Coming fresh to market from a corn merchant’s shop, seven early/mid- 20th century enamel signs extolling Spratt’s pet food for dogs, cats and canaries attracted UK collectors to Bishop & Miller’s (20% buyer’s premium) Stowmarket sale on May 17.

Extracted from Antiques Trade Gazette | Terence Ryle

Best-seller was a 9in x 2ft (23 x 61cm) sign showing a spaniel and a St Bernard and proclaiming All dogs love Spratt’s Bonio (reg’d) the tasty bone shaped biscuit!.

Estimated at £100-150, it sold at £2700. “The collector who bought it had been after this sign for years,” said auctioneer Oliver Miller.

Making four times the estimate was a Sitwell Products Vibralux clockwork wall-mounted sign. With a 15in (38.5cm) diameter rotating panel to the rear and promoting Spratt’s dog foods with fresh water, it sold to another UK collector at £1900.

Cat food was marginally more affordable.

A 2ft x 12in (61 x 31cm) sign, Spratt’s puts pussy in fine form! Spratt’s Cat Food, made £1700 against a £500-700 estimate.

Nor did birdseed come cheap. A 2ft x 12in (61 x 30.5cm) enamel sign, Spratt’s canary mixture and budgerigar mixture, the clean, safe, sound bird seeds that are sold only in packets, was pitched at £100-150 but sold at £850.