On page 57 of Professor Mortimer’s new book it says that the source of the picture on the above pot lid is unknown.

I am enclosing a photocopy of a small print of Great Yarmouth Quay, which I have purchased today at an Antiques Fair. The small print explains that it is an engraving dated 1819 by J C Varral from a drawing by John Sell Cotman for ‘ Excursions through Norfolk’.

Whilst the pot lid has additional foreground boats, the background has enough exact correlation with this print, to leave me in no doubt that the scene is of Great Yarmouth quayside and that the source is a J C Cotman painting. Whether or nor Vorral omitted the Cotman’s foreground boats, or the pot lid artist took liberties with the Cotman’s painting and added foreground boats, I do not know as I have not see the Cotman’s painting.

Some notes on 69 – River scene with boat from K. Mortimer in response to the above letter.

We have for an long time been unable to identify the picture from which the lid was copied and the origins of the R.W. on the boat has been a matter of speculation. One of our members, John Dickson, has recently purchased a print from 1819 by JC Varrel from a drawing from John Sell Cotman for ‘Excursions through Norfolk’. With the exception of the boats in the foreground, the print is identical to the pot lid and depicts the Great Yarmouth Quay. A comparison of the print with the picture on the pot lid clearly identifies the origins of the background buildings that are the North Quay and the bridge to the right of the picture is the Haven Bridge. Practically all the other features on the lid can be identified on the print. John Sell Cotman (1782 – 1842) was a leading figure in the Norwich School of artists and was best known for his watercolours.

The Quay was second only to the famous Quay in Seville in Spain as being the most extensive and finest in Europe; it was 1 mile 270 yards long and in many places150 yards broad; it was divided into two nearly equal parts extending either way from the bridge and identified by the names North and South Quays.

We know Blanchflower were a prominent manufacturer in Great Yarmouth who used pot lids and jar in which to market their goods. Mr Dickson suggested that R.W. might refer to Wrights, however when I sought the help of John Lewington to track down this possible connection, he was unable to find any information on such a firm. He examined the Directories of Norfolk for the years 1836, 1845, 1850 and 1854, but was unable to find any R. Wright with an appropriate trade, which might explain the R.W on the boat. The only possible candidate for the R.W. was a Robert Watts listed under the trade group of fish curers in 1845 and 1854 Directories, but we have no evidence for this connection. It is possible that in a paper of the period, there may be an advertisement for a firm with the initials R.W. that could be related to the lid.

I would like to thank John Dickson for the information of the print and to John Lewington for his research on the Directories of Norfolk.

The only examples of these lids were dug on the dumps filled with refuse from London during the Victorian period, supporting the theory that they were retailed in London. The inclusion of the R.W initials are very prominent and I feel support the premises that they represent the initials of the retailer.

Just like the coloured examples (FIG 10) the prominence is similarly obvious. The fact that the source engraving featured a view from Great Yarmouth is coincidental, providing only a backdrop to the sailing vessels on the lid.

As with most areas of our hobby, speculation to attribution will remain just that, but I felt he evidence provided by Frank George is the strongest evidence to date that supports Robert Wood as the retailer of Lid 61 ‘ River Scene with Boat (R.W)’.