For 2023, I’m so excited to source and bring you more vintage homewares. I love finding one-of-a-kind objects and giving them new life as interesting pieces to display and use in your home.
Last year, I launched a couple of vintage pieces, the wooden brick moulds and chapati bowls to see if you would love them as much as I did. As it turned out, they were hugely popular! So I've been hunting for more heritage homewares which I'll be dropping all throughout the year for those with a soft spot for finding new, intriguing treasures.
One of my finds and a new product for 2023 are these genuine stoneware marmalade pots. In this blog I'll be diving into these beautiful pots' history and design to unveil what makes them so special…
About The Vintage Marmalade Pot
This classic marmalade pot dates back to the late Victorian to Edwardian-era. It was mainly used from the 1870s up until the 1920s when glass bottles and jars were introduced as a cheaper option and ceramic packaging became less popular.
While they’re known as marmalade pots, actually any and all preserved fruits were kept in them. A paper label was glued on the outside, then it was covered with either wax paper or a cloth lid and secured with tying a string around the horizontal groove below the rim.
Aesthetically, all these marmalade jars come in similar natural hues which make them the perfect pieces to integrate into any home to display flowers or use for stationary, kitchen or bathroom storage. Each one comes in either a creamy grey or beige stoneware with a clear, roughly-applied salt glaze, which results in a slightly rustic, orange-peel surface.
It seems that WP Hartley was the original designer of these distinctive jars. If the name rings a bell, that’s because WP Hartley was the founder of the UK’s well-known jam, marmalade and jelly company, Hartley’s. You may even find the name stamped on the base of your marmalade pot!
Beyond the distinguished colour and surface texture of these jars, the most recognisable features of this pottery type are the vertical grooves which can be found on our medium and large sized jars.
As a small token of history, each marmalade pot is unique. Some may show slight signs of age such as the odd mark or small chip. But their hard-wearing stone makes them a long-lasting home addition and these small, timeworn oddities just add to the overall appeal of owning such a wonderful piece of history.
These pots are limited in stock so be sure to pick up one if they’re still available. I source them when I can so if we’re out of stock, make sure to sign up to my newsletter where I’ll announce when our vintage items are back in stock or when new finds have been added to the collection!