methods, brought back with him a number of skilled artists and workmen.
About this time, too, Mr. John Rose, who had learned the art of pottery
under Turner, left him to establish a factory of his own at Jackfield.
Jackfield, it may be noticed in passing, is one of the oldest potteries
in the country. As early as 1560 entries occur in the parish registers
of Stoke-upon-Trent of potters “from Jackfield.” In a disused coal mine
here, some years ago, a brown mug was found which bore the date 1634.
Jackfield was noted for some of its black decanters of superior glaze,
and up to quite a modern date made a yellow glazed earthenware.
Finally, the competition between Mr. Rose and the old Caughley works
became so great that the old factory was swallowed up by the new one,
and Coalport became the headquarters and the name of the firm became
John Rose and Company, Mr. Turner withdrawing from the business.
The exact dates are as follows: Between 1780 to 1790 John Rose
established his works at Coalport (he was only at Jackfield for a few
years). He carried on these and the Caughley, which he purchased in
1799, up till 1814, when Caughley was finally discontinued.
[Illustration: Early Marks.]
All these are very dry facts which you must master in order to
understand the specimens on your china shelf. There is an additional
interest, it always seems to me, in knowing of the men and women
who gave their lives to the perfection of an industry. There are in
existence portraits of Thomas Turner and his wife, and we should
particularly like to see the likeness of the lady who secretly mixed
the chinas. Perhaps some of our readers may come across some family in
Shropshire who may possess them.
With regard to marks, unfortunately not all the specimens of Caughley
were marked. The above are some of the varieties of the crescent
occurring on some of the ware, and show pretty clearly the transition
from a half-moon to the engraved C. The word “Salopian” is sometimes
impressed, and on one known specimen is the name “Turner.” Various
forms of the letter “S,” sometimes with a cross, are used.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century the written name “Coalport”
was used, though not extensively, and another mark, the letters “C.
D.,” standing for Colebrookdale, was also used, but somewhat sparingly.
In 1820 both Swansea and Nantgarw factories were incorporated with
Coalport, and Messrs. Billingsley and Walker, well-known names in the
history of English china manufacture, came to Coalport. In 1820 Mr.
Rose received the gold medal of the Society of Arts for his Felspar
porcelain, and this date is a turning point in the history of Coalport.
At this time Coalport began to establish a reputation for its
excellence, which placed it on a level with the other great
manufactories—a reputation, be it said, that has increased as time has
gone on. We reproduce a handsome vase of Coalport manufacture, richly
decorated with pink and gold, on a blue ground. Its elegant form is
typical of the ware at its best period.
At the present moment the productions of Coalport, both old and modern,
are unequalled in their domain. The old traditions of the firm are
still maintained, and the ware of to-day is of the highest possible
artistic merit and excellence.
[Illustration: COALPORT VASE.
(Blue Ground, richly Decorated in Pink and Gold.)]
By the kindness of the proprietors of the Coalport manufactory, we
are enabled to give some further account of the modern ware, and to
reproduce illustrations of the later marks used and of the sumptuous
plates turned out at the present day from Iron Bridge, in Shropshire.
In the year 1820, the first year of the reign of George IV., Mr. John
Rose obtained the gold medal of the Society of Arts for his “improved
glaze for porcelain.” At this time a mark was adopted on some of the
ware, “Coalport Improved Felspar Porcelain,” enclosed in a wreath of
laurel. Surrounding the wreath are the words “Patronised by the Society
of Arts.” The name “I. Rose and Co.” is marked underneath. If any of
our readers have any porcelain having this mark, they will notice how
good is the paste and how excellent the glaze.
[Illustration: Coalport Marks.]
Just prior to the mark above alluded to, the word Coalport was used
and sometimes the letters “C. D.”—standing for Cole-Brook-Dale. Other
marks of a later date are a monogram formed of the letters “C. B. D.,”
and the same enclosed in a circle with the word “Daniell, London,” an
eminent firm acting as agents and connected with the sale of the ware
in London. This firm had depôts in Bond Street and in Wigmore Street,
and there is in the national collection a plate with _bleu-de-roi_
ground, enriched with gilding, one of a service executed by command of
Her Majesty the late Queen Victoria for presentation to the Emperor of
Russia. This service was exhibited at the Great Exhibition of 1851.
In the centre of the plate is painted the Order of St. Andrew, while
the body is ornamented with Russian orders painted on ivory-coloured
ground in six compartments.
We now come to a very curious mark which may have puzzled some of our
readers, but which is easily explained. It is a scroll somewhat like
that which stands for the word “and”—&. Within its curves appear the
three letters “C. S. N.” Upon examination it will be found that the
aforesaid curves really make two letters, viz., “C. and S.,” which
stand for _Coalport_ and _Salopian_, while the other three letters
stand for _Caughley_, _Swansea_, and _Nantgarw_—the whole emblematical
of the development of the manufactory and its absorption of the smaller
factories.
We give an illustration of the various marks placed in order of date
used, up to and including the one now in use by the firm. Our readers
may be able to form some idea by comparison of the dates of their
specimens.
[Illustration: LATEST COALPORT MARKS.]
It must be observed that much of the earlier Coalport was unmarked,
while—we blush to have to print it—some of the ware imitated the double
“L” mark of Sèvres, and the “C” and anchor of Chelsea and the crossed
swords of Dresden, so successfully as to delude the unwary collector.
The celebrated egg-shell porcelain of Coalport ranks among the most
marvellous china ever produced in this country. It is rarely marked
with any letters or signs, but it carries upon it a signature of
perfection of manufacture and exquisite symmetry of design such as no
other factory dared emulate, and no other factory has since approached.
These tiny cups and saucers (the cup follows Chinese models by having
no handle) are gems of ceramic art, and happy is the collector who can
number one or two good specimens in his china cabinet.
The well-known “Willow Pattern,” first manufactured here, is from a
Chinese model. It is still manufactured by the Coalport Company, and
is one of their stock patterns. It appears on a list of some forty
patterns, which can be and are manufactured without the use of lead.
Readers may find the words “Leadless Glaze” on some of their quite
recent purchases in modern china. The terrible effects of lead on the
workpeople in china factories is a subject which has received the
attention of Parliament (see p. xxiii). But in passing it is highly
satisfactory to find that the Coalport Company turn out, without
special order, forty patterns entirely “leadless.” Any one who is
specially desirous of having “leadless glaze” on any other of the
Coalport ware may do so by ordering it.
To come down to the very latest marks, there are three that have been
in use. The first in the seventies, the second in the eighties, and
the last, now solely used, was adopted some twelve years ago with the
addition of the word “England” to meet the requirements of the American
Tariff Act, which made it compulsory for foreign goods to be thus
stamped.
[Illustration: OLD COALPORT VASE.
(Decorated in pink and white. Marked CBD.)]
The first has the words “Salopian, Coalport,” in a scroll, which has
within it the old mark of Caughley, a crescent with “A.D. 1750” beneath
it, and in addition the letters “C. S. N.,” in scroll as before alluded
to, and having the date, “A.D. 1790,” underneath. This is a very
complicated mark, and is not generally known.
The second is a crown with the word “Coalport, A.D. 1750,” underneath.
The third is the same with the addition of the word “England.”
In conclusion we may quote the fact, to give our readers some idea of
the quality of the ware now being exported by the Coalport Company,
that some of the dinner ware sent to America costs no less a sum than
£5 per plate, while there are even more sumptuous and magnificent
specimens of their manufacture which cost £15 each plate. One of these,
amongst others, is a plate with a coloured design painted after Sir
Joshua Reynolds’ celebrated portrait of Mrs. Robinson.
CHARACTERISTICS OF CAUGHLEY AND COALPORT CHINA.
_Caughley._—The early pieces, printed in under-glaze blue, resemble the
early Worcester blue and white; but Caughley is whiter in appearance,
and the blue has not the mellowness of old Worcester. Introduction of
“Willow pattern,” and similar designs, and the “Broseley dragon.”
_Coalport._—“Chantilly sprig,” “Tournay sprig,” “Worm sprig,”
introduced by Billingsley from Pinxton. A maroon ground, introduced
by Walker from Nantgarw about 1822. The deep mazarine blue of Derby,
reproduced at Coalport, is quite equal to Derby pieces in tone.
The rich ground colours of old Sèvres porcelain were copied with
great success at Coalport, particularly the turquoise blue and the
_rose-du-Barri_.
SALE PRICES.
CAUGHLEY. £ s. d.
Tea and coffee service, fluted, flowers in
blue and gold and dark blue and
gold borders, 31 pieces. Christie,
January 30, 1902 7 7 0
Vases, pair, 14 in., decorated with raised
flowers and gilt, and choicely painted
in birds and Watteau subjects. Gudgeon
& Sons, Winchester, April 3, 1902 15 10 0
COALPORT.
Bowl and cover, two-handled, encrusted
with branches of coloured flowers
and foliage, 11 in. high. Christie,
April 4, 1902 16 5 6
Coalport vase, with gilt decoration on
turquoise ground, 10-1/2 in. high.
Christie, July 5, 1920 17 17 0
Pair of Coalport vases and covers,
painted with panels of flowers in gilt
scroll borders on dark blue ground,
the covers surmounted by figures of
children with garlands of flowers,
17 in. high. Christie, July 20, 1920 40 19 0
VIII
SPODE AND
HIS SUCCESSORS
[Illustration: COPELAND VASES.
Cobalt-blue ground, painted panels of Flowers and Landscapes. Raised
border, richly gilded.
_Reproduced by courtesy of W. T. Copeland & Sons, Stoke-on-Trent._]
[Illustration: SPODE EARTHENWARE PLATES.
(May-blossom on dark blue ground, and tropical bird and flowers on
canary yellow ground.)
_In the Collection of the Author._]
VIII
SPODE AND HIS SUCCESSORS
The chain of potters is complete from the day on which Josiah Spode
was apprenticed to Whieldon in 1749. The entry in the old account book
runs: “1749, April 9th. Hired Siah Spode, to give him from this time to
Martelmas next 2s. 3d., or 2s. 6d. if he deserves it, 2nd year 2s. 9d.,
3rd year 3s. 3d.” The successors to Spode, Messrs. Copeland, have done
much to develop the manufacture of English porcelain in the nineteenth
century, and at the present day they are producing china of the highest
excellence.
The first Josiah Spode established a factory at Stoke-upon-Trent about
1770. Some of his earliest productions bear the name “Spode” impressed
in the paste. Those of my readers who have blue willow-pattern plates
with this mark upon them are the possessors of some of the first plates
of that pattern made. About 1780 the willow pattern was introduced by
Turner at Caughley, and very shortly afterwards, in 1784, Josiah Spode
was turning out at Stoke his blue printed plates. Some of his china is
printed in black, and pieces of this black printing are much sought
after by collectors, but they must bear the word “Spode” impressed on
them.
[Illustration: OLD SPODE PASTILLE-BURNER.
(Red body with black ornaments in relief.)
_At Victoria and Albert Museum._]
The vase which we reproduce from the collection at the Victoria and
Albert Museum is a pastille-burner having perforated cover; it is
mounted on tripod stand formed by three dolphins on triangular base;
it is red in colour and ornamented in black in relief. It has the
impressed mark “Spode,” and is earthenware, but we give it here on
account of its fine form.
On the death of old Josiah Spode, in 1798, his son Josiah continued
the business, and commenced the manufacture of porcelain, which he
improved by the addition of bone-ash and of felspar. He died in 1827,
and was succeeded by his cousin, Josiah Spode. This third Josiah Spode
died a few years afterwards, at which date the name Spode practically
disappears from the firm.
Josiah Spode the second was the most successful potter of his day.
It is pleasing to be able to record that he acquired a considerable
fortune—a lot not often within the reach of potters, successful or
otherwise.
About the year 1805 he introduced a fine ware which he termed opaque
porcelain. This ware became very popular and was of excellent
manufacture. While Nelson was fighting the French at Trafalgar, and
breaking their naval pretensions, Josiah Spode was inflicting a
commercial blow upon that unhappy country. Spode—and in his wake came
other Staffordshire manufacturers—inundated France and other countries
on the Continent with this new stone china of his, which entirely
superseded their fayence. This injury was a very real one to the poor
potters of France, inasmuch as a great number of them had to abandon
the manufacture.
We have already alluded to the impressed mark =Spode= or SPODE. On
some of the finer pieces the name is painted in red, and sometimes it
is written in gold, as in our third mark in an angular hand, running
upwards. The stamped mark usually in red, “Spode’s New Fayence” and
“Spode Stone China,” appears on the ironstone ware. Oftentimes the mark
is not stamped on the middle of the plate underneath, but at the side,
while sometimes the name is both stamped and impressed. Besides the
marks we give there are more than half a dozen other forms used by the
factory, but all of them containing the word “Spode,” and therefore not
presenting difficulties to the collector.
[Illustration: SOME SPODE MARKS.]
Of three marked Spode plates in possession of the writer, of typical
Spode decoration, which was largely influenced by Japanese art, we
give two as a headpiece. It will be observed that the left-hand plate
in the headpiece, which has a vivid blue background, is fretted with a
geometric pattern as a design. This is intended to represent ice, and
the may-flowers of the covering decoration are intended to convey, by
the Chinese artist who invented it, the symbolic meaning of young love
being chilled by adversity. The other plate in the same illustration
is of a brilliant canary-coloured ground, covered with a gossamer-like
network of cobwebs, above which bird and flowers are painted.
The third plate shows very strongly the influence of the East in its
method of decoration; but instead of pagoda and delicate curves,
the English artist has almost brutally placed a piece of European
architecture on the other half of the plate, which by its incongruity
mars the remainder.
[Illustration: SPODE PLATE.
(Decorated in blue and red and gold.)
_In the Collection of the Author._]
We must turn aside from Spode, and introduce our readers to his
successors, the Copelands. One word in passing. Those who have
specimens of Spode ware will do well to remember that his was a great
factory, not so well known as Derby and Worcester, but a formidable
rival of theirs. Not many months ago at Christie’s a pair of Spode
vases, square shaped, decorated with landscapes, birds and flowers in
the Chinese style, forty-two inches, brought £21.
[Illustration: MARKS OF MESSRS. COPELAND.]
The list of marks used by Messrs. Copeland will show at a glance the
changes in the title of the firm. In 1833 the firm became Copeland,
late Spode, and the china was marked accordingly.
There are a good many other marks besides those we give, but all are
more or less similar, with slight variation to those we produce. A
word of explanation is necessary as to the mark “C. and G.” This is
frequently accompanied by the words, “New Blanche,” “Royal Opal,”
“Saxon Blue,” or “New Japan Stone,” according to the composition or
decoration of the ware.
[Illustration: SPODE WILLOW PATTERN PLATES.
_By courtesy of Messrs. W. T. Copeland & Sons._]
About the date of the International Exhibition of 1861, many purely
English novelties were attempted. Mistletoe, holly, and simple popular
designs were then in favour and were produced. Nobody could possibly
mistake the homely robin or the holly-wreath decoration for that of
any other country than ours. There is a suggestion of roast beef and
plum-pudding and Christmas fare. All purely English art is homely,
whether it be the Staffordshire potter’s farmyard quadrupeds that adorn
the cottage mantelshelf, or the old blue dinner services of our great
grandmothers. It is a debatable point if that is the highest art, but
there it is. Ruskin would have had some hard things to say about it,
and maybe William Morris preferred the potsherd of an Italian shepherd.
The fact remains that it is _our_ art, and whatever we may in our
innermost hearts wish it to be, we have to take it and study it as we
find it.
Before leaving the subject of these later and more modern chinas we may
say, in passing, that the firm of Messrs. Copeland have done more than
any other existing firm to maintain the traditions of a great factory.
They have adhered to early designs, and all through the nineteenth
century their record has been an exceedingly high one. It was Messrs.
Copeland who first introduced, in 1845, their Parian ware, a very near
approach to true porcelain. The writer has seen a Copeland and Garrett
plate which in appearance was fully equal to Derby at its best period.
CHARACTERISTICS OF SPODE CHINA.
Spode ware is well potted, and feels to the touch like turned ivory.
It can readily be distinguished from any of the glassy porcelains. It
is light in weight. In design it follows Japanese more than Chinese
models. The glaze is very even and smooth.
SALE PRICES.
SPODE.
Vase and cover, octagonal-shape, decorated £ s. d.
with flowers in Oriental taste
in colours and gold, 24 in. high.
Christie, January 14, 1902 5 15 6
Vases, five, purple, crimson, and gilt
decoration. Foster, January 9, 1902 9 5 0
Basket and cover, dark blue and gold
ground, and painted with bouquets
of flowers. Sotheby, February 24, 1902 6 2 6
Dishes, two, oblong shaped, decorated
in the Japanese taste, blue, red,
and gold. Hepper & Sons, Leeds,
February 5, 1902 3 15 0
Spill-vases, pair, gold ground, painted
in flowers. Hepper & Sons, Leeds,
February 5, 1902 2 0 0
Cake-plates, three, gilt and painted landscapes,
“The Church and Castle of
Scurlogstown, Co. of East Meath,”
“The Remains of Wolvesey Castle,”
and “The Bridge and Priory, Newtown,
Co. of East Meath” (marked
“Spode”). Edwards, Son & Bigwood,
Birmingham, May 13, 1902 10 10 0
Dessert service, apple-green border,
gilt, each piece painted in flowers
and fruit, consisting of one tall compôte,
seven oval dishes, four leaf-shaped
ditto, two sauce-tureens,
covers and stands, and seventeen
plates. Bennett & Son, Dublin, June
18, 1902 27 10 0
Dessert service, decorated in Oriental
colourings, 37 pieces. Brady & Sons,
Perth, September 1, 1902 16 16 0
Dinner set, decorated with sprays,
leaves, and flowers, comprising 119
pieces. Brady & Sons, Perth, September
1, 1902 25 0 0
Dinner set, decorated in scarlet, blue,
green, and gold, comprising 133
pieces. Brady & Sons, Perth, September
1, 1902 45 0 0
Tea service, gilt and decorated, 45
pieces. Jabez Jones & Sons, Preston,
December 15, 1902 28 7 0
Vases and covers, pair, large square
shaped, decorated with landscapes,
birds and flowers in the Chinese
taste in sunk panels on dark-blue
ground, gilt with foliage, and with
dragon handles in high relief and
figures on the covers, 42 in. high,
on wood pedestals, painted white.
Christie, December 19, 1902 21 0 0
Pair of Spode pastille-burners and
covers, painted with flowers in the
Chinese taste on dark blue ground,
supported by three gilt dolphins, on
triangular bases, mark in red, 7 in.
high. Puttick & Simpson, July 9, 1920 6 6 0
Set of three Spode vases, gilt with foliage
scrolls on dark blue ground, and
with scroll handles, outlined with
gilt. Puttick & Simpson, July 9, 1920 5 15 6
COPELAND.
Vases, set of three, rich blue, gilt, white
scroll handles, and painted in colours,
with wild flowers, centre vase
15 in. high, side vases 13-1/2 in. high
(marked “Copeland & Garrett, Felspar
Porcelain, late Spode”). Edwards,
Son & Bigwood, Birmingham,
May 13, 1902 26 0 0
Dessert service of 24 pieces, pink ground,
decorated with gold, the centres
painted in panels of hunting and
other sporting scenes, each different,
marked “Copeland and Garrett,”
centre compôte, two oblong, two
oval, and four circular side dishes,
and fifteen plates. De Rome &
Son, Kendal, May 13, 1903 18 0 0
IX
NANTGARW
AND
SWANSEA
[Illustration: SWANSEA VASE.
(With flowers painted by Billingsley.)]
[Illustration: NANTGARW PLATES.
Richly decorated in colours and gilded.]
IX
NANTGARW AND SWANSEA
The history of these two factories in Wales is bound up together.
Billingsley, the chief flower-painter of Derby, was the founder of
the little factory at Nantgarw, a small village a few miles north of
Cardiff.
His was a restless, roving career. In other “Chats” we have alluded to
him. Apprenticed at Derby under Duesbury, he left there in 1796, to
commence the manufacture of porcelain at Pinxton. In 1801 we find he
had left Pinxton and was engaged upon the decoration of Staffordshire
porcelain at Mansfield, in Nottinghamshire. He is next described as “of
Torksey,” which is near Gainsborough. At Worcester he engaged himself
under Messrs. Flight and Barr, and was employed on flower-painting from
1808 to 1811.
Billingsley was known as “Beeley” at this time. Monetary difficulties
had compelled him to take precautions against his arrest for debt.
About this time, too, together with his son-in-law, Samuel Walker, he
appears to have visited the Coalport Factory and erected a new kiln,
the invention of Walker.
Of late, a considerable interest has been shown in the porcelain of
Nantgarw and Swansea. Collectors have ascribed to it artistic qualities
greater than those of Worcester or Derby. The lovers of Nantgarw, and
those connoisseurs who collect this and no other porcelain, will not
admit that it is in any way inferior to the greatest factories that
have existed in this country, and compare it to Sèvres.
Recently at Christie’s Auction Rooms a dessert service of Nantgarw
manufacture brought £128 2s. Each piece was painted with a bouquet of
flowers in the centre, the borders with raised white scrolls, painted
with birds and flowers. This service consisted of centre dish, on feet,
four square-shaped dishes, two-leaf shaped dishes, seventeen plates and
two small plates. This works out at nearly £4 15s. each piece.
At another London auction room, seven Nantgarw plates, painted with
birds and bouquets of flowers in border, all with impressed mark, in
December last brought under the hammer, £97, which is nearly £14 each
plate! After this it is useless to deny that Nantgarw is a factory
which must be reckoned with from a collector’s point of view.
[Illustration: NANTGARW DISH (12 IN. IN LENGTH).
_Marked “Nantgarw, C. W.”_
(Pink ground; raised white floral sprays; richly gilded scrolls.
The centre white, with handsome fruit and flower piece painted by
Billingsley.)]
Great stress has been laid by those who affect the collecting of
Nantgarw on its whiteness and transparency. By its detractors this is
said to be its fault—that it is too white and too cold to compete with
the older productions of the better-known factories. Of course only
experts come to blows on this matter. Whether it is too glassy and too
cold, and lacking the mellow warmth of the older glassy porcelains,
matters little to the modest collector who desires to have Nantgarw
represented in his or her scanty collection.