Yesterday I went to a charity shop and I saw this very pretty little piece and I picked it up ...then I put it back down....walked away...then went back and looked at it again.
I also looked at two books and a voice behind me said "You can have them both for £2.00 if you want them." So I got them....while chatting to this Lady I asked if I could show her something and hopefully she would know what it was.
I took her to this item and she said "I know exactly what it is because I brought it in. It belonged to my Aunt who is 96 years old , she isn't very well and I'm going to see her later on"
She told me that her Aunt explained to her that you keep sweets in this and after dinner you would go around the room and offer people sweets. I did some research and found out what it is actually used for.
The lady asked where my accent was from, which got us talking about family history ...her name was Ann and she said I'll be right back...she brings this book over to me ( Herefordshire Constabulary 1857-1967) and opens it and shows me a photo of her Aunt who owned this item...I asked if the book was for sale and she said yes I have another copy, so I bought it.
I got her to hand write her name and relationship to the lady in the book by her photograph....
I'm just chuffed to bits with my little find and it's story. What a lovely lady I met today who shared her story about Emily Selina Phillips and the many things that she cherished and gave to charity. Emily was one of a group of women who were appointed police women in 1947 in Herefordshire. I brought the item in today to show the residents and to see if anyone knew what it was. I can tell you that it's not for sweets. We had a great discussion over this pretty little porcelain item. Can any of you guess what it is?