To reserve an item email: alligatormilitaria@gmail.com or text: +44 (0)7970 273034

Antique Grindley Hotel Ware side plate - Schools of the Good Shepherd - Leeds Parish Church

Leeds Parish Church (Saint Peter) was designed in the Gothic Revival style by Robert Dennis Chantrell and replaced the existing church which had major structural damage. It was completed in 1841 and became the biggest new church built in England since St. Paul's Cathedral and received the honorific title of "Minster' in 2012. The Leeds Parish Day School which opened in 1812 next to the church was badly damaged during WWII by a high explosive bomb. Luckily the main structure remained sound and the school re-opened after the war. It has since been replaced by an office and residential building.

Grindley Hotel Ware was formed in 1908, exclusively as a manufacturer of earthenware for the hotel and catering industry at a purpose-built factory utilising the most up-to-date machinery at Globe Pottery, Scotia Road, Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent. The company was sold in 1920 and incorporated within another business, its ownership subsequently changing a number of times until it became Dudson Duraline which continues to produce stylish tableware for the hospitality market.

Early tableware from 1908 has a backstamp of a Crown, below which is Grindley Hotel Ware in a straight line with ENGLAND, VITRIFIED in 2 lines below (as this example). The numerals 4 . 15 are impressed into the base - we believe this to be the date of manufacture. The later backstamp period up to 1932 utilised the Grindley Hotel Ware lettering arranged as a semi-circle, the words MADE In ENGLAND below.

This plate is in very good overall condition, with unblemished crest and edging lines. Three minor defects on underside which have possibly occurred during manufacture.

£35.00 + £4.20 P&P UK

Antique French Crucifix

Late Victorian or early Edwardian era, this is a beautifully detailed ebonised wooden crucifix with an almost piano black finish. The plain sheet metal cross is furnished with Art Nouveau patterned gilded metal embellishments which are typical of the period. The metal wall hanging loop is stamped MONTOY PARIS. A small circular indentation can be seen centrally at the bottom of the woodwork, possibly marking the point where a holy water font could have been attached.

Good overall antique condition. Some deep marks can be seen in the metalwork around Christ’s left hand and the metal generally has dulled with age. The gilding is also now a little dull but there is no surface wear, and there are some very minor surface marks to the black finish. In the grand scheme of things these are only minor issues and it remains an inspiring religious item.

H:25.5 x W:15cm £35.00 + £4.20 P&P UK

Vintage photo postcard and frame

Charming photograph of a nun with a group of young women taken in St. Gallen, Switzerland. The postcard is unused and has the following wording printed on the reverse: Photo - Baumgartner St. Gallen Burggraben 7 b/Speisertor u. obere Marktgasse. The town of St. Gallen grew around the Abbey of St. Gall which was founded in the 8th Century and now exists within a Catholic religious complex. The Convent of St. Gall has one of the oldest and most important abbey libraries in the world and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The postcard has two small tears along the top edge, the largest 2cm deep, and is held behind the glass by two sheets of thin card. The 2mm thick glass has rounded corners and polished edges with only minor imperfections. The stained wood frame is in excellent condition. All exactly as found.

Frame: H:18 x W:21 x D:4.2cm

Photo: H:14.5 x W:10.5cm

£17.00 + £4.20 P&P UK

Vintage church hymn numbers and storage box

Partitioned wooden box containing heavy duty white cards printed with black numerals from 1 to 0. Each partition is number stamped accordingly. The quantities of each number varies as follows: No.1 x 5; No.2 x 8; No.3 x 8; No.4 x 7; No.5 x 7; No.6 x 8; No.7 x 6; No.9 x 8; No.0 x 5. These are all well used showing grubbiness to varying degrees and slight staining. The sets of numbers 1 to 5 in particular show greater use, the right hand edges being compressed and worn with handling.

The box is sturdy with a full length brass hinge which has faint markings within a circle (possibly EBBM 26), together with a clearly stamped serial number 18-Z1935 - the latter a date perhaps? There is a section of plywood glued onto the underside of the lid which rests on the cards, presumably to prevent them rattling. Apart from two small blobs of grey paint, and signs of use, there is little to criticise.

Box: L:30 x D:10.8 x W:13cm

Cards: H:10.1 x W:7.6cm

£48.00 + £4.20 P&P UK