Toni Raymond Pottery Biscuit Barrel with Blue Floral Design

This is a nice example of a handmade ceramic biscuit barrel by Toni Raymond Pottery. Toni Raymond Pottery is situated in Torquay, South Devon and was originally started in 1961 by Raymond Smith and his wife, Toni. One of their successful lines at this time were the 1950s style flying ducks, and this fact is recorded in their logo. The pottery specialises in tableware, storage jars and figures in earthenware. The biscuit barrel is broadly cylindrical with an inward curve at the top. There is a turned wooden lid, which has a central raised rim, surrounded by a rubber washer to give an airtight seal. The rim is decorated with a band of reddish-brown glaze, which is repeated at the base and as a thin line around the shoulder. The latter is handpainted with pairs of stylised leaves. The front bears the word ‘BISCUITS’ in black. This is surrounded by stylised blue flowers and leaves. The back bears a bunch of the same flowers. The base has two unglazed foot rims, revealing the underlying white ceramic body. Within the central foot rim is a transfer printed logo, which consists of a black circle containing the words ‘TONI RAYMOND POTTERY ENGLAND’ and depicting a duck in flight in the centre. The biscuit barrel has a height (excluding the lid) of approximately 16.3cm, with a diameter at the rim of about 10.2cm and across the base of about 14.7cm. It is in good condition considering its age although there is one very small chip to the base. This damaged is reflected in the price.