Antique Fox’s Glacier Mints Shop Advertising Tin – c. Late 1920s/1930s

Antique Fox’s Glacier Mints Shop Advertising Tin – c. Late 1920s/1930s

price: £52.00

26 cm tall

15 cm wide

12 cm depth

A wonderfully characterful early Fox’s Glacier Mints shop advertising tin, dating to around the late 1920s to 1930s and retaining some superb period graphics.

Finished in the instantly recognisable Fox’s red, navy blue and gold colour scheme, the tin carries the familiar polar bear standing on a Glacier Mint trademark together with some fabulous early advertising slogans, including:

“The Finest Peppermint in the World”

“Digestive & Refreshing”

“Wrapped”

The lower border still displays the original retail price of 4½d per quarter, a lovely little piece of social and retail history.

Particularly appealing is the distinctive top fitting together with the separate circular embossed cap bearing the Fox’s polar bear trademark and the wording “Fox’s Glacier Mints Ltd., Leicester, Eng.” The underside also retains its original paper warning label threatening prosecution for anyone attempting to reuse the container for another manufacturer's goods without removing Fox’s branding – a fantastic surviving detail.

The dating is particularly interesting. Fox’s began individually wrapping Glacier Mints in 1928, so the prominent “WRAPPED” advertising means this tin cannot pre-date that change and makes a late 1920s/1930s date very plausible.

Maker History

Fox’s confectionery story began in Leicester in 1880, when Walter Richard Fox established a grocery and confectionery business. His son Eric Fox later developed the clear peppermint sweet in 1918. Initially known as Acme Clear Mint Fingers, the name was changed to Glacier Mints in 1919, reportedly because Eric’s wife Eva thought the transparent sweets resembled little glaciers.

The famous polar bear trademark followed shortly afterwards. A staff competition produced the idea of a bear standing upon a mint, with Leicester artist Clarence Reginald Dalby creating the design. The polar bear – later known as Peppy – began appearing on Fox’s packaging in 1922 and became one of the most enduring images in British confectionery advertising. Dalby would later become known for illustrating some of the early Thomas the Tank Engine books.

Condition

A genuine old shop advertising tin showing plenty of authentic age and use. There is surface scratching, rubbing and losses to the printed finish, tarnishing and areas of oxidation, particularly around the top and base. The red, blue and gold advertising remains remarkably striking, however, and the wear adds considerably to its period shop-counter appearance.

The surviving embossed cap and original paper warning label are especially nice features.

Please study all photographs carefully as they form an important part of the description.

Why we love it: This is proper old-fashioned advertising – bold graphics, a famous British brand and nearly a century of wear accumulated through real use. It would look brilliant amongst vintage kitchenalia, confectionery tins or advertising memorabilia.

Estimated date: Late 1920s–1930s

Maker: Fox’s Glacier Mints Ltd., Leicester, England

Material: Printed tinplate

Suggested selling price: £52.00