, and features a deep green enamel ground with gilded decoration.

The sauce boat of oval shape terminates in a spout at each end. Raised foliage and berries adorn oval and kidney-shaped recesses which are decorated with polychrome butterflies and birds—some with worms.

The boat was purchased by George IV from the auctioneer Harry Phillips for £5 5s 6d 20th in March of 1805. It’s part of a set which includes a matching dessert service.

To Serve and Project: The Adams Fish Slice, 1850-1851

Fish Slice
Chawner & Co, London
1850-1851
The Victoria & Albert Museum

The Eighteenth Century saw a real turning point in the “table manners” business. More so than in any other century, diners increasingly became aware of how and what they were eating and what they were using to eat it. During this period, new utensil and implements were developed to make the experience of dining more refined, to make the whole of the meal more elegant and special, and, to distance the diner from actually having to touch the food.

I like this concept. I’m a fan of utensils—both enjoying their sculptural and artistic qualities, and, using them. I’m also a fan of a well-set table and a proper meal. After having braces, well over twenty years ago, I found myself unable to pick up a piece of food with my hands and eat it. Braces hinder one’s ability to bite neatly, you know. It’s only been recently—honestly, in my thirty-eighth year of life—that I’ve relearned how to eat “with my face.” I can now pick up a piece of pizza and eat it. I can also cram a sandwich into my mouth without fear. Hell, I even ate corn on the cob this year without first having my long-suffering father first have to cut it off the cob as one might do for an octogenarian. But, enough of my weirdness (though I think some of you enjoy my random admissions).

Where was I? Oh, yes, antique fish slice. Among the utensils developed to newly elegant proportions during the Eighteenth Century were attractive fish slices. These implements were used for exactly what their name implies. The fish slice was among the first of the family of utensils which dictated “you can only use this thing for this purpose.” By the mid-Nineteenth Century when the Victorian’s got their properly-gloved mitts on everything, dining had become such an all-consuming, elaborate affair and theatrical ritual that there were even different fish slices for different fish. See, I think that’s quite lovely.

The first fish slices which were developed in the early part of the Eighteenth Century rather resembled a garden trowel. But, by the end of the century, they’d become quite a different thing. Some were flat like cake slices, some were oblong and curvy and some even had a boat shape. These implements provided ample room for adornment. Those with asymmetrical blades especially tended toward being the perfect palette for Rococo-style fussiness. While the handles always matched the other sterling flatware of the household, the blades could be adorned with imagery appropriate to the food—reeds or shells, and, sometimes, even, fishies.  

Just like the one pictured above...

This example is a solid representation of a Victorian fish slice. It was made of silver with pierced and cast decoration by the London firm of Chawner & Co at the end of 1850. Under the direction of one George Adams (1808-1895), this fish carver was created to showcase the fineness of Chawner’s craftsmen. The piece was exhibited both at the Great Exhibition of 1851 and the later International Exhibition of 1862.

This piece, like many later fish slices—especially those of the Victorian era—was paired with a matching fork. Both feature a crest on the handle of a man with a ladder and a tree. And, both are marked for George Adams and Charner & Co. 

And, yes, I did just write that much about fish slices. 

The Home Beautiful: Sèvres Sauçières, 1780

Sauce Boat
French
Soft-paste Porcelain and Enamels, 1780
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection 
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Dating to about 1780, this sauce boat, is the work of the Sèvres Porcelain Factory. The piece is crafted of soft-paste porcelain, and features a deep green enamel ground with gilded decoration.

The sauce boat of oval shape terminates in a spout at each end. Raised foliage and berries adorn oval and kidney-shaped recesses which are decorated with polychrome butterflies and birds—some with worms.

The boat was purchased by George IV from the auctioneer Harry Phillips for £5 5s 6d 20th in March of 1805. It’s part of a set which includes a matching dessert service.

Object of the Day: Punch Presents Quick Meal Coal Ranges, circa 1904

"QUICK MEAL"
DRAWING BOOK 
-------
This little booklet will amuse the Children. Let them
copy the pictures on the Tissue Paper.
--------

Punch and Judy 
          of olden times
     Are now the subject of
          our rhymes.
Punch’s appetite was
          great,
     So he ordered Judy to 

          cook a steak.

Now Judy, you know,
     had an old time
          stove,
     And to cook for
          Punch she often
               strove;
But Punch could not
     be pleasant or glad,
     And oft at mealtime
          he was mad.

One day, when he was
          in a fit,
     And Baby cried ‘till
          it was sick, 

Punch threw it madly,
          out of doors;
Poor Judy shrieked
          aloud, of course.

A Policeman came
          into the door,
      And Judy cried
          aloud some more;
But Punch could not
          be taken in,
     And swore the battle
          he would win.

He won the battle
          To be sure,
     But could not win
          Poor Judy more.
A bright idea popped
          in his head—
     “I’ll get a QUICK
          MEAL RANGE,”
               he said.

So when the Range
           was set up right,
     Judy worked with
          all her might,
And cooked, and
     cooked—morn,
           noon and night,
     You never saw such
           a pretty sight. 

Click images to enlarge.

This fanciful little booklet, complete with its original tracing paper inserts, was made to advertise St. Louis-based “Quick Meal Coal Ranges” and Gas ranges for the Ringen Stove Co. of Missouri. Since the booklet mentions the World’s Fair, we can guess that it was made after the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair.

This American company has cleverly featured Britain’s Mr. and Mrs. Punch and their baby. Punch, as you’ve just read, is annoyed by Judy’s slow range and tosses the baby out of the window. But, after gleefully smashing the Beadle, Punch decides he can make everything right by buying Judy a new range. And, actually, it does seem to do the trick.

I can’t tell you how much I love the illustrations in this booklet. They’re too wonderful, and I adore the look of utter joy with which Punch approaches everything he’s doing. He’s as happy with his meal of turkey and hams as he is just to throw the baby out of the window. And, that’s why we love Mr. Punch.

I’ve scanned most of the book for you. Enjoy the pictures. They’re quite a treat. You’ll see that some of the pages are covered by the original tissue paper. I’ve moved the paper out of the way in the next image.  I'm just surprised it was never drawn in.

The Home Beautiful: Sèvres Sauçières, 1780

Sauce Boat
French
Soft-paste Porcelain and Enamels, 1780
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Dating to about 1780, this sauce boat, is the work of the Sèvres Porcelain Factory. The piece is crafted of soft-paste porcelain, and features a deep green enamel ground with gilded decoration.

The sauce boat of oval shape terminates in a spout at each end. Raised foliage and berries adorn oval and kidney-shaped recesses which are decorated with polychrome butterflies and birds—some with worms.

The boat was purchased by George IV from the auctioneer Harry Phillips for £5 5s 6d 20th in March of 1805. It’s part of a set which includes a matching dessert service.

Object of the Day: Punch Presents Quick Meal Coal Ranges, circa 1904

"QUICK MEAL"
DRAWING BOOK 
-------
This little booklet will amuse the Children. Let them
copy the pictures on the Tissue Paper.
--------

Punch and Judy 
          of olden times
     Are now the subject of
          our rhymes.
Punch’s appetite was
          great,
     So he ordered Judy to 

          cook a steak.

Now Judy, you know,
     had an old time
          stove,
     And to cook for
          Punch she often
               strove;
But Punch could not
     be pleasant or glad,
     And oft at mealtime
          he was mad.

One day, when he was
          in a fit,
     And Baby cried ‘till
          it was sick, 

Punch threw it madly,
          out of doors;
Poor Judy shrieked
          aloud, of course.

A Policeman came
          into the door,
      And Judy cried
          aloud some more;
But Punch could not
          be taken in,
     And swore the battle
          he would win.

He won the battle
          To be sure,
     But could not win
          Poor Judy more.
A bright idea popped
          in his head—
     “I’ll get a QUICK
          MEAL RANGE,”
               he said.

So when the Range
           was set up right,
     Judy worked with
          all her might,
And cooked, and
     cooked—morn,
           noon and night,
     You never saw such
           a pretty sight. 

Click images to enlarge.

This fanciful little booklet, complete with its original tracing paper inserts, was made to advertise St. Louis-based “Quick Meal Coal Ranges” and Gas ranges for the Ringen Stove Co. of Missouri. Since the booklet mentions the World’s Fair, we can guess that it was made after the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair.

This American company has cleverly featured Britain’s Mr. and Mrs. Punch and their baby. Punch, as you’ve just read, is annoyed by Judy’s slow range and tosses the baby out of the window. But, after gleefully smashing the Beadle, Punch decides he can make everything right by buying Judy a new range. And, actually, it does seem to do the trick.

I can’t tell you how much I love the illustrations in this booklet. They’re too wonderful, and I adore the look of utter joy with which Punch approaches everything he’s doing. He’s as happy with his meal of turkey and hams as he is just to throw the baby out of the window. And, that’s why we love Mr. Punch.

I’ve scanned most of the book for you. Enjoy the pictures. They’re quite a treat. You’ll see that some of the pages are covered by the original tissue paper. I’ve moved the paper out of the way in the next image.  I'm just surprised it was never drawn in.

The Home Beautiful: The Adams Fish Slice, 1850-1851

Fish Slice
Chawner & Co, London
1850-1851
The Victoria & Albert Museum

The Eighteenth Century saw a real turning point in the “table manners” business. More so than in any other century, diners increasingly became aware of how and what they were eating and what they were using to eat it. During this period, new utensil and implements were developed to make the experience of dining more refined, to make the whole of the meal more elegant and special, and, to distance the diner from actually having to touch the food.

I like this concept. I’m a fan of utensils—both enjoying their sculptural and artistic qualities, and, using them. I’m also a fan of a well-set table and a proper meal. After having braces, well over twenty years ago, I found myself unable to pick up a piece of food with my hands and eat it. Braces hinder one’s ability to bite neatly, you know. It’s only been recently—honestly, in my thirty-eighth year of life—that I’ve relearned how to eat “with my face.” I can now pick up a piece of pizza and eat it. I can also cram a sandwich into my mouth without fear. Hell, I even ate corn on the cob this year without first having my long-suffering father first have to cut it off the cob as one might do for an octogenarian. But, enough of my weirdness (though I think some of you enjoy my random admissions).

Where was I? Oh, yes, antique fish slice. Among the utensils developed to newly elegant proportions during the Eighteenth Century were attractive fish slices. These implements were used for exactly what their name implies. The fish slice was among the first of the family of utensils which dictated “you can only use this thing for this purpose.” By the mid-Nineteenth Century when the Victorian’s got their properly-gloved mitts on everything, dining had become such an all-consuming, elaborate affair and theatrical ritual that there were even different fish slices for different fish. See, I think that’s quite lovely.

The first fish slices which were developed in the early part of the Eighteenth Century rather resembled a garden trowel. But, by the end of the century, they’d become quite a different thing. Some were flat like cake slices, some were oblong and curvy and some even had a boat shape. These implements provided ample room for adornment. Those with asymmetrical blades especially tended toward being the perfect palette for Rococo-style fussiness. While the handles always matched the other sterling flatware of the household, the blades could be adorned with imagery appropriate to the food—reeds or shells, and, sometimes, even, fishies.  

Just like the one pictured above...

This example is a solid representation of a Victorian fish slice. It was made of silver with pierced and cast decoration by the London firm of Chawner & Co at the end of 1850. Under the direction of one George Adams (1808-1895), this fish carver was created to showcase the fineness of Chawner’s craftsmen. The piece was exhibited both at the Great Exhibition of 1851 and the later International Exhibition of 1862.

This piece, like many later fish slices—especially those of the Victorian era—was paired with a matching fork. Both feature a crest on the handle of a man with a ladder and a tree. And, both are marked for George Adams and Charner & Co. 

And, yes, I did just write that much about fish slices. 

To Serve and Project: A Minton Tureen, 1866

Click image for all the dead-rabbity goodness.
Minton Stew Tureen
England, 1866
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Who doesn’t want a bas relief dead rabbit on their soup tureen? Well, maybe I don’t. But, even though this Minton tureen from 1866 is adorned with the corpses of game, it’s still rather attractive.

This dish, cover and its liner feature a handsomely molded, and rather realistic, group of game, oak leaves, ferns, and a crow arranged in a representation of a wicker basket. Glazed in deep greens and browns, the piece is afforded additional realism from the majolica glazes. Clearly, the tureen was made to serve some sort of disturbing game stew. It’s the sort of thing that when brought to the table, the diners would be able to look at it and know that they were about to get a tasty, hot, wet dinner of rabbit and duckies. This was a favorite thing to do for Victorian designers who thought it amusing to represent the function of an object in its decoration.

The tureen is the work of Léon Arnoux (1816-1902), the art director at the Minton Ceramic Factory of Stoke-on-Trent, England. Amoux had a preoccupation with Renaissance pottery and Sixteenth-century tin-glazed painted Italian maiolica and based his work on these past designs. In 1849, this interest led to the debut of “Palissy Ware” based on the designs of Bernard Palissy and with a nod to the Italian Renaissance style. Later, by the 1880s, these Nineteenth Century recreations became known as “majolica ware”—a term which sticks to this day in regard to all such wares whether made by Minton or not.

The reverse of the liner is marked: “Minton 86 8” and displays a date symbol for 1866.

To Serve and Project: The Palissy Sauce Boat, 1550-1600

Sauceboat
French, 1550-1600
Bernard Palissy
The Victoria & Albert Museum

I wouldn't want to put gravy in this. It’s too pretty.  That, and there are naked people in it, and gravy and nudity don't mix for me.  Well, and it's also lead-glazed.

Still...

This exceptional earthenware sauceboat features figures of Bacchus and Ceres.  It’s quite French, obviously, and dates to the Sixteenth Century.  You see, by the Sixteenth Century, the rest of Europe had already noticed that the French had the art of dining well under control and they looked to France to determine the latest trends in elegant and sophisticated foods and food-related items.

This is the work of French artist Bernard Palissy (1510-1590) who was celebrated for his novel and attractive vessels.  Palissy successfully combined design elements of metalwork and ceramics into items for every aspect of fine dining.  This sauceboat is an excellent example of his work—bright polychrome figures and beautiful curving planes. 

Sophisticated dining implements, such as this, would have been displayed proudly when not in use at grand dinners and other special occasions. Palissy was quite clever with the design, knowing that dinner guests would have been impressed and amused as the sauce drained away to reveal the figures beneath.

A similar sauceboat by Palissy, decorated with a bathing nymph inside, can be found in the Musée des Beaux Arts, Paris.

And, as an added bonus, it looks a bit like a seven-toed foot.