Sold for A$2,800
J. H. Seidel / Wine & Spirit Merchant / Fitzroy. No potters stamp. Demijohn Impressed Two tone, tan top. Impressed to white body. 1/2 Gallon. 240 mm. 1890s
Very Good. Shallow 8 x 5 mm flake to upper left lip. Couple of little nicks to front lip. Left shoulder has an impact mark just through the glaze, a couple of very fine glaze hairlines from here over a very short distance. Small glaze flake to right rear shoulder. Right rear body has an impact mark over about 7 x 8 mm. Small scrape through the glaze below the handle. This area below the handle down about two thirds of the way and around a bit has some speckled dark staining. None of this is on the front. Some of the same sort of stain is on the tan neck around the handle as well, some speckling to the glaze at the front neck. As early as 1881, JH Seidel is advertising his grocery business opposite the Brunswick Hotel at 126 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy. In 1886, Seidel is advertising his Wine & Spirit Merchant business from 126 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy. J. H. Seidel was a grocer at 124 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy in 1901. It appears that John Hermann Seidel became insolvent in 1902. This is the only one of these we have ever seen, it is quite an amazing piece with the large impressed stamp on the front of the demijohn, certainly rates up there as one of the best impressed demijohns that we have seen. Grade: 7.6 Estimate: $750 - 1000
