The Don pottery at Swinton near Leeds, established about 1790, came in

prominence about 1800, when one of the brothers Green, of Leeds, became

owner. It passed through various vicissitudes of fortune, a comparison

of the old pattern books show that many pieces made at the Don pottery

were originated at Leeds. In 1834 it was purchased by Samuel Barker,

and in 1882 it was still known as Samuel Barker and Sons.

The Don Pottery mark was both printed and impressed DON POTTERY in its

early days prior to 1834, and sometimes the word GREEN appears above.

Later in the Barker _régime_ a demi-lion rampant holding in his paws a

pennon with the words "Don Pottery" was used, sometimes with the word

BARKER, and sometimes with the initials S. B. & S.

[Illustration:

LEEDS CREAM WARE CENTRE-PIECES.

Made to take into four parts. (Height 4 feet.)

Pierced baskets, removable. (Height 2 feet 6 inches.)

(_In the collection of Mr. Richard Wilson._)]

=The best period.=--But it is chiefly the best period, that is,

Hartley, Greens & Co., from 1781 to about 1805, which appeals to

collectors of old Leeds, though a pattern book was issued as late as

1814, which still maintained the old traditions, but when Hartley died

in 1820 the factory practically went to pieces. The two brothers Green

and William Hartley nobly carried on the manufacture of cream ware.

At first they looked to Wedgwood for inspiration, but very shortly

introduced a lightness of design in the exquisite and intricately

pierced patterns in the borders, and original touches in the feather

edges in relief and twisted handles and the floral terminals. The

gadrooned or fluted edges of Leeds plates were sometimes painted in

blue. The ware is extremely light in weight, and varies in colour from

a pale, sometimes a very pale, cream colour to a light buff. We have

seen how Wedgwood invented punches at first for his pierced cream ware.

But he at a later stage had the perforations punched _en bloc_. But in

Leeds ware each perforation is done separately by hand, and the edges

are sharp and clean-cut. These are in the shape of diamonds, squares,

ovals, and hearts, arranged in geometrical patterns. The characteristic

feature of Leeds ware is the varied use of this pierced work in the

rims of plates and dishes and trays and cups. This work was carried

into such unlikely portions of the ware such as bases of candlesticks

or plinths of massive candelabra. In conception no doubt it followed

the work of the silversmith, but as it developed it acquired the

character of some of the finest Oriental types of this class of ware,

and in particular the Leeds potters achieved a ceramic triumph when

they made, in the delicately pierced work with small apertures,

something not dissimilar to the rice-grain form found on old Chinese

white ware which in the case of Chinese wine-cups of white porcelain

is filled with glaze. This especially fine style is at the present day

being carried out by the potters at the Copenhagen porcelain factory.

When held up to the light this porcelain of China and of Denmark is

singularly beautiful, and looks as though it is perforated--but is not.

If Leeds at first copied Wedgwood and the Staffordshire cream-ware

patterns the Staffordshire potters were not slow to return the

compliment when they saw that Leeds had a note of originality,

consequently we find many salt-glaze pieces of identical shape to some

of Hartley, Greens & Co.'s patterns. It is improbable that salt-glaze

ware was ever made at Leeds, though before salt-glaze was as well

understood as it is now much of it was wrongly attributed to Leeds.

We give an illustration (p. 319) of a salt-glaze plate which has the

typical perforated edge of Leeds cream ware, and is decorated with

a transfer-print of a fable subject, illustrating "Hercules and the

Waggoner." But Leeds very early did its own printing, and only the

early examples were sent to Liverpool to Sadler and Green. At this time

salt-glaze ware was in a bad way, and every effort was being made to

compete with cream ware its new rival, and with porcelain which had

struck the first blow at its supremacy as domestic ware. When cream

ware was decorated by transfer-printing salt-glaze followed the new

fashion, and leaving its lofty ideals of undecorated form it hastily

assumed the enamel colouring of the English porcelain.

=Leeds Cream Ware.=--The various classes of Leeds cream ware may be

roughly divided into two classes:

(1) _Plain or undecorated_, in which (especially by reason by the

grace and lightness of structure imparted by the nicely balanced

perforations) artistic excellence is reached by _form_ alone.

(2) _Decorated cream ware._ Decorated with enamel colours, green, red,

lilac, and yellow being usually found, or transfer-printed in the early

manner of Liverpool--black, puce, or red, or later by printing in blue.

In regard to the finer specimens of the cream ware dependent on form

and exhibiting especial delicacy in the treatment of the pierced work,

the illustrations here given convey a pictorial representation of the

great variety and fertility of the design.

The two magnificent centre-pieces represent Leeds cream ware at its

highest. The favourite form of the centre-piece is that in which tiers

of escallop shells are supported by dolphins or by ornamental brackets.

The left-hand centre-piece illustrated (p. 291) is in the form of the

trunk of a tree, supporting four tiers of leaf-shaped dishes. The

piece is surmounted by a classical draped figure. It is noticeable

that the brackets have every resemblance to metal design. These large

centre-pieces are made to take apart. This example illustrated takes

into four pieces, which fit into each other with great accuracy,

showing great technical perfection in potting. It is no less than 4

feet in height, and one of the largest pieces known. Its rich cream

colour, the perfection of the glaze, and the graceful proportion in

the structure, and the modelled figure have won for this and similar

creations of Leeds the admiration of all connoisseurs.

[Illustration:

CHESTNUT BASKET AND CANDLESTICKS.

Pierced LEEDS cream ware.

(_In the collection of Mr. Richard Wilson._)]

[Illustration:

LEEDS CREAM WARE CANDLESTICKS AND KETTLE AND STAND.

With fine pierced work.

(_In the collection of Mr. Richard Wilson._)]

The other centre-piece illustrated is 30 inches in height, and is

constructed in the form of hanging baskets separate and removable.

These baskets, which are of exquisite pierced work, are in three tiers

supported from the central column. The top consists of a vase resting

upon four winged figures. The piece is surmounted by a classical draped

figure of Flora with a cornucopia.

Such pieces as these hold the blue riband of Leeds cream ware, and

collectors who wish to find specimens only approximating to them in

grace and beauty have to search as far afield as Russia and Sweden

before they can hope to gratify their desire.

Another class typical of Leeds cream ware in its highest moods is

the large class consisting of handsome cruets, baskets, and a great

variety of candlesticks. The pierced work in these articles is of very

fine character, and the design is happily lightened by this style of

decoration. In regard to imitations of this cream ware, as has already

been mentioned, they are heavier, are thickly coated with white glaze,

whereas old Leeds pieces are extremely dainty and light in weight, and

when the glaze is seen in the crevices where it may have run it is of a

peculiar green, due to the use of arsenic.

We illustrate two groups of Leeds cream ware, exhibiting the perfection

of its pierced work. The chestnut basket in the upper group is partly

derived from Wedgwood's model. There is an indication in the use of

the sphinx in the pair of candlesticks of one of Wedgwood's models in

basalt. But the treatment here is more graceful, and the character

imparted by Leeds to its cream ware is peculiarly its own.

Leeds cream ware undecorated plates have a great variety of patterns

in the pierced borders, and are always attractive to collectors. Some

of the Leeds plates, with blue painted feathered edge, had either a

crest or printed design in middle. In regard to colour, there are

fine under-glaze blue plates in which there is as strong a leaning to

Oriental pagoda designs as at Bow and Worcester. We illustrate a fine

plate of this nature (p. 303), similar in design to plates impressed

ASTBURY of Staffordshire. Under-glaze blue-printing (black printing

over-glaze was done, but not to the same extent as in Staffordshire)

was introduced about 1790. The willow pattern, among others, was a

favourite design, and most of these printed blue plates are marked.

It may be of interest to the collector to know that there are marks

on the old blue-printed Leeds ware which tell their own story. These

marks were made by the "cockspurs" placed between each plate to keep

them separate in the kiln. There were three of these little tripods of

earthenware placed between each plate. They made, as they had only one

point at their apex, only three "spur" marks on the front of the plates

in the border, and nine "spurs" at the back, in groups of three.

[Illustration:

LEEDS CREAM WARE.

Seascape, and floral decoration in puce, green, red, &c. Painted by

Allen at Lowestoft and refired there.

(_In the collection of Mr. Merrington Smith, Lowestoft._)]

In regard to subjects in colour it may be mentioned that a good many

Leeds jugs bear names and dates upon them, from about 1769 to 1786.

These enamel colours are green, red, lilac, and buff, and are not

dissimilar to those employed at Lowestoft. We illustrate a fine Leeds

mug with the characteristic twisted handle (p. 303), having Oriental

figure in colour and dated and inscribed. The following curious and

gruesome verses appear on it. Inside the mug is a modelled frog, as

found in Sunderland examples.

"In marriage are two happy things allowed

A wife in wedding-sheets and in a shroud.

How can a marriage state be then accurs'd

Since the last days are happy as the first."

Then follows "I. C. U. B. YY for me" (I see you be too wise for me).

"SAMUEL CUDWORTH, 1777."

* * * * *

=Leeds Ware decorated at Lowestoft.=--There is a connection between

Leeds and Lowestoft. It appears that some of the Leeds ware was sent

undecorated to Allen, of Lowestoft, who decorated it there and refired

it, disposing of it on his own account. The fine Leeds mug having the

painted decoration, over-glaze of course, of a vessel, and entitled

"Homeward Bound" (illustrated, p. 299), is typical of this work of

Allen at its best. He appears to have procured ware from Turner and

other Staffordshire potters for decoration and sale by himself.

We illustrate (p. 303), a Staffordshire jug painted by Allen, of

Lowestoft, representing a local scene, recognisable by the tower in the

background. He inscribed it "A Trifle from Lowestoft." This is enamel

work over-glaze, the key pattern at the rim is under-glaze and was done

in Staffordshire.

Another Leeds jug decorated by Allen is that illustrated (p. 299),

bearing the verses:--

"From hence to the deep

May division be tost

And prudence recovre

What folly have lost."

The "have" is a peculiarly Suffolk idiom. The floral scrolls are in the

usual low tones of Lowestoft colouring.

=Castleford= (1790-1820).--This factory, some twelve miles from Leeds,

was established about 1790, contemporary with the establishment of

the Don Pottery near Doncaster. This Castleford factory, under the

proprietor, David Dunderdale, commenced to make cream ware, black

basalt, and the usual stoneware teapots with ornaments in relief.

The mark employed by this factory, when it was used, is D. D. & CO.,

CASTLEFORD. This is impressed, and is found on various imitative ware,

such as clouded tortoiseshell plates in the Whieldon manner. One of the

characteristics of Castleford teapots with raised figures is the use

of a blue line at the edge and the tops of these vessels depart from

the straight lines of Turner and are scalloped, as in the illustration

(p. 307) of a Castleford black ware jug and cover, having the impressed

mark of the factory.

[Illustration:

LEEDS CREAM WARE PLATE.

Painted with Oriental figures in under-glaze blue.

(_In the collection of Miss Feilden._)

LEEDS CREAM WARE MUG.

With Oriental figure and set of verses.

(_In the collection of Mr. Robert Bruce Wallis._)]

[Illustration:

STAFFORDSHIRE JUG.

Painted and inscribed by Allen at Lowestoft.

(_In the collection of Mr. Merrington Smith, Lowestoft._)]

=Rockingham.=--At Swinton, near Rotherham, as early as 1778 a factory

was started by Messrs. Thomas Bingley & Co., who began to manufacture

cream ware. The Leeds factory, apparently jealous of rivals, as in the

case of the Don Pottery, soon had an active interest in this factory.

In 1790 it became Greens, Bingley & Co., and the ware then made was

blue printed and the highly glazed black pottery associated with

Jackfield, of which we shall speak later. At this time a brown glazed

earthenware became widely known and appreciated. It was cream ware

which had received a heavy lead glaze richly and warmly coloured in

brown. From 1796 to 1806 this glaze became extensively used, not only

by Swinton or, as it afterwards came to be known, as "Rockingham,"

taking the name from the Marquis of Rockingham, upon whose estate the

works were situated.

This "Rockingham ware," of smooth surface and fine reddish brown

colour, was very popular, and a teapot was made, known as the

"Cadogan," which was an imitation of the Chinese puzzle teapot. It

was made without a lid and was filled by turning it upside down. An

opening, very much in the manner of the safety glass inkpot, admitted

the tea, and on reversing the vessel it could be poured out. Some of

these teapots are marked "Rockingham," or "Brameld," or "Brameld &

Co.," and sometimes "Mortlock," a London dealer for whom they were

made. In 1806 the Leeds interest passed out of the firm, and the

factory remained in the hands of John and William Brameld. In 1826

it assumed the name of the Rockingham Works, and used the crest of

the Fitzwilliam family. China was made there from 1820, and the

factory obtained considerable reputation and was still in the hands

of the Brameld family till the close of the works in 1842. A gorgeous

Rockingham china dessert service made for William IV. costing £5,000.

We illustrate a "Cadogan" teapot, with its rich brown glaze, and

moulded in the form of a peach, with smaller peaches applied at the

top. It is a remarkably un-English design, and it is singular that it

became so fashionable.

=Jackfield.=--We mention Jackfield here, as it has become among

collectors quite a generic term for all highly glazed black ware,

especially little teapots and cream jugs. It is certain that Elijah

Mayer and other Staffordshire potters largely made this ware, and

Bingley & Co. (Swinton) among a crowd of others. Jackfield is in

Shropshire. Its history as a pot works is as old as any in the

country, but it is chiefly in the period between 1760 and 1765, when

Maurice Thursfield carried on the little factory, that it became

renowned for its black ware. It is quite unlike black basalt. It is red

clay, covered with a bright and highly lustrous black glaze. This is

ornamented with oil gilding, which in use has almost disappeared. Some

of the ware is decorated with raised ornaments of vine leaves. The lids

of teapots often have a bird, with outstretched wings. The designs were

not original, and are found in salt-glaze and in Whieldon ware, and

some of this so-called "Jackfield" ware may be attributed to him.

=Newcastle and Sunderland.=--On the Tyne, the Wear, and the Tees

there were a group of potters working at Gateshead, at Hylton, at

Stockton-on-Tees, but mainly at Newcastle and Sunderland. There is

nothing exceptionally artistic in any of these productions. Some of

these transfer-printed mugs were made by Dixon & Co., of Sunderland, to

commemorate the building of the Iron Bridge over the Wear, which was

begun in 1793 and completed in 1796.

[Illustration:

ROCKINGHAM TEAPOT.

Known as the "Cadogan" pattern. In form of peach. Having no lid and

being filled from bottom. Copied from Chinese rice-spirit pot.

(_At Victoria and Albert Museum._)]

[Illustration:

BLACK BASALT JUG.

Castleford Pottery. Impressed mark D D & Co. (Height 6 inches.)

(_In the collection of Mr. F. W. Phillips, Hitchin._)]

Among the names found on this ware are impressed: SEWELL, or SEWELLS &

DONKIN, or SEWELLS & CO., sometimes with the addition of ST. ANTHONY'S.

These were made at St. Anthony's, near Newcastle, in date about 1780 to

1790.

FELL, or FELL NEWCASTLE, made at St. Peter's, Newcastle, about 1815.

SCOTT, or SCOTT BROS., made ware at Southwick, Sunderland, 1789-1803,

when they were succeeded by MOORE & CO.

J. PHILLIPS, HYLTON POTTERY, appears on some Sunderland pieces. This

firm was established as early as 1765.

FORD is another name in connection with the South Hylton works about

1800.

DIXON, AUSTIN & CO., sometimes with the addition of SUNDERLAND, is

found at the beginning of the nineteenth century.

W. S. & CO., with the word WEDGEWOOD (having an additional "e") was

the mark used by William Smith & Co., of Stockton-on-Tees, or even

"WEDGWOOD & CO." Against this firm Messrs. Josiah Wedgwood & Sons, of

Etruria, obtained in 1848 an injunction to restrain the use of their

name.

Another equally confusing mark to collectors is that of a firm near

Pontefract, who marked their ware "Wedgwood & Co." sometimes with the

word name of the factory, "Ferrybridge," and sometimes "Tomlinson &

Co." Their ware is mainly cream ware of an ordinary type.

In regard to the productions of Newcastle and Sunderland these are

best known by the familiar mugs and jugs having a nautical flavour,

with ships in black transfer decoration, and never without verses

appropriate to the _clientèle_ of sailors, for whom they were made.

These mugs and jugs are frequently decorated with pink lustre at the

rims and in bands around the body. A feature which associates these

northern factories with Leeds is the frequent use of a modelled frog

crawling up the inside of the vessel, which was intended as a practical

joke on the person who was lifting the jug to his lips. These frog mugs

were previously made at Leeds, and the one illustrated (p. 303) has a

frog so affixed in the inside.

The ware, as a whole, is rather crude in its potting and slightly

inferior to similar Staffordshire ware, but all these northern

factories are now closed, and the quaint doggerel, the queer nautical

allusions, and the strain of patriotism found on much of this humble

earthenware always appeal strongly to the collector.

=MARKS USED AT LEEDS, CASTLEFORD, ROCKINGHAM, NEWCASTLE, AND

SUNDERLAND.=

[Illustration:

HARTLEY GREENS & CO

LEEDS +*+ POTTERY]

=Leeds.=

From 1783, Hartley, Greens & Co.

[Illustration:

LEEDS POTTERY

LEEDS POTTERY]

1825-1832, Samuel Wainwright & Co.

1832-1840, Leeds Pottery Co.

[Illustration: LEEDS +*+ POTTERY]

1840-1847, Stephen and James Chapel.

1850-1863, Warburton, Britton & Co.

[Illustration "R B & S [Printed]]

1863-1878, Richard Britton & Sons. After which the works closed.

[Illustration: +L+ [Impressed]]

[Illustration: DON POTTERY]

=Don Pottery= (at Swinton near Leeds).

[Illustration:

DON POTTERY

BARKER]

1790-1834, at one time in hands of John Green, of Leeds Pottery.

[Illustration: S B & S]

1834-1850, Samuel Barker, and

1851-1882, Samuel Barker & Sons.

[Illustration:

DON

POTTERY]

Late Marks used by the Barkers during above period:--

In addition to the lion with pennon the word BARKER was added later,

when the mark was _printed_.

[Illustration]

Another _printed_ mark was an eagle and ducal coronet, used when the

firm became Samuel Barker & Sons in 1851. But was shortly discontinued,

and the lion-printed mark again used.

[Illustration:

D D & Co

CASTLEFORD]

=Castleford= (near Leeds), 1790-1820.

David Dunderdale & Co., and the impressed mark in margin is found on

some of the productions of the Castleford Pottery.

=Rockingham.=

[Illustration:

ROCKINGHAM

BRAMELD]

The name of the factory at Swinton, established 1757. Came into the

hands of the Bramelds in 1807. Ceased, 1842.

[Illustration]

The "Cadogan" lower glazed teapots sometimes bear the impressed mark

"Mortlock," the London agent for whom some of them were made.

[Illustration:

Rockingham Works.

Brameld.]

The crest of the Fitzwilliam family was printed as a mark after 1826,

and is also found _printed_ on porcelain made at the Rockingham

factory.

=Newcastle-on-Tyne=.

[Illustration:

FELL

NEWCASTLE

15]

Fell of Newcastle (about 1815), impressed cream ware mugs and jugs with

this mark. Various figures appear underneath, denoting the particular

pattern.

[Illustration: FELL]

=Sunderland.=

[Illustration:

SEWELL.

ST ANTHONY'S]

Messrs. Sewell, established about 1780, after Sewell & Donkin, used

these marks.

[Illustration: SEWELL & DONKIN]

Other Sunderland makers--DIXON, AUSTIN & CO., DIXON & CO., SCOTT

BROTHERS & CO. (established 1788), PHILLIPS & CO. (established

about 1800), J. PHILLIPS, HYLTON (established, 1780), DAWSON (about

1810)--impressed their names on ware.

PRICES.

LEEDS. £ s. d.

Coffee Pot and Cover, with mask under

spout, twisted handles, decorated in

colours. Sotheby, June, 1906 2 2 0

Basket dish, with stand and covers with

embossed and open work. Sotheby,

June, 1906 2 2 0

Jug, painted with flowers, inscribed "John

Barnes, Chadlington, 1769." Sotheby,

July, 1907 2 10 0

Teapot and cover, painted with portraits

of George III. and Queen Charlotte.

Sotheby, November, 1908 2 8 0

Teapot and cover, printed in red, with lady

and gentleman taking tea, with negro

servant at side; on reverse, a shepherd

and sheep. Sotheby, November, 1908 1 10 0

Jug, printed with transfer medallions of

ladies seated in a garden, blue and

black bands at rim. Sotheby, November,

1908 1 14 0

CASTLEFORD.

Loving cup with handles, painted with fruit

and roses, made for David Dunderdale.

Escritt & Barrett, April, 1907 3 15 0

JACKFIELD.

Figure of _Diana_ (height 10 in.). Escritt

& Barrett, April 1907 3 5 0

Jugs, brown glazed, two. Sotheby,

November, 1907 1 1 0

ROCKINGHAM.

Small "Cadogan" Teapot, marked _Brameld_,

richly gilt upon brown, and another

without gilding. Sotheby, June, 1906 1 14 0

Milk jug modelled as cow, brown glaze;

Figure of Horse; Jug, brown glaze,

with twisted handles, marked _Rockingham_.

Sotheby, June, 1906 2 5 0

"Cadogan" Teapot, rich brown glazed;

impressed mark. Sotheby, May, 1908 1 2 0

SUNDERLAND.

Sugar Basin and Cover and six cups and

saucers, painted with figure subjects

on yellow ground, marked SEWELL.

Sotheby. November, 1905 1 13 0

NEWCASTLE.

Frog mugs and jugs vary in price from

10s. to £2, according to the style of

decoration.

X

TRANSFER-PRINTED

WARE

CHAPTER X

TRANSFER-PRINTED WARE

Its origin--Liverpool--Its adoption in Staffordshire--What

is Transfer-printing?--Over-glaze printing--Under-glaze

printing--The Staffordshire Transfer-printers--Other

Transfer-printers--Leeds, Swansea, Sunderland, and Newcastle--The

Mission of black Transfer-printed Ware--Types of Blue-printed

Ware--The Willow Pattern--Table of Marks--Prices.

Before the year 1756, all ware, whether it be porcelain or delft or

earthenware, was painted, or, to follow the term used in popular

phraseology, it was "hand painted." It is an essentially English art,

and something which stands with salt-glaze and with Wedgwood's jasper

ware as being famous throughout Europe.

The subject of transfer-printing is surrounded with a certain amount

of conjecture in regard to its invention. Quite a dozen persons were

credited with having originated it. Mr. William Turner, in his volume,

"Transfer Printing on Enamels, Porcelain, and Pottery," published by

Messrs. Chapman and Hall, in 1907, has thoroughly investigated the

various claims set up for the discovery of transfer-printing and, with

no little research extending over a wide area, has for the first time

settled the relative position of the various claimants and factories

for which this honour is claimed. It is impossible, covering the same

ground as Mr. William Turner, to say anything new on transfer-printing,

and we must express our indebtedness to him in making use of his

original investigations and embodying them in this chapter on

transfer-printed ware.

In regard to over-glaze printing, including copper enamels such as

Battersea, porcelain such as Worcester, and earthenware such as

Liverpool delft--it was at Battersea where enamels were first printed

in 1753; Liverpool, with Sadler and Green's invention, comes second

with printed delft tiles in 1756. A year after, in 1757, we have

Worcester with transfer-printed porcelain. This Worcester printed ware

is well known from the early transfer-printed design known as Hancock's

"Tea party" and the "King of Prussia" jugs and mugs.

After Worcester all the other porcelain factories followed with

transfer-printed ware. There was Derby in 1764, and Caughley in the

same year.

It will be seen that, so far as Liverpool is concerned as

representative of the earthenware factories (cream ware being

printed here to the order of the Staffordshire potters), earthenware

over-glaze printing is slightly ahead of the porcelain factories.

But in under-glaze printing porcelain stands easily first. Worcester

commenced under-glaze printing in the same year (1757) that over-glaze

was employed there, and Derby is the second in the field in under-glaze

printing in 1764.

[Illustration:

SALT-GLAZED PLATE.

Transfer-printed in red. Fable subject--_Hercules and the Waggoner_.]

[Illustration:

LIVERPOOL TRANSFER-PRINTED JUG.

Medallion representing _Diana in her Chariot_. (Height 9-1/4 inches.)

(_In the possession of Mr. S. G. Fenton._)]

It has already been shown that Liverpool did the printing on the

Staffordshire cream ware for the potters who sent it there to be

printed, and the same method was followed by Leeds. But there came

a time when it was no longer necessary to ask Liverpool to employ a

secret process for the decoration of Staffordshire or Leeds work. The

secret known at Worcester, and Derby and Battersea, was not many years

a secret. The Staffordshire potters undertook to do their own printing,

and every pottery soon learned the new process of transfer-printing,

and it was not long before improvements were made and newer forms of

printing adopted.

=Its adoption in Staffordshire.=--Allusion has been made to the awkward

form of the square tile decoration of fable subjects at Liverpool as

applied to circular plates. But Staffordshire in its adoption of the

new process made the transfer fit the object to be decorated. In the

illustration of the salt-glaze Staffordshire plate with the black

transfer-printed design of "Hercules and the Waggoner" from _Æsop's

Fables_ (p. 319), the engraver has departed from the four corners

of his circumscribed tile, and we may put this piece down as of

Staffordshire printing.

It is often largely a matter of conjecture as to what was printed

at Liverpool and what was printed elsewhere (with the exception of

Worcester, where the engraving and printing were more delicate).

The Staffordshire jug showing a full-length portrait of His Royal

Highness Frederick, Duke of York, having on the reverse the Dragoon

in the uniform of the period, tells its own story as regards date.

Frederick was the second son of George III. and was born in 1763 and

died in 1827. As this portrait represents him as being advanced into

manhood and as at that date--say about 1786--the Liverpool printers had

been at work twenty years, the transfer-printing may very reasonably be

attributed to Staffordshire.

But it is not always easy to fix the date of the printing, and

determine whether by that time Staffordshire had embarked on its own

transfer-printing in black; of course, blue transfer-printing is later.

The difficulty usually arises in connection with black transfer-printed

ware. Liverpool was still engaged in printing for Staffordshire potters

as well as printing cream ware of its own potting, and Leeds was

producing similar transfer-printed over-glaze ware, so that in unmarked

pieces there must always be an uncertainty in coming to a definite

conclusion. In all probability the jug (illustrated p. 323) and bearing

the inscription "Success to Trade" and having a typical eighteenth

century rural subject on the reverse entitled "The Faithless Lover,"

was actually printed by Sadler and Green at Liverpool.

Another finely decorated printed jug is that illustrated (p. 318),

the subject representing _Diana_ on crescent moon driving a pair of

goats in her chariot. The date of this piece is about 1780 to 1800,

and is strongly suggestive of Wedgwood cream ware. It will be observed

that the design is identical with that in the Turner jasper vase

(illustrated p. 261).

[Illustration:

JUG, TRANSFER-PRINTED IN BLACK.

Emblems and inscribed "Success to Trade."

Subject on reverse--"The Faithless Lover."

(Height 7 inches.)]

[Illustration:

JUG, TRANSFER-PRINTED IN BLACK.

Portrait of Duke of York, and mounted dragoon on reverse.

(Height 7 inches.)

(_In the possession of Mr. Hubert Gould._)]

=What is Transfer-printing?=--A piece of pottery may be plain or

undecorated, it may be painted, or it may be printed. The process of

printing consists of affixing an engraved print from a copper plate

and transferring an impression to the pottery to be decorated. It is

this latter process which claims our attention in this chapter. When

transfer-printing was first used, subjects such as portraits (King of

Prussia), costume subjects (series of actors and actresses on Liverpool

delft tiles), fancy or pastoral scenes (such as _Æsop's Fables_, &c.),

were produced in black, puce, or reddish brown. These were at first

culled from contemporary volumes with engraved copper-plate prints as

illustrations. We find Wedgwood in quite early days searching London

for suitable prints of views and similar small subjects for decorative

purposes. Probably at first the copper plates which had been used in

books were bought up by the potters, and did service again for their

ware. Later they employed engravers, who no doubt copied or adapted

other people's engraved work to suit their purpose, and as the art

advanced it gained in originality, and a band of engravers worked

for the potters in designing subjects strictly applicable to the

limitations in the technique of earthenware.

This process of transfer-printing is roughly as follows. The

copper-plate is inked, and a sheet of tough tissue paper, wetted with a

mixture of soap, is applied to its surface and printed in a press. The

paper is taken off, showing an impression or print, which is carefully

laid on the surface of the piece of earthenware to be decorated. The

inked design on the paper transfers itself to the earthenware.

=Over-glaze Printing.=--The difference between over-glaze and

under-glaze decoration always seems to puzzle the beginner, but the

explanation is simple enough. A piece of pottery is produced by the

following steps. The clay is "thrown," that is, it is spun into shape

on the potter's wheel, or it may be made in a mould. When in this soft

state, say in the form of a basin, it could be crushed by the hand

into the shapeless mass of clay whence it sprung. It is next put aside

to dry sufficiently to allow handling. It may receive some of its

decoration at this stage as it is possible to paint on the more or less

damp clay, but as a general rule that is left till the next stage.

It is now placed in the "biscuit" oven and receives the most intense

heat, and is here stacked in fireproof saggers or boxes to protect it

from the flames, and it is fired for about three days before being

taken out in the state known as "biscuit." Wedgwood's jasper ware,

black basalt, and all unglazed stoneware stop at this biscuit or

unglazed stage.

It is next dipped in liquid glaze and goes again to be fired, this time

into the "glost" or glaze oven, which is lower in temperature. After

coming from this second oven it is no longer "biscuit" in appearance,

but is covered with a skin or coating of glass or glaze, which has

amalgamated with the body underneath.

It is now ready for painting with enamel colours or for

transfer-printing, which obviously is "over-glaze" decoration.

Lastly, after this decoration has been made, it goes to be fired for a

third time, and is put into the enamel or "muffle" kiln, which is the

lowest temperature of the three.

In effect, then, the "over-glaze" decoration is on top of everything,

and obviously, when the piece is scratched in use, this decoration

wears away first. This at once gives the reason for another process,

known as under-glaze decoration, where the work receives the protection

of the glaze.

As a postscript to this description of the three firings, it may be

noted in passing that, in true porcelain, such as Chinese, Dresden,

and Bristol (all hard pastes), the body and glaze are fired at one

operation, the glaze receiving as high a temperature as the body.

[Illustration:

CHINESE BLUE AND WHITE PORCELAIN PLATES.

Painted in dark blue under-glaze. Painted in light blue under-glaze.

The types from which English potters made their copies.

(_In the collection of the Author._)]

[Illustration:

CHINESE BLUE AND WHITE PORCELAIN PLATES.

Painted in rich blue under-glaze. The "Willow pattern" and the "Aster

pattern."

The types from which English potters made their copies.

(_In the collection of the Author._)]

=Under-glaze Printing.=--This is printing which is transferred to the

ware, either porcelain or earthenware, when in its "biscuit" state

_prior to being dipped in glaze_. Blue was the most frequent colour

used in under-glaze transfer-printing, as of course it was the earliest

colour used in the painted under-glaze decorations at Worcester and

Caughley. There are other colours, obtained from metallic compounds,

used both on porcelain and earthenware under the glaze, and owing

to the temperature required for firing in this manner the range is

limited, being usually confined to cobalt blue, green, brown, lilac,

black, and a few others. But blue is the chief under-glaze colour to

be considered in connection with under-glaze transfer-printing. There

was a great demand for deep blue and for a lighter blue, both of

which came to the Staffordshire earthenware printers and potters from

English porcelain factories such as Caughley, where Thomas Turner, an

apprentice at Worcester under Robert Hancock, made in 1780 his famous

under-glaze blue "Willow-pattern"; or the idea may have been derived

straight from the Chinese blue porcelain under-glaze of Nankin, so much

in vogue in middle eighteenth-century days.

=Staffordshire Transfer-printers.=--It has been shown how the

Staffordshire potters at first turned to Liverpool, and readily sought

the aid of Sadler and Green in the decoration of their salt-glaze and

their cream ware, in order to compete with the porcelain factories with

Worcester and Caughley at their head. But trade secrets found their way

into Staffordshire. The over-glaze printing as practised by Sadler and

Green was soon mastered, and later the under-glaze blue printing was

imported by workmen from Caughley.

Among the Staffordshire potters the following are the principal

pioneers in regard to transfer-printing in its various developments.

William Adams, of Cobridge, in 1775 first introduced transfer-printing

into Staffordshire. John Turner, of Lane End (not to be confounded with

Thomas Turner, of Caughley) was the first to print under-glaze blue in

Staffordshire. Josiah Spode, about 1784, introduced his under-glaze

blue "willow pattern," a copy of the Caughley pattern. William Adams,

of Greengates, in 1787 brought out his under-glaze blue, which in

richness and mellowness has never been surpassed; and Josiah Wedgwood,

although he never deserted Liverpool for some of his patterns, had a

press at work at Etruria, in 1787; and Thomas Minton, now a master

potter at Stoke, formerly an apprentice at Caughley with Thomas Turner,

designed the celebrated "Broseley Dragon" pattern tea service for

porcelain in 1782 (following the willow pattern, 1780), and produced

in the late years of the eighteenth century, about 1793, some fine

blue-printed ware at Stoke.

These may be termed the earlier exponents of transfer-printing in

Staffordshire, but there were others whose blue-printed ware was

of great merit in Staffordshire, and Leeds and Swansea, held no

insignificant place.

[Illustration:

SPODE EARTHENWARE.

Transfer-printed under-glaze blue.

"Bridge pattern" Plate and "Willow pattern" Jug.]

[Illustration:

CREAM WARE DISH WITH IMPRESSED MARK "TURNER."

With pierced border and band of embossed wickerwork.

Centre printed in blue with "Willow pattern."

(_At Victoria and Albert Museum._)]

=Other Transfer Printers.=--Staffordshire did not long have the

monopoly of under-glaze blue-printed ware. Leeds and Swansea both

produced similar work, and in both cases there is a strong attachment

to Oriental design. Black transfer-printing was also executed at both

these factories, and at Swansea some exceptionally fine engraved

work was turned out (see illustration of Swansea plate, p. 397). At

Sunderland and Newcastle the black transfer-printed mugs and jugs with

the _Wear Bridge_ and with nautical subjects became quite the vogue,

and in these two factories the jugs and mugs often had a frog modelled

in the interior, and pink lustre decoration was used in combination

with the transfer design usually at the borders or at the rims.

=The Mission of Black-printed Ware.=--In the designs and inscriptions

of the black transfer-printed ware the Staffordshire potter used

his jugs and his mugs as a medium to record events and to ventilate

grievances, not in "imperishable verse," but in the fickle body of

the clay. This class of ware from 1760 to 1860 stands for a century

as typically English in character. It reflects the political, social,

and religious events, and in matter-of-fact, humorous, or satirical

fashion. The black transfer-printed or earlier period, (though some

of this class come down as late as the railway mugs of 1830), may be

said to depict events and chronicle popular sentiment in black and

white. The blue transfer-printer strove to be decorative, and mainly

represented scenery and topography, and much of it was bound down to

formal designs of Oriental nature.

At first fable subjects, as on Wedgwood's cream ware, were employed,

and it has been seen how the square tile form was discarded by the

engraver who made his engraving fit the object to be decorated.

This perfect mastery of the technique of transfer-printing is shown

very clearly in the old blue Spode service of the "Tower" pattern

(illustrated, p. 335). It will be seen how, as the shape of each

vessel differed, the engraver has altered his bridge to fit the new

circumstances. At one time, on a broad, flat dish, it appears as a wide

bridge, and in the circular plate the trees appear at greater height

and the viaduct assumes a more circular form. In the jug of the same

design the bridge is narrow, as though spanning a deep ravine.

To enumerate the classes of ware with black transfer-printing is to

make a catalogue of the principal events which stirred the heart of the

people. It must be borne in mind that this school was working side by

side with the makers of fine stoneware and of jasper ware with classic

subjects, but it is, after all, to the black-printed ware that one

turns most lovingly as being more human.

It will suffice, perhaps, if we quote a few examples and stir the

enthusiasm of the reader to pursue the collection of these really

historic records which have something more endearing in them than the

relics of Napoleon or the shoestrings of some of the Stuart monarchs.

There is a fine flavour of patriotism, of conviviality, and of homely

sentiment in some of the following:--

On a bowl, salt-glazed ware, with Admiral Vernon and his fleet is

inscribed "The British Glory revived by Admiral Vernon. He took Porto

Bello with Six Ships only. Nov. ye 22 1739." A cream-ware jug printed,

with medallion portrait of Earl Howe, is inscribed "LONG LIVE EARL

HOWE, Commander-in-Chief of the Victorious BRITISH FLEET. In the

ever memorable engagement on the Glorious First of June, 1794." On

a cream-ware jug about 1800 with a view of Greenwich Hospital, and

entitled "The Sailor's Adieu," the following lines are inscribed: "What

should tear me from the arms of my Dearest Polly but the undeniable

calls of my country in whose cause I have engag'd my Honour and my

Life." This in date is the last year of the eighteenth century.

[Illustration:

OLD SPODE BLUE PRINTED WARE.

"Tower pattern."

(_In the collection of Mrs. Herman Liebstein._)]

"The Sailor's Farewell and Return" are rather frequent, and Charles

Dibdin's verses appear on some of these jugs and mugs. There is one

interesting jug in the form of a sailor seated on a chest, coloured

earthenware about 1770, with a breezy inscription, "Hullo, Brother

Briton, whoever Thou be, Sit down on that chest of Hard Dollars by me,

and drink a health to all sailors bold."

Another cream-ware jug, partly printed and touched by colour

representing a man-of-war towing a frigate, has the inscription:

"A sailor's life's a pleasant life;

He freely roams from shore to shore,

In every port he finds a wife,

What can a sailor wish for more?"

A red earthenware mug with white slip may be mentioned here as having a

characteristic motto:

"From rocks and sands and barren lands

Good Fortune sets me free;

And from great Guns and Women's tongues,

Good Lord, deliver me."

A Staffordshire blue-printed jug, made in 1793, shows the execution of

Louis XVI. At the beginning of the nineteenth century there was quite

a burst of Napoleonic jugs and mugs and busts, and some of Gillray's

caricatures find themselves on earthenware. There is one lustre

earthenware jug printed and coloured with caricatures entitled "Jack

Frost attacking 'Bony' in Russia" and "Little 'Bony' sneaking into

Paris with a white feather in his tail." This is in date about 1813.

A cover of an earthenware jar has the inscription printed in violet

within a wreath, "Peace! May its duration equal the years of War."

The relations between England and America received attention at the

Staffordshire potters' hands. There are cream-ware mugs and jugs and

plates with portraits of Washington in date from 1785 to 1790. On one

the inscription runs, "Success to the United States, America."

Prize-fighting, bear-baiting, cock-fighting, racing, coaching, all

received their records on the earthenware of the late eighteenth

century. Stag hunting, fox hunting, coursing, come as ready subjects to

the transfer-printer. Cricket is recorded in earthenware on a printed

mug representing the "Grand Cricket Match played in Lord's Ground,

Mary-le-bone, June 20 and following day between the Earls of Winchester

and Darnley for 1,000 guineas." The date of this is 1790. Even the

velocipede and the balloon are not disregarded.

This list is but a rough outline of the mission of the transfer-printer

in recording current events on his earthenware, for the pleasure of

his own contemporaries and for the information and delectation of

succeeding generations of collectors who may be something other than

connoisseurs of pastes and bodies, and have learned to read aright the

story of the china-shelf and enjoy to the full the secret pleasures in

the byeways of collecting.

=Types of Blue-printed Ware.=--The black over-glaze transfer-printing

came into Staffordshire in imitation of the transfer-printed delft

tiles of Liverpool. But it rapidly acquired a strength and originality

of its own. It lacked the delicacy of the transfer-printed black

porcelain of Worcester, but its virility more than made up for its

artistic defects.

Under-glaze blue-printed ware was an imitation from the porcelain

printed at Caughley. Here again it may be said to have outstripped by

new departures and broader effects the under-glaze blue-printing of

the early china factories. In common with them its inspiration was from

the Chinese. We illustrate (p. 327) four examples of Chinese porcelain

plates, which are types of the Oriental china designs which served as

models both for the English porcelain makers and for the earthenware of

Staffordshire.

The lower left-hand plate is evidently the Chinese design from which

the English potters derived the well-known and favourite "willow

pattern." After Thomas Turner, of Caughley, had printed it on china

in 1780, and Josiah Spode in 1784 had employed it on his earthenware

in Staffordshire, all the other potters commenced to make the same

design with slightly different details, mainly in the fret border.

The other plate on the right hand is the well-known "aster" pattern,

so frequently adopted by English potters in blue-printed cream

ware. The two upper octagonal plates show the two styles of dark

blue and light blue under-glaze painting employed by the Chinese;

and the Staffordshire potter, true to his models, followed in his

under-glaze blue-printing these tones. The period when the rich deep

dark-blue-printed ware was in vogue is from the early nineteenth

century to about 1825. Light blue printing was employed from 1790 till

the deep blue supplanted it, and when the craze for deep blue had spent

itself the light blue again became fashionable until printing in colour

in the middle period of the nineteenth century came to be largely

practised.

In the treatment of the border in the Oriental example we illustrate,

it will be noticed how Josiah Spode and others, including the fine

school at Leeds, who were printing in under-glaze blue in 1790, and

the potters at Swansea, followed this decorative treatment. Spode in

particular had a great fondness for Chinese subjects. We illustrate (p.

345) a blue-printed dish by him, where, as was his wont, he introduced,

quite incongruously, a Gothic castle. The fine, rich colouring of this

dish is most noticeable.

In the Spode earthenware _Jug_ and _Plate_ illustrated (p. 331), it

will be seen that the plate, known as the "Bridge" pattern, closely

follows the design of the Chinese porcelain plate (p. 327), and the

jug is decorated with the familiar "Willow" pattern. Another variation

of the "Willow" design is found on the _Turner Cream-ware Dish_,

illustrated, having a band of embossed wickerwork and a pierced border.

This piece has the impressed mark TURNER.

A similar Oriental influence is seen in the dark blue transfer-printed

dish by William Adams, of Greengates (see illustration, p. 341). The

inclination here is towards figure subjects, and the decorative use of

the exotic bird, as shown in the centre panel of this dish, finds a

place on some of Mason's early blue-printed dishes. Of the colour of

the dishes of William Adams, of Greengates, it may be remarked that for

richness of tone in the under-glaze blue he introduced in 1787 they

have never been surpassed.

=What is the Willow pattern?=--The name "willow-pattern" has been so

frequently mentioned in connection with the subject of old English

earthenware and china that it will be of service to state something of

the details of the history of this particular pattern, which seems to

have unaccountably seized hold of popular imagination.

[Illustration:

DISH, TRANSFER-PRINTED IN DEEP BLUE, BY ROGERS.

Subject--the Naval Fight between the _Chesapeake_ and _Shannon_.

(_In the collection of Miss Feilden._)]

[Illustration:

DISH, TRANSFER-PRINTED IN BLUE.

Mark impressed "ADAMS" (of Greengates).

(_In the collection of Mr. Russell Allan._)]

By the courtesy of Mr. Percy W. L. Adams.

From "_William Adams. An Old English Potter._"

The Caughley pattern, which some authorities believe was engraved by

Minton when he was an apprentice there, was closely followed by Spode,

Adams, Wedgwood, Davenport, Clews, Leeds, the Don Pottery, and

Swansea. The differences are slight mainly in the treatment of the

fretted border, either a lattice-work or conventional butterfly being

used, and details of the fence in the foreground differing.

The term "Willow" is applied in a general way to many of the copies of

the blue-and-white Oriental porcelain imported from China during the

last half the eighteenth century.

But the "willow pattern," to which a story is attached, is of the

same design as the Chinese plate illustrated (p. 327), which Caughley

copied. This popular adaptation appears as a decoration on the covers

of this volume.

Whether the story was invented by some ingenious person to fit the

plate we do not know; but there is strong probability that this is so.

On Chinese plates the _dramatis personæ_ are missing. The willow has

ever been a sad tree, whereof such as have lost their love make their

mourning garlands. "I offered him my company to a willow-tree ... to

make him a garland, as being forsaken," says Benedick in _Much Ado

about Nothing_.

This is the love-story that is told concerning the "willow" plate.

Chang, the secretary of a mandarin whose house is on the right of the

plate, dared to love his master's daughter, Li-chi. But the mandarin

had other designs, and his daughter was promised to an old but wealthy

suitor. In order to prevent the lovers from meeting, the mandarin

imprisoned his daughter in a room in his house overlooking the water. A

correspondence ensued, so the story goes, between the lovers, and the

lady sent a poetical message, in a cocoa-nut shell, floating down the

river, that she expected Chang when the willow-leaf commenced to fall.

By the connivance of a gardener, who apparently lived in the small

cottage on the left, overshadowed by a fir-tree, the lovers escaped,

and are depicted as fleeing over the bridge--the mandarin behind with a

whip in his hand, the lady in front, and Chang in the middle carrying

her jewel-box! The individual in the junk, higher up, is intended to

denote that they fled to the island in the north-west of the plate.

They lived happy until Fate, in the shape of the wealthy lover,

overtook them and burned their house to ashes. But the gods changed

them into two doves, which, of course, figure prominently in the design.

This tragic story of disastrous love has clung to the willow-pattern

plates, and nobody can shake the belief of owners of indifferent

specimens of middle-nineteenth century days that these plates are of

great value. As a matter of fact, apart from the eighteenth-century

examples, anything else is not worth the attention of the serious

collector.

We have alluded to the historic character of the black transfer-printed

ware, but sometimes similar subjects were attempted in the blue ware.

We illustrate a dish known as the "Chesapeake and Shannon" dish,

depicting the famous naval encounter between these two vessels.

[Illustration:

SPODE DISH.

Transfer-printed in deep blue under-glaze.]

[Illustration:

DISH WITH LANDSCAPE SUBJECT IN STYLE OF CLAUDE.

Transfer-printed in deep blue under-glaze.

(_In the possession of Mr. S. G. Fenton._)]

At a time when the school of landscape engravers dearly loved a classic

ruin or the broken arch of a temple in the composition of the scene, it

is only natural to find this class of subject on the printed ware. We

illustrate a typical under-glaze blue-printed dish with fine contrasts

showing very accurately what excellent decoration was employed in this

engraved work. The school of Claude landscapes found its votaries, and

some strong engraving by Brookes and others was done for this old

blue earthenware. It is pictorial, and betrays an attempt to break new

ground and get away from the conventions of Oriental design, but the

border in the dish we illustrate (p. 345) shows the strong Japanese

spirit which had inspired Spode, and this touch of incongruity makes it

more than probable that this dish is of Spode origin.

There are many other phases of printed ware that can only be alluded to

in passing. The transfer printing in outline, the colour being added by

hand, was the beginning of the establishment of all the modern methods

for china and earthenware as commonly in use. Something, too, should be

said of "bat" printing. This was the use of a block of glue instead of

transfer-paper to receive the inked impression from the copper plate

and transfer it to the body of the earthenware. William Adams, of

Cobridge, in 1775 first introduced "bat" printing into Staffordshire.

Of the various types of engraving, such as line, and stipple, and

aquatint, and, later, lithography, there is no space to deal. But

enough has been said in connection with the various types of printed

ware to show that when pursued in a special manner it may be found to

be of exceptional interest to the collector.

MARKS.

Transfer-printed Earthenware.

Many printed examples are unmarked, both of the early transfer-printing

in black over the glaze, and of the latter under-glaze blue-printed

ware, but over a wide period the following names are found as marks

upon various transfer-printed specimens.

It will be observed that in addition many of these potters made

stoneware, following the Wedgwood influence.[5]

[Note: 5 Compare this with the List of Marks of the School of Wedgwood, pp.

279-282.]

William Adams 1787-1805 Blue-printed under-glaze (marked

(of Greengates) Adams).

Benjamin Adams 1805-1820 Blue-printed under-glaze (marked

(of Greengates) B. Adams).

William Adams 1804-1835 Dark blue-printed under-glaze and

& Sons (of Stoke) black over-glaze (marked Adams).

(Marked "Close & Co., late

William Adams & Sons, Stoke on

Trent"--after 1843.)

William Adams 1830-1840 Black over-glazed printing.

& Sons (of Burslem)

Wedgwood 1795-1845 Blue-printed ware introduced

(of Etruria) (The second shortly after the death of Josiah

Wedgwood Wedgwood in 1795. Black

period) transfer-printed views after 1830.

Wedgwood & Co 1790-1796 Ralph Wedgwood. Black

(of Burslem) transfer-printing over-glaze.

Josiah Spode the 1798-1827 Blue under-glaze printing of great

Second (of Stoke) variety.

Thomas Minton 1790-1836 Blue under-glaze printing, Oriental

(of Stoke) and other patterns.

John Davenport 1793-1834 Under-glaze blue-printing (marked

(of Longport) Davenport, Longport).

Henry and William

Davenport 1835-1869

John Turner 1762-1786 Oriental patterns, under-glaze

(of Lane End) blue (impressed mark, Turner).

William & John 1786-1803

Turner

(sons of above)

John Aynsley 1790-1826 Masonic plates printed in outline

(of Lane End) over-glaze and coloured.

T. Fletcher & Co 1786-1810 Black transfer-printed sporting

(of Shelton) subjects, sometimes _under-glaze_.

Shorthose & Co 1783-1802 Red over-glaze printed fancy

(of Hanley) subjects.

Andrew Stevenson 1810-1818 Black over-glaze printing tinted

(of Cobridge) in colours (marked A. Stevenson,

with crown in circle).

Joseph Stubbs 1798-1829 Dark blue under-glaze printing

(of Longport) (marked Joseph Stubbs in circle.

Longport impressed).

James Clews 1814-1836 Black under-glaze after 1825.

(of Cobridge) American views of Hudson River,

&c.

John and Richard 1820-1827 Blue under-glaze printing.

Riley (of Burslem) Picturesque views.

Miles Mason 1813-1851 Rich blue under-glaze printing;

(of Lane Delph) Oriental subjects and birds.

Enoch Wood & Sons 1820-1846 Deep blue under-glaze printing.

(of Burslem)

R. & J. Baddeley 1780-1806 }

(of Shelton) }

}

J. & E. Baddeley } Transfer printing from the

Hicks & Meigh 1806-1820 } earliest date, both over-glaze and

(of Shelton) } under-glaze.

}

Hicks, Meigh & 1820-1836 } Marked I. E. B., or full names,

Johnson (of Shelton) } or R. M. W. & Co.

}

John and William 1824-1836 } Deep dark blue under-glaze

Ridgway } printing. "Beauties of America,"

(of Shelton) } and other views.

}

Ridgway, Morley, 1836-1854 }

Wear & Co. (of Shelton) }

Leeds 1790-1878 Over-glaze black printing (little

practised), under-glaze blue, Oriental

subjects (marked Leeds Pottery).

Don Pottery 1790-1834 Under-glaze blue, Oriental subjects

(near Doncaster) (marked _Don Pottery_ or _Barker_--the

latter after 1834).

Liverpool 1796-1841 Deep under-glaze blue-printed;

(Herculaneum) Oriental subjects (marked Herculaneum).

Swansea 1802-1870 Under-glaze blue-printing and

(Cambrian Pottery) over-glaze, black and brown printing

(marked Dillwyn & Co.)

(See group illustrated, p. 397.)

Derby 1780-1785 Over-glaze black printing of

(Cockpit Hill figure subjects (marked Derby Pot

Factory) Works).

Caughley 1780-1799 Under the management of Thomas

(Salopian) Turner. Dark blue under-glaze

printing; Oriental subjects (marked

in blue +C+).

Sunderland and 1790-1850 Black transfer-printed mugs and

Newcastle jugs of crude decoration. Various

firms.

_Sunderland._--Scott Brothers,

Brunton & Co., Moore & Co. (1803),

Phillips.

_Newcastle._--Dixon, Austin, &

Co., Dawson & Co., Fell & Co.

(1817), marked with +F+ and anchor,

Sewells & Donkin.

Middlesborough 1831-1850 Blue-printed ware (marked with

Pottery impressed anchor and _Middlesbro'

(Yorkshire) Pottery_, or with the word _London_

and anchor, about 1848, or M.P. Co).

PRICES--TRANSFER-PRINTED WARE.

£ s. d.

Transfer-printed Jug with ship on one side

and mariner's compass on reverse;

another Jug with Sailor and his Lass.

Sotheby, November, 1904 1 18 0

Transfer-printed Jug with portrait of Lord

Nelson on one side, and plan of Battle

of Trafalgar on reverse. Sotheby,

November, 1904 3 15 0

Transfer-printed Jug with "Britannia weeping

over the ashes of Her Matchless

Hero, Lord Nelson," and a sailing ship

on reverse, with motto "Success to

Trade." Sotheby, November, 1904 3 8 0

Transfer-printed Jug with Subject relating

to the Independence of America; _rare._

Sotheby, November, 1904 3 3 0

Twelve Plates, transfer-printed, with farmyard

scenes in blue, and large dish

similar. Sotheby, May, 1907 1 10 0

[Illustration:

STAFFORDSHIRE FIGURE, SALT-GLAZED.

Touched in parts with blue. (Height 5-1/8 inches.)

(_In the collection of Mr. Robert Bruce Wallis._)]

[Illustration:

STAFFORDSHIRE EARTHENWARE FIGURE OF COCK.

Tail feathers enamelled in dark blue. (Height 8 inches.)

Marked R WOOD.

(_In the collection of Mr. Robert Bruce Wallis._)]

XI

STAFFORDSHIRE

FIGURES

[Illustration:

OLD STAFFORDSHIRE FIGURES.

DIANA.

BIRTH OF VENUS. Modelled from the Plymouth porcelain group.

(_In the collection of Miss Feilden._)]

[Illustration:

GROUP OF STAFFORDSHIRE FIGURES.

MINERVA.

PARSON AND CLERK.

TOBY JUG. Finely modelled.

All marked NEALE & CO.

(_In the collection of Col. and Mrs. Dickson._)]

CHAPTER XI

STAFFORDSHIRE FIGURES

Early Period (1675-1725): Slip, Agate, and Astbury Figures--Best

Period (1725-1760): Fine Modelling and Reticent Colouring, Ralph

Wood the elder, Aaron Wood, Thomas Wheildon--Classic Period

(1760-1785): Wedgwood, Neale, Voyez, Ralph Wood, junior, Enoch

Wood, Lakin and Poole--Decadent Period (1785-1830): Walton,

Scott, Bott, Lockett, Dale, and imitative school.

In attempting to classify the great array of Staffordshire figures and

groups, extending over a period of a century and a half, no little

difficulty has been experienced. The number of unmarked specimens is

very great, and in many cases, owing to trade rivalry, models were so

extensively imitated that it is impossible to say who was the first

modeller. These Staffordshire figures, except in the instances of the

highest modelling and restrained under-glaze colouring of the best

period, cannot be regarded as ceramic triumphs. But they are highly

valuable, although not from an artistic point of view, as illustrative

of the character of the common folk in England, and exemplifying their

tastes and their sentiments.

Ornament, even in the humblest articles of daily use, has its meaning

and can tell its story, to those who read aright, of the feeling of

the man who produced it; whether he took a pleasure in making the

article, or whether he was a machine, human or other, producing only

a thin echo of art. Practically it may be asserted that from middle

eighteenth-century days to middle nineteenth-century days ceramic

art was steadily deteriorating. Applied art had practically ceased

to exist in the early nineteenth century. It is said that men's eyes

were first opened to this fact by the cumulative hideousness of the

Great Exhibition of 1851, and certainly a perusal of the illustrated

catalogue of that Exhibition is a saddening occupation.

In the study of the china shelf this decadence must always be

considered, and it is fully borne out by a close study of the subject

of Staffordshire figures. Practically, the crude agate cat and the

little mannikin of early days playing bagpipes found replicas in

crudity and poverty of invention in the spotted poodle dog or the

kilted Scotsman, the common cottage ornaments of a century later.

And between these two dates, with the exception of an outburst which

promised to develop into something really great and almost did so,

there was, owing to want of artistic instinct and general lack of

culture, a fairly rapid degeneration into the hideous nightmare of

the Toby jug and all the awful insularities of the late Staffordshire

period.

[Illustration:

STAFFORDSHIRE FIGURE OF ELOQUENCE.

(Sometimes known as _St. Paul Preaching at Athens_.)

In coloured earthenware. (Height 18 inches.)

Similar to figure in Schreiber Collection by Enoch Wood.

(_In the collection of Col. and Mrs. Dickson._)]

=Early Period= (1675-1725).--The method of slip decoration has already

been described, and to this period, when Toft and his school had

implanted their quaint and original taste upon the common people, these

early figures belong. Among the best-known figures of this early date

are small _Cats_ of stoneware or earthenware body, coated with white

and ornamented with spots in brown slip. _Ducks_ are sometimes found

similarly ornamented in spots and wavy lines. These figures are only

3 inches in height. To these days belong the solid agate _Cats_ made

of two or three clays of different colours intermingled, and highly

glazed. These are some 5 or 6 inches in height. We give an illustration

of this type of ware (p. 171). _Bears_ in agate ware the same nature,

and small figures of doll-like individuals are also found.

The elder Astbury (1736-1743) has been credited with a series of

figures of men, some 6 inches in height, playing bagpipes or other

instruments. They are splashed with green and brown, and have yellow

slip ornament, their lead glazing is warm and rich. The beady eyes

of some of these tiny figures is suggestive of the Toft slip applied

figure on some of his dishes, and was produced by the use of manganese.

Among early figures those of salt-glaze are rare and of exceptional

interest, and the figure illustrated (p. 351), stands as a typical

example of a class not frequently met with, and highly prized by

collectors.

We have seen in the chapter dealing with Whieldon and his influence

that he commenced potting before 1740 and continued till 1780, and

although none of his figures is marked it is tolerably certain that

he produced some fine work in which he introduced the beautiful

tortoiseshell glazings, which characteristic is found on figures

attributed to him. Obviously over a period of nearly half a century

Whieldon ware varies in quality. The following class of figures may be

attributed to the early Whieldon period, that is, before 1760. _Actor_,

with turban and flowing mantle, hand resting on dagger; tortoiseshell

ware, brown and green glazing; height, 5-1/2 inches. _Diana_, with dog,

on square hollow pedestal made of buff clay; brown and grey glazings,

eyes of brown clay; height, 7 inches. _Venus_, with bow, on irregular

base, eyes brown clay; height, 5-1/2 inches. Figure of _Sphinx_,

coloured with brown and green glazings; height, 3-1/2 inches. _Monkey_,

eyes, black; height, 4 inches. Other animals, such as _Lion_, height,

3-1/4 inches; _Squirrel_, height, 7 inches; _Cock_, height, 7-1/4

inches; _Cow_, in form of small jug with woman milking, height, 5-1/2

inches; _Dog_, with brown glazing, height, 3-3/4 inches. Other figures

of this early period are _Summer_ and _Winter_, each 4-1/2 inches high;

sauceboats in form of _Duck_ and _Drake_, coloured glazings, height,

4-1/2 inches.

(We have illustrated several types of these figures, pp. 171, 175).

=The Best Period= (1735-1760).--This is known to collectors as the

Wood School. Briefly, the history of the Wood family is as follows,

and will be of interest to collectors of Staffordshire figures. So

strong and original is the work of the modeller Ralph Wood the elder,

that connoisseurs recognise the class of face in his work. Aaron

Wood and Ralph Wood were the sons of the old Ralph Wood, a miller.

They were both modellers of distinction. Aaron is mainly known as a

block-cutter of salt-glaze moulds. Ralph Wood (1750-1772) made figures

and other rustic groups at his own factory at Burslem. His models are

straightforward and homely and strongly English, not greatly influenced

by any extraneous classic models. He modelled the celebrated "Vicar and

Moses," which for quaint humour is inimitable. It has been copied by

all the potters, and much of its strength and simplicity of modelling

has been lost, while its restraint in colouring disappeared in the

copies upon which enamel colours were lavishly laid.

[Illustration:

OLD STAFFORDSHIRE GROUP, BACCHUS AND ARIADNE.

By ENOCH WOOD. Enamelled in colours. (Height 24 inches.)

(_In the collection of Col. and Mrs. Dickson._)]

[Illustration:

OLD STAFFORDSHIRE EARTHENWARE FIGURES.

ADONIS (after the antique).

(Height 23 inches.)

VENUS.

(Height 24 inches.)

(_In the possession of Mr. S. G. Fenton._)]

There was a strong Quaker element in Staffordshire, and the Established

Church was the subject of a good deal of satire by the potter. The

_Parson and Clerk_ returning home after a carousal, _The Tithe Pig_

and other subjects exemplify this. Fielding published "Joseph Andrews"

in 1742, and it appears that parson-baiting was a familiar form of

amusement. Probably there were a good many abuses in the Church that

were evident. The hunting parson was often the boon companion of the

drinking squire. At any rate the Ralph Wood group, entitled _The

Vicar and Moses_,[6] showing the sleeping vicar, with full-bottomed

wig, and Moses, the clerk, seated underneath the pulpit exhorting the

congregation with uplifted hand, is a masterly piece of modelling. In

colour the original Ralph Wood examples are light purplish throbbing

brown in the pulpit and desk, and carved cherubs, green in the canopy

behind the vicar, and who has a white cassock, and the coat of Moses is

a slatey blue. The flesh tints are low in tone.

[Note: 6 See coloured _Frontispiece_.]

To return to Aaron Wood, the brother of Ralph Wood, he was the father

of William Wood, who became one of Wedgwood's modellers, and of Enoch

Wood, who went to Palmer as modeller for some years. In 1784 Enoch Wood

commenced business for himself. He produced cream ware and black basalt

and, what most interests us here, he made some excellent figures,

including a bust of _John Wesley_. In 1790 he entered into partnership

with James Caldwell. The ware is marked "Wood and Caldwell" till 1818,

when the firm became "Enoch Wood and Sons," till 1866.

In regard to Ralph Wood, the elder, he appears to have engaged his son

in his pottery, so that prior to his death, in 1772, we do not know

which Ralph Wood modelled some of the figures; but from 1772 to 1797

Ralph Wood, junior, was responsible for the factory, and there seems to

have been business connection, about 1786, between him and his cousin

Enoch Wood.

Concerning the figures of Ralph Wood, father and son, it may be said

that they were the first to impress their names upon Staffordshire

figures. Some of the pieces are marked with impressed mark R. WOOD, RA

WOOD, BURSLEM (impressed on _Vicar and Moses_). This mark is found on

some of the finest and earliest Toby jugs. It is believed, though not

proved, that "RA WOOD" is the mark adopted by Ralph Wood, junior.

That the Woods reflected English feeling and sentiment and did not go

to the classics for their inspiration is shown by their fine model of

_Hudibras_ upon his horse, in the act of drawing his sword.

"The trenchant blade, Toledo trusty,

For want of fighting was grown rusty,

And ate into itself, for lack

Of some body to hew and hack."

The horse of Hudibras is as famed in story as _Rosinante_, the famous

charger of Don Quixote, and in fine satire Butler enumerates his points.

[Illustration:

BUST OF BONAPARTE.

Coloured earthenware. By ENOCH WOOD. (Height 9-1/2 inches.)

(_In the collection of Mr. Robert Bruce Wallis._)]

[Illustration:

BUST OF ALEXANDER, CZAR OF RUSSIA.

Coloured earthenware. By WOOD & CALDWELL.

(_In the collection of Col. and Mrs. Dickson._)]

It is not too much to aver that, if it were not known that the Wood

model bore the title _Hudibras_, the source of inspiration would go

unknown. Similarly it may not be impossible, since no title appears

on the famous _Toby Philpot_ jug, that it may be derived from the

character of _Uncle Toby_ in Sterne's "Tristram Shandy," which was

published in nine volumes from 1759 to 1767. The type of blunt, jovial,

rubicund Englishman was beginning to become as pronounced in Bunbury

and other caricaturists as it became later on the china shelf.

Among other noticeable figures of the Ralph Wood period the pair of

figures are the _Haymakers_, separate figures (7-1/2 inches high each,

impressed R. WOOD), a youth and maiden leaning against tree trunks.

A bust of _Milton_, cream ware, uncoloured, is impressed RA. WOOD,

BURSLEM; height, 9 inches. _Old Age_ is represented by a rustic figure

of an old man leaning upon a stick and a crutch. _Neptune_ and _Venus_

and _Apollo_ betray the contemporary classic influence.

In examining the figures of the elder Ralph Wood they will be found

in parts, though hardly perceptible, to be unglazed. This is owing to

the fact that he applied his glaze with a brush. In the figures of the

best period the colouring is extremely delicate, and the flesh tints

do not approach the rosy pink associated with other figure work. It is

difficult to describe them, but they approximate to a biscuit-coloured

grey. But there are the usual exceptions to all rules. In one case in

particular the colouring is more pronounced--the bust of _Handel_, who

died in 1759. It is marked "RA. WOOD." It is finely modelled and bright

in colouring. A figure of a _Cock_, marked R. WOOD, is illustrated (p.

351). It is 8 inches in height. The body is light in colour, with light

and dark brown decoration about the neck. The wings are yellow, with

brown stripes, the tail brown and dark-blue enamel colours. Legs dark

brown and green and splashed base. This specimen is in one piece, not

having any joint at neck.

The fine coloured large figure (18 inches in height) of _Eloquence_,

known also as _St. Paul preaching at Athens_, is by Enoch Wood, after

a model by Sir H. Cheere. There is a similar figure in the Schreiber

Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum. But it must be admitted

that some of these large figures bear a strong resemblance in technique

and modelling to those of Wedgwood. The _Bacchus and Ariadne_ group was

most certainly reproduced by Enoch Wood, who signed it. So that the

difficulty in such cases of determining which was the original model

becomes very great.

=The Classic Period= (1760-1785).--It appears that Josiah Wedgwood,

when under the influence of Whieldon and before he embarked upon his

classic ornamentation under the guidance of Bentley, modelled some very

fine figures which are unmarked, but exhibit considerable strength

and beauty. There are three figures, _Faith_, _Hope_, and _Charity_,

in date about 1770, in the Willett Collection marked Wedgwood. Other

figures are the large ones of _Fortitude_ and _Prudence_ (height 21

inches). But these symbolistic figures betray the classic influence.

They are magnificent pieces of modelling. Then there is the fine group

of _Bacchus and Ariadne_, the same height. The specimen at the British

Museum is cream colour, but later imitators adopted the same modelling

and added colour to the decoration. A copy of this group so treated,

possibly by Enoch Wood, is illustrated (p. 363).

Other busts of Wedgwood in coloured cream ware of _Voltaire_ and

_Rousseau_ will be found illustrated on p. 233.

[Illustration:

STAFFORDSHIRE EARTHENWARE FIGURE OF FALSTAFF.

Shield decorated in silver lustre. Marked WOOD & CALDWELL.

(_In the collection of Mr. F. W. Philips, Hitchin._)]

[Illustration: DERBY PORCELAIN FIGURE OF FALSTAFF.]

[Illustration: CHELSEA PORCELAIN FIGURE OF FALSTAFF.]

=Neale & Co.= betray classic influence in much of their work, and

as Voyez, the Frenchman, was their modeller, this is not hard to

understand. Among their well-known figures are _Flora_ (12-1/2 inches

high) and _Diana_ (5 inches high), and they were large makers of

Toby jugs. We give an illustration (p. 355) of a group of finely

modelled ware by Neale & Co., including a Toby jug copied from

the Ralph Wood model and impressed NAELE & CO., and the familiar

group of the _Parson and Clerk_ copied by them after the well-known

Chelsea-Derby porcelain model of the same subject, and reproduced as

an earthenware group by many other Staffordshire potters. It is often

attributed to Ralph Wood the younger. It is interesting to compare

the _Minerva_ with the _Diana_ illustrated above. The same classic

spirit was the inspiration of the two modellers, and in the case of

unmarked classic figures there always exists considerable difficulty in

definitely assigning their origin.

In regard to all these coloured Staffordshire figures it should be

borne in mind that, until well towards the close of the eighteenth

century, they were coloured by the use of pigments under the glaze,

which gave a low-toned effect of very delicate character. Later, enamel

colours were used with lurid effect, and much of the beauty of the old

school vanished.

=Enoch Wood= (1783-1840), =Wood and Caldwell= (1790-1818).--Of this

school there are several fine examples. There is no doubt that the ease

with which classic prototypes could be copied and porcelain figures

imitated began to tell upon the originality of most of the modellers.

The _Bacchus and Ariadne_ (illustrated p. 363), with the vine leaf

wreaths in green around the heads and the finely coloured drapery, is

by Enoch Wood. There is a specimen in a private collection at Eccles

signed "E. WOOD, Sculp. and HEWITT Pinxt." (the height of this example

is 27 inches), in spite of the similar uncoloured group at the British

Museum marked Wedgwood.

Enoch Wood is best known for his portrait busts of _John Wesley_

and of _George Whitfield_. The former who stayed at his house in the

Potteries sat for this bust, which is a fine piece of portraiture. This

is marked "E. WOOD," and sometimes "ENOCH WOOD, Sculp., Burslem 1781."

George Whitfield was probably modelled at a later date. There is a fine

equestrian statuette of _St. George and the Dragon_, sometimes signed

"E. Wood," similar in modelling to the Whieldon mottled tortoiseshell

coloured specimen (illustrated p. 175).

There are other busts by Enoch Wood which are noteworthy. There is

the fine bust of _Bonaparte_ as First Consul in coloured earthenware,

with blue coat with yellow border, and having marbled base. The height

of this is 9-1/2 inches, and it is marked "E. WOOD." This is in date

about 1802. A bust of _Alexander I._ of Russia, in highly coloured

earthenware, in military costume, marked WOOD & CALDWELL. The date of

this is later than the Bonaparte, an inscription on the back on some

examples runs "Alexander Aet. 35. Moscow burnt. Europe preserved 1812."

Another well-known figure by Wood and Caldwell is the figure of Quin

as _Falstaff_. By the illustrations we have given (p. 371) it will be

seen that this model was in direct imitation of the similar figures in

porcelain at Derby and Chelsea. The colouring is different, the shield

is silver lustre, the costume consists of red breeches, striped yellow

and white surtout; but these colours are a feeble imitation of the

finer enamel work on the china models from which they have been copied.

[Illustration:

STAFFORDSHIRE FIGURE.

(About 1790.)

Decorated and refired by Absolon, of Yarmouth.]

BASE OF FIGURE.

(Enlarged.)

Showing painted mark "Absolon Yarm."

(_In the collection of Mr. F. I. Burwood._)]

The group of _Toby Jugs_ illustrated (p. 383), exhibit the best known

models of a much collected variety of earthenware. These examples are

collectors' specimens, but later models may be said to be like--

The grand old name of gentleman,

Defamed by every charlatan,

And soil'd with all ignoble use.

That it was not infrequent to take a model bodily from English

porcelain is shown by the group entitled the _Birth of Venus_, which is

taken from a Plymouth group of the same subject (illustrated p. 355),

this apparently belongs to the Enoch Wood period.

In the figures of children we illustrate p. 387, the figures of _Flower

Boys_, some 4-1/2 inches high, are evidently inspired by some of the

Chelsea-Derby figures which in their turn were under strong French

influence. The middle figure of the trio is one of a pair by Wood and

Caldwell. The figure of _Cupid_ above is a fine specimen, standing

17-1/2 inches in height. Cupid is fully armed with his deadly bow and

arrow, which by the way are decorated in silver lustre, suggestive

of the Falstaff shield of Wood and Caldwell, and at his feet are two

lions crouching in subjugation, and he holds the torch of Hymen in

his hand. This is a remarkably fine modelled figure representing this

contemporary foreign influence upon Staffordshire figures at its best.

In regard to the strong classic influence the two figures (illustrated

p. 363) are in white earthenware. That on the left, of _Adonis_, is

obviously taken direct from the antique, while the _Venus_ is a fine

Staffordshire adaptation of a well-known classic statue in the pose and

in the dolphin by her side. The only touch of colour is the darkening

of the hair. It is a magnificent piece of modelling something in the

nature of the classic art seen through French eyes. To find this in

Staffordshire is as though one found _La Source_ of Ingres in the Royal

Academy of the year 1856. The date of this Staffordshire _Venus_ cannot

be stated. It is an important figure, being 24 inches in height and

exhibits something so strikingly realistic that it must be assigned a

high place among the figures.

We illustrate a Staffordshire figure belonging to this period, which is

signed "Absalon, Yarmouth." Towards the end of the eighteenth century,

as in the latter days of Lowestoft, a factory termed "The Ovens" at

Yarmouth carried on a decorating business, receiving the ware from

Leeds and from Staffordshire, and decorating and refiring it in the

glost oven. The date of the figure illustrated is about 1790. On some

of the pieces decorated by Absalon, the name of the Staffordshire

maker, Turner, appears as an impressed mark. Turner, who carried on an

extensive trade with the Baltic and Northern Europe, no doubt readily

came into touch with these East Anglian decorators.

[Illustration:

GIRL WITH TAMBOURINE.

Coloured Staffordshire figure.]

[Illustration:

COLOURED STAFFORDSHIRE FIGURES.

TAMBOURINE PLAYER (marked SALT) AND MUSICIANS.

(_In the collection of Miss Feilden._)]

=The Decadent Period= (1785-1830).--It is impossible to keep exactly to

dates in any of these periods of rough classification. But in general

the later period becomes more homely and a great number of mantel

ornaments of a simple nature with rustic subjects were made for the

homes of cottagers. These have trees as background and are Arcadian

in subject. They are, when in this style, of the finnicking school

of the Chelsea shepherds and shepherdesses known as of the boscage

school. John Walton (1790-1839), made a great many figures in this

manner, accompanied by a lamb, as well as a great number of Toby jugs.

Another potter is Ralph Salt (1812-1840), whose name appears on the

little _Tambourine Player_ (p. 379), and probably the _Musicians_ of

the adjacent group are by him too. A larger figure of the _Girl with

Tambourine_ above is of the same period, though its maker cannot be

identified.

We illustrate (p. 391) two later figures, _The Fishwife_ and _Mother

Goose_. Both are well modelled, and were evidently intended to meet the

popular taste. The days of gods and goddesses were over, and figures

and groups begin to grow commonplace. In _Mother Goose_ the nursery

rhyme is substituted for the mythology of the Greeks.

Among other names found on these later figures are Lakin and Poole,

Dale (mark usually impressed I. DALE BURSLEM), and Edge and Grocott,

who made figures of boys partly draped holding baskets of flowers. It

is possible that they made the two outside figures of _Flower Boys_

(illustrated p. 387).

There is to lovers of the ultra-aesthetic something which appears to

be trivial and insipid in this peasant pottery of the later date. But

in spite of its defects, it holds, to those who read between the lines

and can add that necessary touch of human interest to their collecting,

a charm on account of its quaintness. Those who have sought these old

cottage treasures high and low and secured from far-away habitations

snug in the hills or lone huts on the wolds, or from the dim-lit

cabins of fisher folk these relics of byegone days, read into their

newly acquired possessions something of the life history in their old

environment, lying _perdu_ these many years, perched aloft on the high

mantel or hidden in the cupboard recess silently listening to the old

tales of the strange men and women who live apart from the hum of

cities.

Chelsea we know, Derby we know, Bow we know, with their dainty china

shepherdesses minding impossible sheep, and with gallants prinked out

in all the colours of the humming-bird. These were the trifles in

porcelain that my dear Lady Disdain in a waft of bergamot set apart in

her glazed case by Sheraton. In the days of paint and patch and of the

revels at Vauxhall and Ranelagh, virtuosos drowsily passed comment on

my lady's latest acquisition just to please her passing whim and wean

her from the vapours.

These earthenware figures "in homespun hose and russet brown" suggest

the old world nooks of other days. Give Chelsea and Bow to the town.

This homely art of Staffordshire became English after all. It was found

in thatched cottages "with breath of thyme and bees that hum." These

boscage shepherds and shepherdesses, these rustic musicians, lusty

post-boys, and the family of Toby Philpots, found kinship in the miller

and the farmer, the herdsman and the milkmaid, the gamekeeper and the

woodman, the ostler and the waggoner--simple, kind-hearted folk, the

children of nature uncloyed by the subtleties of art. Red-cheeked

lasses and wrinkled crook-backed old dames, mother and daughter and

granddaughter, toilers and sufferers, who chose the warm west window

seat in the sun and the ingle nook by the fireside--these were the

whilom owners of the old Staffordshire figures. Somehow, nor is the

fancy a foolish one, one likes to associate these diminutive figures

with the old gardens of England set in sweet places where one

"Can watch the sunlight fall

Athwart the ivied orchard wall;

Or pause to catch the cuckoo's call

Beyond the beeches."

[Illustration:

GROUP OF FINELY COLOURED TOBY JUGS.

(Date 1790-1810.)

(_In the possession of Mr. S. G. Fenton._)]

There seems to be something added to old Staffordshire figures which

have steeped themselves in somnolent repose these many years till

they have become invested with a subtle human interest not easily

disassociated from them.

The squire had his services of Worcester and of Crown-Derby, and the

nobleman relegated his cases of fine porcelain to the care of his

housekeeper, to dust and to safeguard till he came again to hunt and to

shoot. But the cottager's Staffordshire figures were lovingly handled

when the good wife furbished up her brass candlesticks, and they

insensibly became part of the environment of the cottage home.

Here, then, is the key to the charm and magic which goes to the

collecting of old Staffordshire figures, even of the decadent period.

There is within them and around them and about them something redolent

of a sturdy peasantry, something sad, something tinged with autumn

days and autumn mists because they belong to days that have faded, and

almost to a race that is extinct.

[Illustration:

CUPID

Large coloured Staffordshire figure. (Height 17-1/2 inches.)

Bow and arrow in silver lustre.

(_In the collection of Miss Feilden._)]

[Illustration:

COLOURED STAFFORDSHIRE FIGURES OF FLOWER BOYS.

Pair 4-1/2 inches. Centre figure one of pair by WOOD & CALDWELL.

(_In the collection of Miss Feilden._)]

PRICES.

LEEDS FIGURES. £ s. d.

Pair of Leeds cream-ware Figures of

Musicians, Youth and Girl; _rare_.

Marked "Leeds Pottery." Sotheby,

November, 1904 6 6 0

STAFFORDSHIRE FIGURES.

Group of Madonna and Child (probably

Wedgwood), illustrated in "English

Earthenware" (Professor Church).

Sotheby, February, 1906 8 0 0

Staffordshire Models of Cottages (some

porcelain), encrusted with flowers.

Christie, January, 1906 (59 models). 31 10 0

"Vicar and Moses," group, decorated in

translucent colours. Sotheby, June

1906 35 10 0

"Vicar and Moses," group, decorated in

translucent colours. Sotheby,

November, 1906 8 10 0

Bacchus and Ariadne, large; brown

glaze; 25 in. high. Christie,

November, 1906 13 2 6

Toby Philpot jugs (four male and one

female), grotesque models. Christie,

November, 1906 30 9 0

Falstaff, two examples, on plinths, encrusted

with flowers; 9 in. high.

Christie, November, 1906 5 15 6

"Elijah," "The Widow," and "Virgin

and Child"; three figures. Puttick

and Simpson, March, 1907 3 12 6

Busts of _Milton_ and _Handel_, impressed

mark, "Ra Wood Burslem"; white:

9 in. high. Sotheby, July, 1907 6 0 0

Figure of Gamekeeper: white; 8-1/2 in.

high. Sotheby, July, 1907 2 0 0

Figure of _Lost Sheep_; white; 8-3/4 in.

high. Sotheby, July, 1907 2 18 0

Figure of _Girl Haymaker_; white; 7-3/4 in.

high. Sotheby, July, 1907 3 0 0

Figures, _Chaucer_ and _Sir Isaac Newton_,

decorated in colours; marked "Ra

Wood"; impressed "Burslem." 12-1/2 in.

high. Sotheby, 1907 12 10 0

Figures, _Cobbler and his Wife_, pair, large,

seated; 12-1/2 in. high. Christie,

January, 1908 13 2 6

Figures, reclining, _Cleopatra_, 8-1/2 in. high,

and _Antony_, 8 in. high. Christie,

January, 1908 14 14 0

"Bacchus and Ariadne," 25 in. high;

_Female_, holding dove, 25 in. high.

Christie, January, 1908 16 16 0

Figures, pair, Boy and Girl harvesting,

square base, one marked "R. Wood."

Sotheby, May, 1908 10 5 0

"Vicar and Moses," in Whieldon colours

(attributed to R. Wood), yellow,

green, brown, manganese purple, &c.

Sotheby, May, 1908 15 0 0

_Shepherd and Shepherdess_, seated, with

dog, lamb, and goat; shepherd playing

flute; Whieldon colouring (attributed

to R. Wood). Sotheby, May,

1908 12 0 0

"St. George and Dragon" in Whieldon

colouring (attributed to Ralph Wood)

Sotheby, May, 1908 14 0 0

Toby Jug, representing man seated with

jug on knee (attributed to R. Wood).

Sotheby, May, 1908 6 6 0

[Illustration:

FIGURE OF FISHWIFE.

(Late Staffordshire.)

(_In the collection of Miss Feilden._)]

[Illustration:

FIGURE OF MOTHER GOOSE.

(Staffordshire, early nineteenth century.)

(_In the collection of the Author._)]

XII

SWANSEA

AND OTHER

FACTORIES

CHAPTER XII

SWANSEA AND OTHER FACTORIES

Swansea--The Cambrian Pottery--Opaque china--Etruscan

Ware--Lowesby Pottery (Leicestershire)--Liverpool, Herculaneum

(1794-1841)--Bristol, Joseph Ring (1784-1825)--Caughley

or Salopian (1751-1775)--Derby, John and Christopher

Heath (1758-1780)--Isleworth, Shore & Goulding

(1760-1830)--Marks--Prices.

Undoubtedly the earthenware productions at Swansea are of a high

artistic order. For a century, from 1768 to about 1870, the Cambrian

Pottery at Swansea manufactured ware bearing various marks and

comprising a wide range of examples. During part of the time a rival

factory at Glamorgan, which existed from 1814, to 1839, produced

"opaque china" and cream ware in common with Swansea.

Practically the history of the Cambrian Pottery dates from 1790, when

George Haynes bought the factory. Fine black basalt ware was produced.

There are two recumbent figures of _Antony_ and _Cleopatra_, the latter

in the Victoria and Albert Museum having the impressed mark SWANSEA,

and the former in the possession of Mr. C. F. Cox, and marked with

the name of the modeller, "G. Bentley, Swansea, 22 May, 1791." The

length of these figures is 12 inches. Two somewhat similar recumbent

figures of _Antony_ and _Cleopatra_ in colours have been attributed to

Lowestoft (see "Lowestoft China," by W. W. R. Spelman, Jarrold & Sons,

Norwich, 1905). But these more properly belong to the Staffordshire

school, and are probably by Neale and Palmer.

Under-glaze blue-printed ware, notably "willow pattern" from Caughley,

had been made at Swansea probably before Haynes bought the factory,

certainly not later than 1790, when Leeds commenced similar imitations

of Turner's "willow patterns." Salt-glazed ware, some marked "Cambrian

Pottery," but mostly unmarked, was made and decorated in enamel colours

with figure subjects, landscapes, and flowers.

The transfer-printed ware is of great variety and is excellently

finished, and compares very favourably with the best of the

Staffordshire cream ware similarly decorated, or with the highest

productions of Leeds in the same manner. We illustrate (p. 405) a group

of various types of transfer-printed ware in black and brown, and

blue under-glaze transfer-printing. As will be noticed, the Oriental

influence from Caughley and the china factories was very strong, but in

the print of the ship there is something suggestive of Liverpool.

[Illustration:

SWANSEA PLATES.

1. Cream ware, rim painted in green and violet with vine pattern.

Mark impressed SWANSEA.

2. Earthenware, black transfer-printed.

Mark impressed DILLWYN & CO. SWANSEA.

(_In the Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh._)]

[Illustration: SET OF FINELY PAINTED SWANSEA BULB POTS.

(_In the collection of Col. and Mrs. Dickson._)]

A very fine transfer-printed plate in black is illustrated (p. 397),

showing something higher in engraving than Staffordshire had attempted.

It stands, leaving out the delicate black transfer-printing done on

the Worcester porcelain, as an exceptionally artistic piece of work.

The adjacent plate in the illustration at once shows the source of

its inspiration. It follows one of Wedgwood's Queen's ware patterns

painted in green and violet of the grape pattern, although it must

be admitted that the Swansea adaptation is richer than the somewhat

thinner design found on old Wedgwood plates.

One of the most interesting features in the history of the Swansea

factory is the introduction by Haynes of a ware termed "opaque china,"

which was in reality a finer and whiter kind of cream ware, and

eminently suitable for the painted decorations by W. W. Young, an

artist from the Bristol factory, who painted from about 1803 to 1806,

flowers and butterflies and shells with great fidelity. He was followed

by another artist Thomas Pardoe, from the Derby factory, who brought

more poetry into his floral subjects. Another artist named Evans

painted flower-pieces with almost equal beauty. We illustrate a fine

Cambrian vase painted by Pardoe, and a Swansea jug painted by Evans (p.

401).

There is no doubt that a very high standard of painting on the Swansea

ware prevailed during the best period, and the illustration of a set of

three Swansea-ware bulb pots (see p. 397) shows that landscape painters

of no mean gifts were employed. It is this picturesque quality of

decoration (dependent in a great measure on the fact that from 1814 to

1824 porcelain was made too), together with the equally fine quality of

the ware itself, that has placed Swansea well to the front among the

collectors of artistic earthenware.

We have alluded to Haynes the proprietor who first brought the factory

into prominence. This was in 1790. But in 1802 it passed into the hands

of Lewis Weston Dillwyn, and it was during this period that W. W. Young

did the work we have alluded to. In 1817 the factory passed into the

hands of the Bevingtons, and in 1824 it again came into the possession

of the Dillwyn family, who held it till about 1850, when the firm

was known as Evans and Glasson, and later as D. J. Evans & Co. until

its close in 1870. During this long period the marks assumed various

characters. We have at the end of this chapter given most of the more

important to enable collectors to identify the period of their Swansea

ware--when marked.

Another ware greatly collected must be alluded to, of which an

illustration is given (p. 405). This Etruscan ware, following the early

example set by Wedgwood, was an attempt to copy some of the Greek vases

which were painted red on a black body.

In "Dillwyn's Etruscan Ware," made only for three years from 1847 to

1850, the body was a warm red, and the design was impressed thereon

either by means of black transfer-printing or outline, and the

background was then painted and the classic figures heightened. This

ware is not always marked, but when the mark appears it is in a scroll,

as given in the list of marks (p. 416).

=Lowesby Pottery.=--There is very little to be said about this pottery

in Leicestershire, which was conducted under the auspices of Sir

Francis Fowke about 1835. The mark is always puzzling to collectors

which is a _fleur-de-lis_ with the name Lowesby, both impressed. The

ware usually made at this small pottery was red terra cotta coated with

a dull black upon which were flowers and butterflies painted in bright

enamel colours. This decoration was done elsewhere, probably in London.

[Illustration:

CAMBRIAN VASE.

Painted by Pardoe.

(_In the collection of Mr. A. Duncan._)]

[Illustration:

SWANSEA JUG.

Painted by Evans.

(_In the collection of Mr. A. Duncan._)]

=Liverpool.=--We have already alluded to the Liverpool delft, but

the story of Liverpool as a potting centre is not yet complete.

There was, of course, the enormous business in transfer-printing on

Staffordshire cream ware established by Sadler and Green. But they

made cream ware themselves as well as decorated it for others. Cream

ware was produced at the factories of Chaffers, Barnes, Pennington, and

others. And at a date immediately prior to the cream ware, Shaw, of

Liverpool, had made "Astbury" and "Whieldon" and salt-glaze wares. So

that here at once is a difficulty, and a very great one, in identifying

with exactitude the origin of some of these wares. There is a great

deal yet to be discovered concerning the long line of Liverpool

factories, and if only as much special attention had been given to this

locality as has been given to the much smaller factory of Lowestoft,

original research might disentangle many a ceramic puzzle.

=W. Reid & Co.=--These potters made artistic earthenware from about

1754 to 1760, another firm established by Richard Abbey about 1793

continued till 1796 to make cream ware of a high order. This pottery,

bought by Messrs. Worthington, was named Herculaneum Pottery.

=The Herculaneum Pottery= (1796-1841).--At first, when a band of

Staffordshire potters came over to the new works, stoneware and

black and red unglazed ware in the Wedgwood manner were made. Later

a considerable amount of cream ware of pleasing character was turned

out. The various marks found on the ware of this factory are given

at the end of this chapter. Shortly after the end of the eighteenth

century porcelain was made here, and some of the examples are of a very

high quality both in potting and in decoration. From 1836 to 1841 the

proprietors were Messrs. Close, Mort & Co.

Until more facts come to light and trained research is applied to all

classes of Liverpool ware nothing definitely can be stated. But it is

certain that some of the Liverpool ware is so fine in character as even

to confuse old collectors who have never seen specimens before.

We illustrate a Liverpool plate (p. 409) with the usual Oriental

design, and having no special feature about it which many another

factory could not have produced. Its blue is fine and its potting is

excellent, but it is not exceptional. The illustration beside it (p.

409) is of an earthenware mug some 5 inches in height which undoubtedly

is a puzzle to experts. The exquisitely-painted exotic birds in rich

colouring are not less perfect than those painted on Worcester vases

or on Chelsea dishes. Indeed, it seems to show very strong traces of

the style of Worcester painting. One is inclined to attribute it to

Liverpool with the proviso that it must have been painted by some

artist who had been trained at Worcester. It will thus be seen by this

case that in unmarked earthenware there are exceptional difficulties in

correctly placing examples where so much cream ware was made not very

dissimilar in character, and where artists, as we have seen at Swansea,

came over from other factories, apparently to the confoundment of the

present-day collector.

[Illustration:

GROUP OF SWANSEA WARE.

Transfer-printed in blue, black, and brown.

(_In the collection of Mr. A. Duncan._)]

[Illustration:

DILLWYN'S ETRUSCAN WARE.

VASE.

With Warriors in Chariot and Pegasus.

(Height 14 inches.)

TAZZA.

With Dancing Girl (side view and interior).

(10-1/2 inches diameter.)

(_In the collection of Mr. A. Duncan._)]

=Bristol.=--Joseph Ring in 1786 commenced to make a cream ware with

the assistance of potters he engaged from Shelton in Staffordshire.

In colour it was a warm cream due to the glaze and not to the body of

the ware itself. Connected with this factory are some finely painted

flower-pieces in enamel colours by William Fifield (born in 1777,

and died in 1857), and his son, John Fifield. The factory changed

hands in 1825, and became Pountney and Allies and Pountney & Co. until

1872. Many of Fifield's decorated pieces with floral works bear the

name and date of the person for whom they were made. These are quite

characteristic of the pottery, and occur after 1820 and in the Pountney

and Allies period. There is a strong similarity in these chains of

flowers and garlands to the Oriental ware, and its later French

imitation which poses as Lowestoft. Much of this Bristol earthenware is

confounded with somewhat similar New Hall porcelain, and is termed by

very inexperienced buyers and sellers as "cottage Worcester." "Cottage"

it may be, but it has no relationship with Worcester.

=Caughley or Salopian.=--The Caughley under-glaze blue-printed ware

with its rich almost purplish blue is well known, but the various tints

of this blue employed in the porcelain are not so well known varying

as they do from this deep blue to a fairly light slate blue--but that

concerns china and is another story. The Coalport factory china mark at

the present day has the date 1750, proudly going back to these early

days. Of Salopian earthenware not too much is known, it is eclipsed by

the porcelain which Thomas Turner commenced to make at Caughley in 1772.

But earthenware was made at the factory from 1750 to 1775 by Browne,

the owner of the factory, whose niece Thomas Turner married and took

over the pottery in 1772. There are, belonging to this early period,

some exceedingly well-modelled Caughley figures which are equal to the

finest work of the Staffordshire potters. Some of these figures are 20

inches in height, and among those attributed to this Salopian pottery

are the following: _Prudence_, holding a mirror, draped classical

figure with figured gown; and _Fortitude_, a companion figure. _Antony_

and _Cleopatra_ are also believed to belong to this factory by some

collectors. Caughley pottery is sometimes, though rarely, marked

with the word SALOPIAN or with the initials S or C in blue under

the glaze. A considerable doubt still exists as to what is and what

is not Salopian or Caughley earthenware, and an opinion should not

be hastily arrived at on superficial examination. Many of the early

under-glaze blue-printed porcelain cups and saucers with Oriental

designs similar in character to the "willow pattern" bear a mark of

a blue crescent not unlike that of the Worcester factory. When such

specimens in earthenware are found thus marked in under-glaze blue with

the crescent they may certainly be pronounced to be Caughley, in date

about 1772 to 1785. Some of the octagonal dark blue-printed Caughley

earthenware plates are of similar shape to the Oriental porcelain model

(illustrated p. 327), and the design especially in the treatment of the

border is handled in the same manner except that Turner was fonder of

more crowded detail.

[Illustration:

COPY OF PORTLAND VASE.

In red ware Isleworth.

(Early nineteenth century.) Marked S & G. (Height 7-3/4 inches.)

(_In the collection of Mr. W. G. Honey._)]

[Illustration:

FINE EARTHENWARE MUG.

Exquisitely painted with exotic birds in Worcester style

(attributed to Liverpool).

(_In the collection of Col. and Mrs. Dickson_.)

LIVERPOOL CREAM WARE PLATE.

With Oriental decoration in blue.

(_In the collection of Miss Feilden._)]

=Derby Earthenware.=--Derby porcelain is well known. But it is not

so well known that Derby earthenware is worth considering from a

collecting point of view. There is a certain amount of obscurity

surrounding the early ware made at Cockpit Hill. Slip ware was made in

early days and delft appears to have been made there at the beginning

of the eighteenth century. In 1772 the Derby pot-works, in the hands

of the Heath family who were bankers, produced cream ware, though

not equal to the Staffordshire products. Messrs. John and Christopher

Heath, of Derby, are described as "bankrupts" in 1780, and a great sale

of the earthenware in stock took place. The collector has mainly to

rely on dated examples, which are very rare, or on pieces bearing local

allusions to elections which may be safely attributed to Derby, but

like so many of the extinct factories the ware has not received special

attention in regard to its identification, nor is the task an easy one

owing to cream ware being of very general manufacture.

=Isleworth.=--There is not much known about this factory established

by Joseph Shore, who appears to have come from Worcester in 1760. The

ware later is marked with the initials S. & G. after the firm became

Shore and Goulding. The factory was never very large, and employed

only twenty hands at the most. We illustrate (p. 409) a copy of the

celebrated Portland Vase in red ware marked S. & G., and although some

of the Isleworth ware appears to have been coarse earthenware to which

the term "Welsh ware" was applied, some of it reverting to the old

method of slip decoration, yet it must be admitted that certain pieces

in red unglazed earthenware are of a high artistic character. There is

a very fine teapot of this red ware in exact imitation of the Oriental

style, being hexagonal in form, and having embossed decorations on the

panels, the lid being surmounted with a Chinese grotesque animal, such

as never was designed in Europe. The potting of such pieces as these

has directed the attention of connoisseurs to this obscure factory.

There is no doubt that some of the finer pieces of Isleworth red ware

have passed as Elers ware, but the former has a slight glaze and the

handles are moulded. It is heavier in weight, and the teapots, &c., by

Elers were undoubtedly of small dimensions.

It appears that "hound jugs" were made at Isleworth too. They were

made at Brampton and elsewhere, but in those illustrated (p. 413) the

mark is S. & G. They are brown stoneware with subjects of game in high

relief, and are early nineteenth century in date.

In the second illustration it will be seen that the handle of the hound

jug shows a later stage in its development. The reason is not far to

seek, the awkward points of the hound handle were found to be in the

way when Betsy Prue drew the beer. Any projection of this nature is

distinctly out of place in earthenware for everyday use. This the

potter readily recognised, and pattern number two was the result. Here

he followed, without knowing it, the practice of the Japanese, who in

their finely-carved ivory netsukes, so much collected nowadays, which

were used as buttons and fastenings for dresses, always took care to

leave no projecting points--the sleeping mouse has his tail well coiled

around him--the dwarf mime has a smooth head and a figure as rotund as

a miniature barrel.

It will be seen in this second illustration that the hound is still

discernible in the handle, but probably only to those who have seen him

in his former state. He has now become a clumsy, twisted handle with

less meaning. It is here that his delicately balanced proportions when

he was leaping over the brim with outstretched limbs--the attitude to

the life of a hound when attempting to get through a fence--became a

mere symbol in this later stage of his ceramic existence.

[Illustration:

BROWN STONEWARE JUGS.

Decorated with game in high relief.

SHORE & GOULDING (Isleworth). Marked S & G. (Height 7-1/2 inches.)

(_In the collection of Mr. W. G. Honey._)]

[Illustration:

BROWN STONEWARE JUGS.

With sporting subjects in relief, the handles showing a debased

form of the "hound" handles.

(_In the collection of Mr. W. G. Honey._)]

The pictorial history of the evolution is not a pretty one. It shows

how the rushing need of the public for "more pots" destroyed the craft

of the potter. It was far easier, since the demand was for pots, to

turn out hasty work, and to let the modelling take care of itself. For

this reason the mug degenerated into a mere commonplace mug, such as

Staffordshire could produce quite as cheaply by the ton. So the factory

put out its furnaces for ever.

MARKS USED AT SWANSEA, LOWESBY, LIVERPOOL, CAUGHLEY, DERBY, AND

ISLEWORTH.

[Illustration:

HAYNES, DILLWYN & CO

CAMBRIAN POTTERY SWANSEA]

=Swansea.=

Established 1769, works closed 1870.

Cambrian Pottery, after 1780. A large number of marks employed.

Sometimes the marks were impressed, but more often painted or stamped

in red.

[Illustration: CAMBRIAN]

The word "Cambrian" as a mark is very uncommon.

[Illustration:

OPAQUE CHINA

SWANSEA]

Used on the improved white hard earthenware invented by Haynes at the

end of eighteenth century.

[Illustration:

IMPROVED

STONE WARE

DILLWYN & CO]

Stone china was made from 1810-1830, and on some pieces this mark is

found.

[Illustration: DILLWYN]

Other of Dillwyn's Marks, from 1802-1817, are given here.

[Illustration:

DILLWYN

SWANSEA]

Swansea _porcelain_, with its finely painted flowers, was produced from

1814 to 1817.

[Illustration:

DILLWYN'S

ETRUSCAN

WARE]

The celebrated "Etruscan Ware" was made by Dillwyn from 1847 to 1850,

and it generally bears this printed mark.

[Illustration:

D J EVANS & Co

SWANSEA]

From 1850 to 1870 the firm was Evans & Glasson, and D. J. Evans & Co.,

and some of the later marks printed on the Swansea ware of this period

are reproduced.

[Illustration:

D. J. EVANS & Co

SWANSEA]

This Prince of Wales' Feathers mark was often accompanied by the fancy

name of the particular pattern on which it appeared.

[Illustration: LOWESBY]

=Lowesby.=

The mark of this small Leicestershire factory often puzzles collectors,

and it is given here. In date it is about 1835, and it only existed for

a few years.

[Illustration: P P]

=Liverpool.=

The marks of Liverpool are of exceptional interest. Sadler & Green

(except in rare instances, when they signed their tiles) did not use a

mark. Seth Pennington (1760-1790), celebrated for punch bowls of rich

blue decoration, may have used the mark here given.

[Illustration: HERCULANEUM]

[Illustration: HERCULANEUM]

The Herculaneum Pottery (1794-1841) (which produced porcelain too, in

1800, as did W. Reid & Co. (1754-1760) of fine quality, but unmarked).

[Illustration]

The Herculaneum marks are various on earthenware, and when the mark of

the bird, the "Liver," appears, it may be attributed to Herculaneum.

[Illustration: LIVERPOOL]

[Illustration: SALOPIAN]

=Caughley or Salopian= (1751-1775).

As a china factory Caughley is well known, and is the parent of the

Coalport porcelain factory.

[Illustration: TURNER.]

In its early days nothing was marked, but from 1772 to 1775, under

Thomas Turner, Salopian figures, some of large size, were made, and

a great deal of under-glaze blue-printed earthenware produced. The

word Salopian sometimes appears, and TURNER is impressed on cream-ware

plates (often ascribed to John Turner, of Lane End, Staffordshire).

[Illustration: S C]

Sometimes the letters =S= or =C= appear in blue under the glaze.

These marks appear also in Salopian porcelain.

[Illustration:

Bristol

Pottery]

=Bristol.=

The pottery at Bristol has a history extending from seventeenth-century

days down to 1820. Its delft frequently had dates inscribed, and

sometimes initials of potters. Its later ware was rarely marked.

But sometimes a blue cross appears, and we give a late mark, found

infrequently.

[Illustration: S & G]

=Isleworth= (1760-1830).

As much of the red ware of Messrs. Shore and Golding passes as Elers

ware, the mark should be of interest to collectors. It is very small

and impressed sometimes at the side of the piece near the base.

PRICES.

SWANSEA EARTHENWARE. £ s. d.

Dillwyn. Dinner service decorated with

figures, and quantity of tea and

breakfast ware similar (60 pieces in all).

Leeder, Swansea, September, 1906 7 18 6

Etruscan ware Drinking Cup, formed as

horse's head. Sotheby, February, 1908 2 0 0

LIVERPOOL.

Cream-ware Punch Bowl, printed outside

with figure subjects and inside with

ship in full sail, in colours, and

inscribed "Success to the Glory 1783."

Sotheby, February, 1906 2 18 0

Bowl with ship inside, inscribed "Success

to William and Nancy," dated 1776.

Sotheby, November, 1906 3 0 0

Mug, with painted portrait of William

Pitt. Sotheby, November, 1906 2 8 0

CAUGHLEY OR SALOPIAN EARTHENWARE.

Figures, reclining, _Cleopatra_ and _Antony_,

on oblong blue plinths (19-1/2 in.).

Christie, January, 1908 15 15 0

ISLEWORTH.

Ewer, decorated with Etruscan figures,

rare, marked. Sotheby, November, 1907 1 2 0

BRISTOL EARTHENWARE.

Jug with inscription and landscape in

blueand white. Sotheby, February, 1907 1 8 0

LOWESBY.

Basket of tortoiseshell ware, another

of stoneware, another of red ware,

marked "_Lowesby_," illustrated in

_Queen_, January 26, 1907. Sotheby,

December, 1908 2 0 0

Vase of red ware and two bottle-shaped

vases, decorated with flowers in colours,

marked "_Lowesby_." Sotheby, December,

1908 4 6 0

XIII

LUSTRE

WARE

CHAPTER XIII

LUSTRE WARE

Early crude Copper Lustre (Brislington)--Gold Lustre, pink and

purple Wedgwood, Leeds, Swansea, Sunderland--Platinum Lustre

(termed "silver lustre").--Thomas Wedgwood (1791), Spode,

E. Mayer, Wood and Caldwell, Leeds, Castleford, Swansea,

and others--Lustre in combination as a decoration--"Resist"

Lustre--Copper or Bronze Lustre--Marked Lustre Ware--Prices.

The collection of lustre ware is comparatively modern. In common with

salt-glaze ware which was not thought much of in the auction-room some

few years ago, lustre-ware has been studied and collected with avidity,

and a good deal has been discovered concerning its origin.

It may be said at the outset that lustre varies very considerably in

quality, and the plain undecorated platinum or "silver" lustre is being

produced at the present day in teapots and cream-jugs in simulation of

the old Georgian silver patterns.

So great is its variety and quality that some collectors have confined

themselves specially to the collection of what is known as silver

lustre "resist" style, and others have specialised in the pink or gold

purple, with veined effects, of the Wedgwood school.

Lustre ware may be divided into the following classes:--

1. _Early brown copper lustre_, crude in style, made by Frank, of

Brislington, near Bristol, about 1770.

2. _Gold lustre_, probably invented by Josiah Wedgwood, about 1792 (not

to be confounded with gilding). The effect varies from pink to purple,

and in the early pieces a combination was effected of gold, yellow, and

purple, iridescent in varying lights.

3. _Platinum or "silver" lustre_ (discovered by Thomas Wedgwood, the

youngest son of Josiah Wedgwood, about 1791), imitations of silver

ware, busts, &c.

4. _Copper or bronze lustre_ (differing from the coarse early ware of

Brislington), plain or undecorated.

5. Gold or purple lustre _used as an adjunct or decoration_, either

around band or rim, as at Sunderland, &c.

6. Platinum or "silver" lustre _used as an adjunct or slight

decoration_ such as in the _Falstaff_ figure (illustrated p. 371), or

in the figure of _Cupid_ (illustrated p. 387).

7. Platinum or "silver" lustre _in combination with other painted

decoration_: (_a_) Birds, foliage, &c., painted in silver lustre on a

ground of another colour; (_b_) Silver lustre "resist" style when the

ground is platinum and the ornamentation is white, blue, or yellow.

8. Copper or bronze lustre _in combination with painted designs_.

[Illustration: PAIR OF MOTTLED PINK GOLD LUSTRE GOBLETS.

(_In the collection of Miss Feilden._)]

[Illustration: GOBLET AND GOLD LUSTRE MUGS WITH MOTTLED INTERIORS.

(_In the collection of Miss Feilden._)]

=Early Lustre (Brislington).=--Richard Frank, the delft potter, of

Bristol, produced a crude ware composed of a hard body coated with

a yellow dip resembling delft in character, and, upon this surface,

ornamentation in copper lustre was made which gave it the appearance

of burnished copper. It has been most inaptly compared with the

Hispano-Mauro ware, with its rich arabesque ornamentation. There is

nothing in common between the two except that they are both lustrous,

and here the similarity ends. The Brislington colour was crude and

the lustre ornaments extremely inartistic, and only suitable for the

baking-dishes and mere utilitarian articles rudely and sufficiently

decorated. Finer and thinner lustre ware found in the vicinity of

Bristol can more safely be attributed to Swansea.

=Gold Lustre.=--As may readily be imagined, the amount of gold in the

lustre decoration is very small. Gold lustre is _not_ heavy English

gilding. As early as 1776 Josiah Wedgwood obtained a formula from

Dr. Fothergill, a Fellow of the Royal Society, of which he himself

was a Fellow, which induced him to experiment with gold in order to

produce lustrous effects. The Purple of Cassius was employed with

great success in obtaining marbling and veining, but it was not till

late in his career, about 1792, that he produced the gold lustre in

its happiest combination in connection with the fine Pearl Ware shell

dessert-services. We have already alluded to the thin wash of yellow

and pink which was applied to these dishes to represent the interior of

the shell, but the addition of gold lustre was the finishing touch, and

such pieces are remarkably rare. They glow with fleeting colours as the

light plays upon their surface.

In regard to this gold lustre, it should be stated that it varied,

and varied most considerably, according to the character of the body

not only subjacent to it, that is upon which it was placed, but owing

to its filmy and translucent character it received reflection from

adjacent surfaces. On a brown body the same effect is different from

that on a white or cream body. This must be borne in mind to a smaller

extent in platinum lustres. The warmer the body beneath, the richer

the lustre and the greater its similarity to the silver which it is

intended to imitate.

We illustrate two very fine mottled pink and gold lustre goblets

which belong to the Wedgwood period and are very light and of very

fine lustrous appearance (p. 425). In certain districts these are

termed "Funeral cups," and whether they were used only on those solemn

occasions or not, we cannot say.

It appears that gold lustre was sometimes used in combination with

copper or bronze. In the two mugs illustrated (p. 425), the interiors

are finely mottled in purple and gold, and suggest by the beautiful

potting the work of the goldsmith in their sharp contour. They may

be attributed to the best period, as, too, may the goblet in the

centre which glows like gold. Incidentally it may be remarked that the

photographs used for these illustrations cannot convey the rich and

glorious colouring of these examples.

The writer knows of a cup and saucer marked "Dawson." There was a

Samuel Dawson in 1802, a Staffordshire potter, and there is Dawson of

Sunderland, a better-known maker of ware, which has lustre decoration,

to which latter pottery this may more safely be attributed. In general

effect the scheme of colour is ambitious. The centre panel is painted

in red enamel colours over the glaze. The borders have a highly

lustrous gold floral decoration on a ground of pink.

In regard to Sunderland and Newcastle, as a rule, the ware is crude

and may be readily dismissed, but not too hurriedly. The rough

bands of purple lustre inartistically painted as borders to the

transfer-printed jugs and mugs with nautical subjects are well known.

In broad effect on a jug or a punch bowl, this class of pink or purple

lustre decoration is seen at its best. On a jug of this nature with

bands and rough spongings of purple lustre appear the verses--

"The man doomed to sail

With the blast of the gale,

Through billows Atlantic to steer,

As he bends o'er the wave

Which may soon be his grave

Remembers his home with a tear."

It is not a happy sentiment and suggests more the landsman's views of

the sea than those of the sailor. The following has a truer ring, but

it was not put on jugs to be sold to sailors' wives:--

"Go patter to lubbers and swabs, d'ye see,

'Bout danger and fear and the like;

A tight water-boat and good sea room give me,

And it ain't to a little I'll strike."

=Platinum or Silver Lustre.=--It is not definitely known who was the

first potter to adopt this decoration. Obviously it could not be

earlier in date than the year that platinum was discovered as a new

metal. Its chemical individuality and qualities were established by the

successive researches of Scheffer (1752), Marggraft (1757), Bergmann

(1777). In 1784 the first platinum crucible was made by Achard. In 1800

Knight, of London, published all that was known concerning the use of

platinum in manufacture. Thomas Wedgwood, the youngest son of Josiah,

employed it as early as 1791, but it is claimed that John Hancock (born

1757, died 1847), first employed gold, silver, and steel lustres at

Messrs. Spode's factory at Stoke for Messrs. Daniel and Brown, who were

decorating Spode ware at that date. That is his own account when he

was eighty-nine years of age. But he was employed at Etruria. At any

rate Hancock did not retain the secret, for among contemporary potters

John Gardner, of Stoke, Sparkes, of Hanley, and Horobin, of Tunstall,

seem to have practised it. At the beginning of the nineteenth century

other potters were making lustre. In 1804 John Aynsley, of Lane End,

and in 1810 Peter Warburton, of Lane End, who took out a patent for

"decorating china, porcelain, earthenware, and glass with native pure

or unadulterated gold, silver, platina, or other metals fluxed or

lowered with lead or any other substance which invention or new method

leaves the metals, after being burned, in their metallic state."

Pieces of silver lustre occur with the name Wood and Caldwell impressed

on them. This was the style of the firm from 1790 to 1818. Such pieces

may have been made during the last years of the factory's existence.

But we know that it was made in 1810, for a painted lustre jug bears

the inscription "Richard Bacchus, 1810." Another name which the writer

has seen impressed on plain silver lustre ware of Early-Georgian shape

is E. Mayer, who commenced as a potter in 1770, and died in 1818. It

thus appears that at present, until more marked pieces turn up, the

exact date within a few years of the manufacture of platinum or silver

lustre in its first form is not determinable.

[Illustration:

PAIR OF SILVER LUSTRE FIGURES.

By WOOD & CALDWELL. (Height 6-1/4 inches.)

(_From the collection of Mr. W. G. Honey._)]

[Illustration:

SILVER LUSTRE JUGS.

1. "Resist" style, with stencilled decorations.

2. Bird painted in red, foliage in green in panel, silver lustre

painted bands and borders.

(_In the possession of Mr. Hubert Gould._)]

Among makers known to have produced silver lustre are Robert Wilson,

of Hanley, who was in partnership with Neale prior to the manufacture

of this ware. His brother David Wilson, in the opening years of the

nineteenth century, made silver lustre goblets and figures. There

is a mounted figure of a hussar with uplifted sword attributed to

the Wilsons, at the British Museum. The Wilsons also made copper or

bronze lustre ware. Lakin and Poole is the name of another firm, and

Spode, and it is believed Davenport embarked on this popular ware

also. It is known, too, that Leeds made silver lustre ware of fine

quality, that has stood the test of time; and gold lustre in imitation

of Wedgwood's "Pearl Ware" lustrous decorations was made in early

nineteenth-century days. Swansea is credited with similar productions

of gold and gold-purple lustre on a marbled ground, although none of

its silver-lustre ware is marked.

Probably the earliest use of silver lustre was when it was employed

as an adjunct to figures in subsidiary portions in lieu of gilding.

But most certainly it began to simulate the silver ware at an early

date. This early type is undecorated, and was also used in busts or

statuettes of classical form. We illustrate a pair of silver-lustre

figures by Wood and Caldwell. There is another pair of children in

silver lustre, marked Wood & Caldwell, which are colourable imitation

of the figures of "children reading" made by Dwight (illustrated, p.

139).

In regard to decorated silver lustre we give two examples which are

fairly typical of a large class. The illustration (p. 431) shows a jug

decorated in enamel colours. The bird is in red and the foliage in

green, on a cream ground. The border of the panel is in silver lustre

and the rim of the jug and the bands around neck are also silver lustre.

This decorated silver-lustre ware is of two classes. The first class

comprises patterns painted in silver lustre on a white ground, the

foliage and birds and other patterns being in silver lustre, carefully

painted over the white. As a rule in such pieces there is more white

showing, and the lustre silver is palpably a decorative effect.

In the second class the silver lustre appears as a background, and

the ornamental decoration is in white, covering the piece in most

elaborate designs. This is known as "resist" ware, and on account

of the great beauty and variety of its ornamentation, has strongly

appealed to latter-day collectors. The pattern twining its way over

the silver-lustre background may be white, blue, canary colour, pink,

apricot, or turquoise-blue. White is most frequently found.

This second style is capable of the most intricate designs varying

from farmyard and hunting scenes to ordinary conventional floral

arrangements almost resembling the Japanese stencilled work in another

field of art.

=How "resist" ware is made.=--If a white design is intended the ware is

left white, but if any other colour, such as those we have mentioned,

that colour is laid as a body or ground colour on the specimen to be

lustred. The next step is to paint the exact design which later is to

appear white, or blue, or yellow, on the surface of the vessel. This

pattern is painted or stencilled on the ware with a substance composed

of a glucose matter such as glycerine. The next stage is to apply

the silver lustre to the whole surface which is allowed partially to

dry. On its immersion in water the pattern painted previously to the

addition of lustre peels off being on a soluble ground. The result

is that the background of white or yellow or blue is laid bare, and

the rest of the vessel is covered permanently with silver lustre. The

adhesive lustre "resists" the water, adhering to the surface by means

of its resinous nature, except in the pattern which peels off. Hence

the term "resist" ware.

We illustrate one specimen of this silver-lustre "resist" ware (p.

431). It is of the ordinary floral conventional pattern probably

stencilled on as described above. Some of the more elaborate specimens

are painted. One of the finest collections of "Resist Silver Lustre"

is that of Mr. William Ward, at the Kennels, Mellor, near Blackburn.

It comprises examples that one may search for in vain in any of the

museums. Many of the examples are marked such as "Warburton," or

with the letter "W" impressed, and one specimen is marked "Leeds" a

rare mark. The subjects of some of these jugs and mugs relate to the

Napoleonic wars, and are dated. There is one rare jug entitled "Boney

escaping through a Window," and in combination with this "resist" style

are examples finely painted or transfer-printed in colours.