White Sir Nathaniel Pigs (January 24, 2009)
Finally, a ceramics collector has solved the mystery of two of the rarest NatWest pigs. Andy Cooper collects NatWest money boxes and he has tracked down the only two NatWest pigs painted with white tuxedoes. In the past two years, Andy has amassed a collection of 150 pieces. His two latest acquisitions are versions of Sir Nathaniel, the father of the set. The original had a black tuxedo with a red dickie bow and red rose, but Andy has found a pair wearing white jackets. He said: "I spoke to other collectors about the white Nathaniels and I started to investigate the story because it fascinated me. I put an advert in the Stoke Sentinel and had a fantastic response from people. The woman who actually painted these two white pigs has been in touch and told me she gave them to her niece, who took one on to the Cash In The Attic television show in 2004. It was sold in an auction house in Stoke and since then it changed hands two or three times before I managed to track it down about four weeks ago. For many years, collectors have said the story of the two white pigs is an old wives' tale, but I have proved it isn't." Since finding the pair just before Christmas, Andy, has been looking for proof that they are the real deal. He has had them inspected by other Wade collectors, tracked down a DVD of the Cash In The Attic programme and met Wade's technical manager, David Goddard, to put the final piece of the jigsaw together. Andy said: "I have put a lot of work into this but I feel lucky and privileged to be able to put this story together. I am not willing to say how much I paid for them. It's not about money, it's about putting a lid on the story." Click here to return to the News page
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