A superb example of a small

WW-I Crested China

'Tommy's Bell Tent'

carrying the 

Portadown (Co. Armagh) Crest

Sometimes known as ‘Heraldic China’, small crested china pieces 

made in and around the Potteries of Stoke on Trent by 

Goss, Shelley, Arcadian & Carlton, 

were a favoured souvenir collectible from around 

1858 though the Boer War up into World War One… 

finally falling out of fashion just as 

World War Two broke out in September 1939.

Very popular with UK domestic travellers, 

particularly visitors to seaside resorts, 

they were usually bought as holiday or day-trip souvenirs and usually 

carried the crest of the resort, town or attraction visited.

With the coming of The Great War, 

holidays were still often taken and the UK’s many seaside resorts, 

despite the increasing coastal defences now built, 

were still visited despite the horrors being suffered over 

on the other side of the Channel on The Western Front.

To reflect the War, the leading manufacturers now 

began producing a varied series of military-themed china, 

from helmets & the new tanks to military caps & bullets, 

from battleships & aircraft to zeppelins & motorcycles 

and 

from submarines & bugles to armoured cars & artillery shells etc..

A smashing Grafton-marked example,

this lovely wee china representation of a

Great War Army Bell Tent

measuring approx. 2.5" high,

and retaining its vibrant colour,

  is in a really cracking, issued condition.

Thanks for looking..!