A 97-year-old ‘doll’ Easter egg, treasured for life by the little girl it was given to in 1924, smashed its auction estimate and is set to be enjoyed by thousands at a seaside tourist attraction.
Internet and phone bidders’ hearts were melted by the rare Pascall’s chocolate egg, which was discovered by Karl Martin, a Hansons Auctioneers valuer, during a routine home visit in Hulland Ward, Derbyshire.
In impressive condition given its age, it went to auction at Hansons’ Etwall saleroom, near Derby, with a guide price of £200-£300 on March 12 but sold for £800 after a bidding battle. The total paid with buyer’s premium was £1,040.
Now the rare Easter egg is poised to add a new dimension to Bygones, a popular tourist attraction in Torquay, Devon, which hopes to reopen on May 17. And no-one is more delighted than the sellers whose dream was to see it in a museum. The egg belonged to the late Christine Lilian Metcalf, the mother of a 74-year-old retired teacher from Hulland Ward, Derbyshire who, together with her brother decided to part with the egg.
Christine when she was a little girl and her doll egg.
Christine’s daughter said: “This is wonderful news. We always hoped it would go to a museum. We watched the auction live and it was so exciting. It’s been a lovely experience and we couldn’t have wished for a happier ending. Mum would have been thrilled – she loved the seaside.”
Richard Cuming, a partner in Bygones which houses 100,000-plus items from the Victorian era to the 1960s including a 1900 Christmas pudding, said: “We’re always looking for unusual items to add to our displays and were particularly drawn to the back story and the fact this Easter egg has survived and remained uneaten for nearly 100 years. Being able to add details of its original owner and why it was never eaten adds another dimension.
“Christine obviously treasured her Pascall’s chocolate egg from her Aunty Poll and having survived World War Two and 10 house moves, it’s appropriate that it should be on public display for everyone to enjoy.
“The egg and story will have its own separate display case which will be in place for when we are able to reopen on May 17.It’s simply too interesting just to be brought out once a year at Easter and we hope the family will be able to visit us to see its new home.
Hansons valuer Karl Martin came across the egg during a routine home visit.
The Easter egg’s survival was down to the care lavished on it by Christine Metcalf. Her Aunty Poll gave her the egg when she was two years old in 1924 – and she loved it so much she simply couldn’t bear to eat it. Christine carefully tucked it away in a chest of drawers in her bedroom, proudly bringing it out occasionally to show members of her family.
Christine was born in Islington, London, on April 13, 1922, the daughter of Christopher and Lilian Holt. The egg moved 10 times with the family to homes in Barnet, Hertfordshire and Kent. For the last 30 years of her life, it remained at her home in Hulland Ward.
Charles Hanson, owner of Hansons, said: “What a wonderful happy Easter story. It’s a cracking result for a cracking find. One of our valuers, Karl, came across the egg during a routine home visit and immediately knew it was something special. It’s in remarkable condition, having been protected by a decorated egg-shaped casing covered in violets.Christine couldn’t bring herself to eat it because she loved the ‘doll’ so much. The chocolate egg is the body which is dressed in a paper costume with a doll’s head on top.
“The fact that the egg has survived so long is remarkable in itself but in today’s throwaway society people find it incredible that a little girl of two had the self-discipline to never eat it.Christine passed away at the age of 97 on Christmas Eve in 2019.”
Christine, standing front centre, and in later life.
Christine’s daughter said: “Mum used to bring the egg out from time to time to show her children and grandchildren as a special treat. You were allowed to touch it, if somewhat gingerly. I saw it a dozen times during the course of my life. It was safely tucked away in mum’s chest of drawers most of the time, which, I suppose, is why it’s survived so well.
“We had no idea it might be worth anything. Hansons happened to be assessing some items at my house and I showed the egg to their valuer Karl Martin. He was amazed and said collectors would be interested in buying it.
“My mother has four grandchildren and seven great grandchildren so it was impossible to decide who to give it to.So, my brother and I decided to sell it in the hope it might be bought by a museum.
“Our mother’s mum, Lilian Holt, was the eldest of seven children, all born in and around the First World War. They were not a wealthy family and mum didn’t have much when she was small, so when her Aunty Polly, or Poll as she was known, gave her the egg it was treasured forever.Mum’s always been the same. I brought her some pretty flower chocolates in Holland once but she struggled to bring herself to eat them. I was always telling her to enjoy them before they went out of date.”
The Queen and Princess Mary visited Pascall’s factory in 1921.
The 1920s Easter egg was manufactured by James Pascall Ltd, of Mitcham, Surrey – a company founded in 1866, in Wells Street, London, by former Cadbury employee James Pascall, before moving to larger premises in Blackfriars, and eventually Mitcham in 1897 after a fire at the company factory. The Queen and Princess Mary visited the factory in 1921.The Prince of Wales awarded the company a royal warrant in 1922.In the 1960s, Pascall’s was bought out by Cadbury-Fry, before the factory in Mitcham was shut down in 1970 and moved to Cadbury, Birmingham.
The Easter egg was sold on March 12 in Hansons’ Antiques and Collectors Auction at the firm’s headquarters in Etwall, Derbyshire. Catalogues/bidding: www.hansonslive.co.uk
