Vintage Fox’s Glacier Mints 10oz Advertising Tin – Polar Bear Design – c.1950s

Vintage Fox’s Glacier Mints 10oz Advertising Tin – Polar Bear Design – c.1950s

A wonderfully nostalgic original Fox’s Glacier Mints advertising tin, dating from around the mid-20th century and most likely the 1950s.

The cylindrical tin is decorated in the classic Fox’s colours of vivid red, white, deep blue and gold, with wonderfully characterful illustrations of polar bears displaying the famous clear rectangular Glacier Mints. The central panel reads:

“FOX’S Glacier Mints – Net 10 OZS.”

Additional panels show the mints individually wrapped, together with the familiar polar bear standing on a Glacier Mint and the wording “Made in the United Kingdom.” The tin is also marked for Fox’s Glacier Mints Ltd., Leicester, England.

Particularly appealing is the original old-fashioned key-opening arrangement around the top of the tin. Instructions printed on the body explain how the key was removed and used to wind open the metal sealing strip — the same ingenious packaging principle once commonly seen on food and confectionery tins. Today it makes a lovely little reminder of a very different era of British packaging.

A Little Fox’s History

Fox’s confectionery has deep roots in Leicester. Walter Richard Fox established his confectionery business there in 1880, with his son Eric later joining the company. Eric developed the clear peppermint sweet in 1918; originally known as Acme Clear Mint Fingers, the name was changed to Glacier Mints in 1919, inspired by their resemblance to tiny blocks of ice.

One of the great pieces of British confectionery branding followed in 1922, when “Peppy” the polar bear began appearing on Fox’s packaging. The original bear artwork was created by Leicester artist Clarence Reginald Dalby, who later became well known as an illustrator of the early Railway Series books featuring Thomas the Tank Engine.

The polar bear became inseparable from Fox’s Glacier Mints, and it is the repeated bear imagery around this tin that gives it such strong decorative and collecting appeal.

Condition

A genuine vintage example which has clearly had a useful life and now wears its age with plenty of character.

There is surface rust and oxidation, particularly to the base, lid, opening mechanism and exposed metal seams, together with scratches, rubbing, small areas of paint loss, tarnishing and general marks throughout. The interior also shows age-related discolouration and oxidation. There is some distortion around the upper opening associated with the original opening mechanism.

Importantly, the colourful printed decoration remains remarkably strong and legible, with the polar bears and Fox’s branding displaying particularly well.

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

A fabulous piece of vintage British confectionery advertising, ideal for a kitchenalia collection, vintage shop display, café or kitchen shelf — and an especially appealing piece for collectors of Fox’s memorabilia, advertising tins and classic British brands.

Date: Circa 1950s / mid-20th century

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

Material: Printed tinplate

Original contents: 10oz Fox’s Glacier Mints

Country of manufacture: United Kingdom