Money Box Tin, Churchill's Heritage of England, English Post Box, London, 20th Century

An English money box tin by Churchill's of London, from the Heritage of England series, in the form of a British red pillar box. The cylindrical tin is printed all around with a lively scene: a postman emptying a mail sack, children posting a letter and a dog on the pavement, all set against the familiar red pillar box bearing the inscriptions GR and Post Office. The tin has a coin slot in the side and a removable lid. The interior is gold-lacquered and in good condition; the exterior shows light signs of use.

The GR marking refers to Georgius Rex, the Latin royal title of George V and George VI, indicating that the pillar box depicted dates from before 1952. Churchill's Confectionery used tins of this kind as packaging for English Cream Toffees, aimed at the tourist and gift market. The Bodnitz Allan Registered Design stamp confirms the design was formally protected. This tin is a representative example of the late twentieth-century British souvenir industry, which deliberately recycled the iconography of Victorian and Edwardian street life.