PREFACE
This smokers memorabilia has so much history behind it, from the social attitudes towards smoking through to the maker and for whom this dish was made.
This dish takes one back around 100 years in Australian history, smoking was a accepted part of social life in these times and often the "public figures" (especially female movie stars) could be seen smoking up on the silver screen. One Marx Brothers motion picture I viewed recently even portrayed the theatre audience happily puffing away, so much smoke they could hardly see the screen!
This dish would have been considered quite "ordinary" when folks were sitting around socialising and taking a puff - this "monster of an ashtray" has been designed with eight people in mind! This is the mother of all ashtrays!
The smoking dish was made by Phoenix Manufacturing in Melbourne, this Imperial product was a trademark used from 1932 onwards. The company were producers of high quality electro-plated tableware for the Australian marketplace, heavy plating thickness (A1) and using pure Broken Hill Silver. All of their equipment was Australian designed and made, they were not just a branch of an English or American Silversmith. The company enjoyed considerable success during the 1920 ~1930's period, especially as imported Silverplate was becoming difficult for the public to access due to wartime restrictions. Eventually all good things come to an end and the company wound up in the mid 1960's
But the most interesting part of the history is that this dish was commissioned by a NSW regional jeweller located in Mudgee. This jeweller, H.E. (Harold) Richardson, had his shop in Market Street, outside and to one side of the old Town Hall building (now the Library), Mudgee and the restored building (it was ravished by fire in 1978) still stands to this day and is NSW Heritage listed.
Harold was a well known and respected businessman in the Mudgee area and I have seen frequent mention of him in the local Mudgee Gazette during the 1930 ~ 1940's period, for example he used to provide the highly prized M.B.C trophy (Cycle Road Racing) in their annual race event. Harold was born back in 1887 and passed away at the very young age of just 55 in 1942.
This smoking dish was commissioned by Richardson Jewellers, not made by them, but suited their reputation for high quality Silver plated and Sterling wares of the time.
Of course I was not "around" in those times and my information was gleaned by researching the archival files at TROVE online and local burial records - if you are interested in experiencing life way back 100 years or so ago, take a look
News was "different" in those days, especially Regional News ... here is an example
Enough of the background, here is a detailed description of this dish
PHOENIX MANUFACTURING - Smokers Dish
Made in Melbourne, Australia
Imperial Series
Commissioned by H.E. Richardson (Jewellers) of Mudgee, NSW
Circa 1930's ~ 1940's
We do not usually offer items on other people's behalf, an extended family member has asked us to see if 'someone' may like to add this EPNS Australiana to their collection, they are clearing out everything they have collected over the years so this piece needs a new home to live in.
Quite frankly I was stunned at the condition of this smokers dish, this type of item usually gets pretty heavy use and I have seen others which were in pretty poor condition but not this one, it is in very good condition considering it is approaching it's Centenarian anniversary. Obviously it has been kept clean and polished by the owners, like us they see no point in preserving the "patina" of old Silverware, a slightly bizzare concept that old Silverware should look "dirty"!
The design is basically an oval shaped dish but with octagonal sides and rests for eight smokes.
Series name: Imperial (used from 1932 onwards)
Finish: Silver Plate (E.P.N.S A1 Grade) Phoenix manufactured A1 using 18% Nickel Silver with a nice heavy plating which was much more durable than "other" Silverplated wares.
Identification:
Stamped into the underside of the dish
DIMENSIONS:
215mm x 150mm wide x 15mm deep
174g weight
CONDITION:
DTNS RATING: 9/10 (Darling! That's Nice Silverware!)
CLEAN
Minor surface scratches or marks to the topside dish area and underneath, nothing serious and these appear to have been created by vigorous cleaning over the years.
NO physical damage to the dish at all e.g dents
Topside I can see NO oxidisation but on the underside there are three small spots (pitting) due to oxidisation and probably sitting in a wet area for prolonged periods - not serious but noticeable spots.
Nice example of vintage Australiana, specifically regional NSW related and to maintain this condition while the dish patiently waits for a new home to live in, I have packed this smoking dish into a sealed, clear plastic packet.
A LITTLE HUMOUR TO FINISH WITH ...
Smoking is not a very smart habit to "take up" and it has deadly serious health affects for the smoker. Usually the contemporary cigarette packets show unpleasant pictures of what may happen to a smoker, typical examples being associated with various cancers as an example.
However, I just had to laugh when I was in Asia some years ago and was handed an empty packet of cigarettes about 15 years ago in Asia "Hey Joe, take a look at this" every male tourist was called Joe, it came from the Americans back in WWII ... yes it had warning information about the dangers of smoking but Oh no, the emphasis was not on the smoker's general health but their SEX life! No worries about cancer but the emphasis was all about how smoking could severely affect your sex life ... Sometimes you just have to laugh at how other cultures have different perspectives
