Bidspirit auction | Wills & Sons Fine Shagg

Wills & Sons Fine Shagg Tobacco Advertising Figure - A polychrome advertising counter display figure for Wills & Sons Fine Shagg tobacco. The molded composition figure depicts a jovial man wearing a grey top hat with a black band, a yellow waistcoat over a cream shirt, and a red bow tie. He is shown leaning against a green plinth base, holding a clay pipe with a black metal stem and a printed paper tobacco canister. The canister bears a label for W.D. & H.O. Wills Bristol Old Friend tobacco featuring a portrait of a Black man. The front of the base features raised block lettering in red reading WILLS & SONS FINE SHAGG. The rear of the base is incised with the characters ITC 9161, referring to the Imperial Tobacco Company. The figure stands on a rectangular grey-painted base. Standing approximately 14 inches (35.5 cm) tall.