Guy Mannering Tile
by John Moyr Smith
Minton's Waverly Novel Series

I can barely contain my excitement over what I've learned about this tile.  First some history.  Gvy (Guy) Mannering is a novel by Sir Walter Scott, published anonymously in 1815.  It is set in the 1760s to 1780s, mostly in southwest Scotland, but with episodes in Cumberland, Holland, and India.  The book was a huge success, the first edition selling out on the first day of publication.

The book begins with Mannering traveling alone in the wilder parts of Scotland when he gets lost at nightfall and is directed to the home of Godfrey Bertrand who takes him in.  While there he meets a Gypsy by the name of Meg Merrilies and a smuggler, Dirk Hatteraick, who captains ships that sail off the wild coast by Ellangowan.
Now about the tile.  Notice that at the top is the title of the book, Gvy Mannering and if you look at the print across the bottom, you will see the names Meg Merrilees and Hatterraick.  In the corner of the picture you will see CH-LIV.  I thought this might be some type of Roman date form and then suddenly I realized it means Chapter 54.  I looked up chapter 54 in the book and sure enough the chapter is about Hatteraick and Meg Merrilees in a cave.  So now I realized this is an illustration about the book,.

Now I researched Moyr Smith (shown on the left of the pic), which is John Moyr Smith ( March 1839 – December 1912), a famous British artist and designer, noted for his work on ceramic tiles.  As I looked further, I found that it is one of a set of 12 fireplace tiles created by Smith called the Waverly Novel Series (each tile represented a famous English novel).  Tile maker Minton produced these for the Paris Exhibition of 1878.  I was eventually able to find the tile on the internet, but everyone I found had already been sold. I found other Smith tiles that have sold for hundreds of dollars or pounds at auctions.

Clearly this is a bonafide antique (nearly 140 years old) and a rare collectible.  You have to wonder about the history of this particular tile.  At one point it probably hung on the fireplace of a wealthy British subject and somehow made its way to America and ultimately to a consignment shop in South Carolina. (The last two pics are examples of show how this type of fireplace tiles were used.)

Now is your chance to have a rare conversation piece or new addition to your antique collection at a remarkably low price.  Buy now while it's still available.

Measurements:  8 x 8 x .25 inches and weight is 1 lb, 14 ounces.

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