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  “WELCOME NUGGET” BRAND TOBBACCO CADDY LABEL WITH MINING SCENE, CA 1880
Dimensions (inches): frame - 19" x 12.5", work - 13" x 6.5"
Description:
Stone lithographed, tobacco caddy label of the 1880’s, with an image of a miner holding up a huge gold ingot. Set against a backdrop of a mine, a mustached figure in tall riding boots and a wide brimmed hat exclaims” “Jack ‘Look at This.” The brand name “Welcome Nugget” is arched at the top in shadowed red letters, while the maker’s identification: “T.C. Williams Co. Manufactures; Virginia; U.S.A.” appears at the bottom in black and gold. A description of the reasoning for the brand name is etched on the rock:

“As the Welcome Nugget weighing 2217 oz. exceeds in purity & value, any lump of gold ever found. So this brand surpasses in quality any tobacco made.”

The Welcome Nugget was the name given to a large gold nugget that was discovered by a group of twenty-two Cornish miners at the Red Hill Mining Company site at Bakery Hill in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, on June 9, 1858. It was located in the roof of a tunnel 180 feet underground. Roughly shaped like a horse's head, it measured around 18 inches long by 6 inches wide and 6 inches high. It was assayed by William Birkmyre of the Port Phillip Gold Company and given its name by finder Richard Jeffery. Eclipsed by the discovery of the larger “Welcome Stranger” eleven years later, in 1869, also in Victoria, it remains the second largest gold nugget ever found. (Source: Wikipedia).

The colors and graphics are rich and exceptional.

Mounting: The two-part frame consists of a wood grained outer molding with a concave scoop and a shadowbox height, to which a richly gilded molding with a rippled profile was added as a liner. A double-thick mat, beveled at the edge and covered with our own 100% cotton twill, black in color, was added to keep the label away from the glazing, which is U.V. protective glass.

Condition: Excellent.
   
Primary Color: red, green, gold
Earliest Date: 1870
Latest Date: 1890
For Sale Status: Sold
Price SOLD
E-mail: info@jeffbridgman.com
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