Object number
58/64/1-2
Exhibition
Creator
Description
This is a counter pan, a bucket used for holding milk on sale in a dairy shop. It consists of a ceramic pan with two small handles, a metal lid coated with tin on the inside and brass on the outside and a strip of ventilation holes around the edge, and a bracket for carrying. The pan is white with a decorative border of pink roses with green leaves and the words ‘Pure Milk’. The lid is stamped ‘The Adaptable Milk Pan Cover Patent No. 1139720’. It was made by Dairy Outfit Co. Ltd. of Kings Cross, London, and acquired from Davey & Sons, a dairy firm in Brentwood, Essex.
Physical description
1 counter pan: china; 1 lid: metalA very attractive white china sales pan with a decorative border at the top and bottom of pink roses with green leaves. There is a border of green and brown on the top edge. It has two decorative handles for carrying. The words 'PURE MILK' are printed in brown on one side. The lid is made of metal coated with tin on the inside and brass on the outside. It has a rim which fits inside the pan. Above this is a strip with ventilating holes. Inside is a bracket to carry the measure. Part of the lid is hinged to lift up and enable milk to be ladled out. There is also a handle for lifting up the entire lid.
Label Text
<DIV STYLE="text-align:Justify;font-family:Georgia;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;font-size:16;color:#000000;"><P><SPAN><SPAN>6. <B>Counter Pan</B><P>Milk did not have a very positive commercial image in the towns and cities of the later nineteenth century. In the days before pasteurisation and widespread refrigeration, milk was a risky commodity, very quickly contaminated and easily watered down by unscrupulous sellers. To counteract this, up-market town dairies developed in the more prosperous areas. At the back was a cow-house where first class cows were kept in thoroughly clean and healthy conditions. To the front was a milk shop, fitted out with style and presenting a clean, cool environment where customers could taste and buy the fresh milk almost direct from the cow. The milk was served from attractive china pans like this one that sat on the counter. It was made by a specialist firm, the Dairy Outfit Company of London, which supplied the whole range of utensils and equipment for conducting a dairying operation along hygienic lines.<P>58/64/1-2</SPAN></SPAN></P></DIV>
Archival history
MERL ‘History Artefacts’ card – ‘Description: A very attractive white china sales pan with a decorative border at top and bottom of pink roses with green leaves. There is a border of green & brown on the top edge. It has two decorative handles for carrying. The words PURE MILK are printed in brown on one side. // The lid is made of metal coated with tin on the inside and brass on the outside. It has a rim which fits inside the pan. Above this is a strip with ventilating holes. Inside is a bracket to carry the measure. Part of the lid is hinged to lift up and enable milk to be ladled out. There is also a handle for lifting up the entire lid. // Use: For storing milk for sale in a Dairy Shop. // History: // Conservation: Cleaned & treated.’
Production place
Kings Cross
Object name
Material
Associated subject
Associated person/institution
