Enamel

If you look at records left by chroniclers interested in the enamel trade, you can see how hard the makers of enamel articles worked. In an excerpt quoted in Susan Benjamin’s book ‘English Enamel Boxes’ there is an excerpt from 1747 ‘A General Description of all Trades’on enamellers. ‘Their hours of business are from six in the morning to eight at night’. ‘A good hand will get three to four shillings.’ Looking at the delightful items, so intimate and personal, we can imagine them at their work and appreciate their legacy even more. How amazed they would be at prices charged today! Have a look at the delicious etui in rose enamel under the heading of ‘sewing sets’.