This post is about Crown Ducal backstamp styles used during the early period from company startup in 1915 to until around 1929 when Richardsons introduced a new style for almost each of its ranges of tableware.
I can find no documents to quote that I trust. Several sources seem to have a few examples but none I have seen have collated even a representative sample of what the company used during almost 60 years of production. So what I am presenting here is based on my own observations and I hope if someone does have a better understanding of this subject that they will contact me.
Creating a useful catalogue of Crown Ducal backstamps, or trade marks, is a difficult task because the type used is determined by the the date of manufacture, the design style or shape range of the item and sometimes the size of the item. There is also the probability that some backstamps styles are unique to particular patterns.
Since the production history for each pattern is unknown there is a lot of guesswork involved with regard to dates. Hopefully I will be correct when one style is stated to be older than another but the date ranges will be approximate.
I have numbered the backstamp styles for my own cataloguing purposes, they are not a reference to the work of anyone else.
I have numbered the backstamp styles for my own cataloguing purposes, they are not a reference to the work of anyone else.
Summary of styles.
To the casual observer there looks to be just two backstamp styles used by the company during these first 15 years of production.
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| Typical early Crown Ducal backstamp styles |
The earliest being a based on an oval strap and buckle design, with a plumed crown at the top and a horizontal ribbon across the centre. The graphic contains the words TRADE MARK within the strap, CROWN above the ribbon, DUCAL within the ribbon and WARE beneath the ribbon. Below the graphic is typically A.G.R & CO LTD ENGLAND
The other style typical of the 1920s has the words CROWN DUCAL WARE ENGLAND
Unfortunately it is not as simple as that. There are many versions of the strap and buckle design and although there appears be an age relationship as to which is used this is not the only determining factor.
It is important to stress that there are other strap and buckle styles used by the company during the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s and those are not discussed here. I shall describe those in a later post. It is easy to separate the early ones from the later styles. The early ones, (as discussed here), have A.G.R & CO LTD above ENGLAND printed beneath the graphic as two horizontal lines of text. The later versions have MADE IN ENGLAND following the curvature of the bottom half of the graphic.
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| Left, early strap and buckle style. Right, 1930s and later style |
The strap and buckle style
I do not know the reason why there would be so many different, but very similar backstamp styles. I believe the backstamps were applied as prints and when the engraved plates got worn or damaged they made new ones which would end up being slightly different. It is also reasonable to believe that those backstamps that include pattern names may in fact be unique to that pattern. In truth, it has to be said that there may be a much larger number of styles than I have identified here.
There are several features of the strap and buckle type of mark that show variation. The forms of these features are recorded together with the pattern number. In this way the defining characteristics can be determined for each backstamp style and the range of patterns on which they are seen.
Here are some of the defining characteristics:
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| Are there rings under the DUCAL ribbon? |
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| Is the central crown plume sitting high or low? |
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| Does the strap have a single or double edge line? |
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| Is the strap crossover visible or not? |
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| Which letters in TRADE MARK line up with the word CROWN? |
Other variations that may be helpful are:
- The general shape and form of the crown and plumes.
- The layout and spacing of the dots or holes between TRADE and MARK
- The format of the superscript and position of the underlining in CO LTD, also the position of the word ENGLAND in relation to A.G.R.& CO LTD
The strap and buckle style backstamps/trademarks roughly in date order, (the earliest first).
I will show two examples of each style because sometimes the print is damaged or the picture is not of good quality. Each style is followed by a list of pattern numbers/names on which it has been seen and I have given a very tentative date range estimate based on those pattern numbers. However, if the premise that named patterns had their own backstamp style turns out to be true, then if those patterns had extended production runs then the date ranges might have to be reconsidered.
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| Type 101 |
These early versions are a mystery, they never seem to have very crisp outlines, but that may be due in part to them being slightly smaller than other types. They are seen on some of the earliest patterns like Regal A21 and Verona A26, but also Avis A558. But all these patterns are found with other styles too. Perhaps the style was reserved for small shaped items.The production history during these early years is not known, an advertisement from 1919 shows patterns A65 to A614, which does not help us much. I believe this style probably dates to the earliest years, certainly pre-1920.
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| Type 102 |
The style shown above tend to be the more commonly found type on the early patterns. Examples include Doric A18 & A19, Cameo A20, Regal A21 & A22, Kew A24, A91, A100 and A190. As for type 101, these patterns date to the earliest years pre-1920, but were still in demand during the early 1920s as recorded by the Pottery Gazette in 1923.
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| Type 103 |
This backstamp is is virtually the same as type 102 except is has the words SILVER VICTORIAN replacing CROWN DUCAL. Silver Victorian Ware was a range of tea service items, including teapot, hot water jug, teapot stand, milk jug and sugar bowl etc. They were finished with a silver lustre outside and silver gilt inside and with matt black handles. From a distance they can be mistaken for silverware. These designs were in production from around 1918 until the early 1920s
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| Type 104 |
The type 104 style is very similar to type102 but the central plume of the crown seems to sit a little higher. They are particularly found on named patterns such as Rugby A34, Trellis A352, Louis A365 and Perth A372. Again, these are patterns from the earliest years extending into the early 1920s.
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| Type 105 |
Type 105 is found on a large number of patterns. Seen on A86, A105, A340, A404, A413, A429, A430, A441, A445, A500, A559, A601, A617, A618, A626, A629, A642 and A992. Most of these are unnamed patterns so this seems to lend support to the theory that named patterns had their own backstamps. Pattern A922 dates to 1924 so many of these designs were in production between 1918 and the early 1920s.
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| Type 106 |
The Springtime design A716 (in lilac), A725 (in green), and several others in different colours has its own backstamp style characterised by a very spiky central plume. The pattern dates to 1920 or 1921.
The Cameo pattern A750 also has its own very distinctive style. Similar to type 104, but the centre plume sits lower and the strap holes are dots rather than open circles. This pattern was introduced around 1920 or 1921.
There are much more obvious changes to the strap and buckle style with type 108. The crown and plumes are clearly different, the strap has a single edge line and there is no hint of a strap crossover at the bottom. This mark is used extensively on fancies from around the Cairo 1008 pattern onwards and certainly up to pattern 1570. I have seen it on patterns Cairo 1008, 1014, 1015, Carnival 1099, Carnival 1100, Carnival 1231, Lily 1266, Butterflies 1326, Fish 1327, Butterfly 1334, Butterfly 1335, Papyrus 1356, Leaf Border 1374, Butterfly 1463, 1530 and 1570. Most of these patterns use the high gloss glaze lustre much loved by the designer Norman Keats who created the Cairo design. I am uncertain if the backstamp was reserved for the high gloss glaze lustre ware, but this is a possibility. The date span of these quoted pattern numbers is 1923 until 1929.
The youngest strap and buckle style has been seen on patterns 1530, 1570 and 1708. It is similar to type 108 but has a simpler, flatter crown and the ornament at the bottom of the hanging strap is noticeably different. These designs also have the high gloss glaze lustre, and so this backstamp may have been reserved for the same particular finish as type 108. These patterns date to 1929.
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| Type 107 |
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| Type 108 |
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| Type 109 |
The "other" backstamp style of the 1920s
The most common of the backstamp styles from the 1920s is much simpler. It is found on virtually all tableware and most fancies that do not have the high gloss glaze.
I do not know precisely when this backstamp was introduced, but examples of solid colour aerographed tableware typically have this style and they were in production during 1921. Unfortunately these simple but boldly coloured designs are not marked with pattern numbers so it is difficult to place them in the pattern sequence. The other early designs that used this style are the 500, 555, 559, 616, 617, 618, 642, 683, 920, 922, 952 and 975. The year 1920 would be a good estimate for the first use of this backstamp as most examples of the earliest chintz tableware patterns have this style and they were in production by that year.
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| Type 110 |
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| Type 111 |
Type 111 is a special backstamp reserved for the Spectria Flambe range of vases and models. These date from 1927 and presumably remained in production for a few years.
That is the end of part 1 of my Crown Ducal backstamps catalogue. Towards the end of 1929 Richardsons introduce their Gainsborough tableware shape followed by Florentine, Premier, Victory, Cotswold and Queen Anne shapes all within 3 years. Their backstamp styles will be documented in part 2.
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