Lot 754 email save

A fine and extensive collection of souvenirs from

A fine and extensive collection of souvenirs from the British Empire Exhibition held at Wembley in 1924 and 1925, mostly metalware items in silver plate, brass, aluminium etc., including trays of various sizes, a Swan brand teapot, Lipton's souvenir tea caddies, fluted vases, mugs, mustard & salts, napkin rings, tea strainer, cutlery, hair tidy, match covers, ladies compact and vanity mirror, freestanding Wembley Lion emblems, miniature figures representing Empire countries, lapel button, brooch, tie pins, boxed set of opera glasses etc. The British Empire Exhibition was opened by King George V on 23rd April 1924. 56 of the 58 British colonies at the time participated in the event which cost Ł12million to stage and attracted 27 million visitors, by far the largest exhibition held anywhere in the world. The venue at Wembley in Middlesex was made famous by the building of the British Empire Exhibition Stadium, or Empire Stadium for short. This was immediately adopted by football, with the first F.A. Cup final being played there a year before the Exhibition opened. Wembley Stadium quickly established itself as the home of football.