Pot Lid Comparison

The purpose of this month’s Photo of the Month is to demonstrate two pot lids which are printed from the same transfer engravings (in the case of these polychrome or “Prattware” lids, four differently colored prints), yet appear quite differently due to variations in the transfer printing. The left image is clearer but lighter in color than the “richer” lid on the right. Several minor imperfections indicate that the same transfer engravings were indeed used for both. Enlarge the image and see if you can find them. For those interested, these are lids made in England to containers filled with perfumes and other products by Jules Hauel & Co, which operated in Philadelphia from roughly 1840 to 1860.