Table Lamp Shapes (Update 2)

Returning again to the subject of Crown Ducal table lamps, here we have two discoveries, both without conventional pattern numbers but both are documented in the sample book held at the Stoke-on-Trent library.

Lamp pattern S.17 on shape 401

The first is a variation of Charlotte Rhead's chain patterns 4100 and 4298.

Pattern S.17 on table lamp shape 401

Detail at top of lamp

It is documented in the sample book as S.17 where the text reads:

S.17

Blue matt

Pattern as S.15

Coloured Silver & Goods Blue

Silver Bands

White Background

There are some rough pencil sketches and these are annotated where the silver lines are to go. The entry is written in pencil but there is the number 401 added in black ink, 401 is the shape number of this lamp. The information for S.15 is a sketch of a shape 208 vase with the text “Off White Matt Glaze Tubed in Dark Brown Lustred in Orange & Black Orange Bands” Everything about the sketch and the description tallies with what collectors know as pattern 4100, Orange Chain. 

This information in itself is quite interesting as I believe S.15 and 4100 are one of the few pattern pairings that link the sample book with the pattern book. I have recognised a few others, particularly tableware patterns where pattern numbers have been added to the sample book. If sufficient tie points could be found between the two books it could become a resource to help with design dating. There are fewer entries in the sample book and probably not in continuous use, but it does cover designs dated from 1935 until 1942.

Back to S.15, it must also help determine the date for the introduction of the 208 shape, which would be around the time of this entry, very early in 1935. I do not believe it can be earlier than 1935 because no example of a shape 208 vase has yet been seen with a period 1 backstamp and in a previous post I estimated the the period 1-2 boundary to be the end of 1934.

The original Crown Ducal label is still inside the lamp

Astonishingly the original factory hand written label is still inside the lamp with the inscription “Lamp 401 S17”, and in the typical habit of decorators labelling errors the facsimile signature of Fanny Morrey and the pattern mark of S.18.

A version of Fanny Morreys mark and an incorrect tube-lined S.18

Lamp pattern S.36 on shape “Bamboo” or E6

This lamp base was recently auctioned with online publicity. Again, it fits the sample book description perfectly.

Pattern S.36 on table lamp shape "Bamboo"or E6

The sample book entry reads:

S.36

New shape Bamboo

Fawn glaze. Full Strength

Mottled White

Orange Lustre Bamboo

2 green on leaves

Black centres

Fortunately there is a drawing of the “Bamboo” lamp shape in the pattern book for pattern 4133, (which has the same shape but is decorated differently), so we can be confident that the example in the picture does correspond to the S.36 description. The shape name in that document is referred to as E6. The design age of the Bamboo lamp, and 4133 will be around the same time as the S15, S17 and 4100 items above, that is early 1935.

Derby Tableware Shape - The Netherlands Connection

Here are some notes that may be of interest to owners of Crown Ducal tableware in the Netherlands. Many thanks to Joost and Bart for sending me the information and pictures used to compile this post. They contacted me to find out more about their Crown Ducal china but I have been unable to find period documents recording their patterns. As with all things Crown Ducal, that is not particularly unusual.

The Crown Ducal pattern books do contain occasional references to designs created specifically for "Holland" and these are often linked to the unfamiliar "Derby" shape for tableware. There are also at least two references to a client in Amsterdam of A G Richardson in the sample design book at the Stoke-on-Trent library.

So I think it is safe to say that Richardsons had at least one trading partner in the Netherlands who commissioned not only specific designs but perhaps a tableware shape made solely for the Dutch market.

The Derby shape from the pattern books and actual examples

This shape name "Derby" is recorded in the pattern books, but as usual the pattern descriptions are often ambiguous with question marks after the name and penciled references to another untypical Crown Ducal shape. Some references seen with "Derby" have the handle shape sketch and are accompanied with the word "Holland". That is my premise that the Derby shape was created primarily for the Netherlands market.

Once I had received more than one set of images of this shape, both from the Netherlands, I was satisfied that the link between the shape name and the examples seemed reasonable.

Pattern 4399 entry from the pattern book

Teacup in unknown pattern but showing handle and foot as in pattern book sketch

The pattern book entry for 4399 shown above does not have the word Holland like many others but does have the best sketch showing the handle and the foot to the cup.

The few definite pattern book entries for the Derby shape are pattern numbers 4386-4391 and 4394-4400. Most are coloured band decoration, some band & line, some freehand leaf/floral and a wonderful art deco line design of concentric circles and sets of parallel lines.

In the Crown Ducal Sample book, The Derby shape patterns are S453, which is the same as pattern 4390 with crimson brown and grey bands. Two unnumbered entries with the "Homer" floral spray and border transfer and the "Fantasy" floral spray and border transfer. S454 with the "Killarney" floral spray transfer and S455 with a Harlequin floral spray transfer.

The photographs I have received from the Netherlands match none of these designs. Both are band and line patterns and the shapes of the hollowware are distinctly different to other shapes from Crown Ducal at this time, There are elements taken from Regent, Victory, Avon and Ionic to create a new shape range.. An additional shape not seen before in other Crown Ducal shape ranges is a large flat serving dish with drain holes believed to be used for presenting asparagus at table.

It has to be said that twin handled soup coupes and tea cups from the Avon range of tableware have similar shaped handles to the Derby teacup.  Whether this is coincidence, or they are the same style and yet another example of Richardsons mixing and matching to create an en suite collection will probably have to wait until examples can be inspected hands on at the same time.

Black and red lines with three grey bands (patttern 2848)

Black and red lines with three grey bands (patttern 2848)

Blue and yellow lines with wide grey band (unknown pattern)

Blue and yellow lines with wide grey band (unknown pattern)

Both correspondents have confirmed that the wide style of teacup would have been the style preferred in that country at the time and therefore this may have been the driving factor in creating a new range of hollowware for that market.

The backstamp styles on the pottery imply they would have been made around 1935, but clearly the pattern number, (2848), on the black and red lined design indicates a pattern from 1933. Sadly one which predates the surviving pattern books which means there is no confirmation from period documents.

The Netherlands business connection

In the Crown Ducal sample book there are occasional references to companies that did business with Richardsons, for example Maddock & Miller Inc in New York Cassidy's in Toronto and Rowntrees in York. 

A name that appears twice is A.P. Verwoerd, Amsterdam. The first is dated 26 July 1935 with brief description for 11 teaset designs on various shapes, (not including Derby), with known lithograph patterns and dainty freehand floral patterns. This entry occurs between samples S89 and S90.

Then a second A.P. Verwoerd entry has design S451 (Chatham floral lithograph on bon bon comports and bedside sets), and S452 (similar shapes but with the Cotswold Rose floral lithograph). As previously mentioned, S453 is more interesting, it is an illustration of a coloured band design for use on the Derby shape, with outer grey band and inner crimson brown band accompanied with the text "Patt as 4390". Next comes reference to 4 more floral transfer designs for the Derby shape. This cluster of entries are not dated themselves but nearby unrelated entries are S418 dated October 28th 1937 and after S472 there is the date January 21st 1938 so this Verwoerd reference must surely date to end of 1937 or very early 1938.

Detective work has revealed that there was an Adriaan Pieter Verwoerd and wife Roosje who had two china shops in Amsterdam, originally one on P.C. Hooftstraat and later, a second on Rokin - both well known shopping streets. The dates of when these shops were operational is unknown but the key dates in A. P. Verwoerds life appear to fit very well with an earthenware and porcelain china business in the 1930's, (b.1889, m. 1915 d. 1964).

We cannot be sure how long the association between Richardsons and Verwoerd lasted but it would probably have ended by the onset of WW2. Searching for all references to Holland in the pattern books, not those just relating to the Derby shape, there are entries for patterns 3210, 3280, 3782-3785, 3789, 4127-4129, 4156-4159,4239-4242, 4386-4388, 4389-4397. These numbers have design dates from autumn 1933 until summer 1935.

An incomplete story 

The red, black and grey band pattern illustrated above has the number 2848 but there is no additional evidence that the Derby shape existed this early, (spring 1933). It was common for Richardsons to use the same pattern number when the the design was used on several shape ranges. Pattern 2848 may well have been a band and line design on Victory or Cotswold shaped tableware and retained this number when applied to the Derby shape in mid 1935 which is the earliest reference to Derby in the pattern books. Although we can confidently say that there was some kind of trading relationship between these two companies from mid 1935 until the end of 1937 the backstamp styles on both these patterns suggest a pre-1935 date of manufacture.

It would be interesting to understand how this relationship came about. The Netherlands had it own successful ceramics industry, What advantage would the Verwoerds have in asking a UK company to produce ware in patterns and shapes that could readily be manufactured in the home country. The picture below shows a teapot warming stand made by Mosa Maastricht  and although not an exact pattern match sits well with the Crown Ducal ware and has a similar finish.

The teapaot warming stand  is made by the Mosa Maastrichtt company

Perhaps it is time to visit Amsterdam and search the antique and bric-a-brac shops and markets. Surely somewhere there is a surviving piece of Derby shaped tableware in one of the documented patterns waiting to be found.

Crown Ducal shapes 146 & 211

These two shapes have been chosen for a couple of reasons. Firstly, they appear together in an advertisement from 1936. Admittedly they look rather distorted being created from a sketch rather than a photograph. Nevertheless it is nice to see a period illustration of Charlotte’s work apart from the trade journal entries and also gives an insight into when a particular pattern was popular in the shops. Secondly, and more interestingly, the moulds for these shapes were clearly modified at some time while Charlotte was using them for her tube-lined designs and hence offer useful information about when a particular item was manufactured.

Newspaper advertisement for pattern 3274 Stitch

The illustrated advertisement for Stitch includes stylised pictures of shapes 211 and 146 (or 145). It appeared in the West Hartlepool Northern Daily Mail on December 17th 1936 as part of an illustrated Christmas gifts advertisement for the Binns department store in Hartlepool.

Shape 146

 

Crown Ducal shape 146

With the exception of 12” and 14” wall chargers, the shape 146 vase is Crown Ducal’s most popular shape for fancies. It has been seen with most of Charlotte’s designs from 2681 through to 6353. The few not seen yet, such as 4538, 4922, 4925 and 4957 are probably just because they are rare patterns anyway, but there is no reason to doubt that examples might have been made and perhaps a rare survivor will turn up in the future. The exceptions are the well known Coronation patterns 4724 and 4725 which are probably the two decorations unlikely to be found on this shape. Shape 146 was not among the very restricted number of flower vases and jugs that were used for Coronation Ware. 

Vases can be found with or without a handle, with about 12% not having handles. Virtually all examples without handles were made pre-1936, but as ever with Crown Ducal production there will be exceptions to the rule.

Left, incised shape number on early examples, right, moulded number on later examples

The shape number 146 can either appear as scratched/incised numerals into the pot with a pointed tool or as raised numerals in a rectangular moulded recess. There is a clear cut division where the incised version ceased to be used and from then on the moulded version takes over. Most Hydrangea 3797 examples have incised shape numbers. Most Patch 4015, Blue Peony 4016 and Persian Rose 4040 examples have moulded shape numbers, but 4016 and 4040 have been seen with incised numbers. The date when the mould design changed must have been sometime quite early in the production period of these two patterns and also well into period 2 because of the number of shape146 items with AGR2 backstamp styles. Previously I have estimated that the period 1–2 boundary would be at the start of 1935. If this still holds good then perhaps late spring/early summer 1935 is a good estimate for the changeover. This time would also satisfy the observation that all Tudor Rose and Manchu examples have the moulded shape number version.

If you are checking your vase and it does not have the moulded shape impression, but you cannot find the incised number - then this is not unusual. Some of the glazes, when applied very thickly can fill in the incised mark. Also, there was a habit in the earlier years for the decorators to tube-line the shape number on the base and sometimes this may have been over the top of the incised mark.

Shape 211

 

Crown Ducal shape 211

The vase shape 211 was one of the “new shapes” introduced in 1936. It becomes a popular shape with Tudor Rose 4491, Manchu 4511 and many of the later patterns. It can be found with older designs, but not in large numbers as they would have been made at the tail end of these pattern production runs, or perhaps as special orders after main production run had ceased. Looking at patterns older than 4491, then examples of 4318, 4300, 4298, 4088, 4016, 4015 and 3274 have been seen in roughly diminishing numbers, except for a little spike with the ever popular Stitch 3274. One example has been seen with the Byzantine/Danube 2801 pattern, but I believe that may be a later production. No examples of the popular patterns Byzantine 2681, Rhodian 3274 or the less common early designs have been recorded so far on the 211 shape which is an observation common to most of the younger shapes. This may impact on collecting strategies, (should they exist!), as it means that it will be most unlikely that anyone will ever find a Lotus Leaves 2682, Turin 2691 or Aztec 2800 pattern vase with shape 211. 

The shape can be found with no handles, one set of handles or two sets, very roughly in the proportions of 2:1:7. The examples with one set of handles are the rarest and seem to occur only on the earliest productions of the shape, (4016, 4318, 4491, 4511 and 4521). Most, if not all of these were made in 1936. The majority of vases with no handles follow the same rules, but there are also quite a few exceptions, so it may be possible to find handleless examples on any design that was also made with two handles – but they are just less common.

Left, early examples have the dot after 211, right, the dot is missing on later examples.

On the base of each vase is a rectangular moulded recess with the shape number 211. Eagle eyed observers may have noticed that sometimes the number is followed by a full stop and sometimes the stop is absent. The first instinct is to assume that this could be used to date mark a vase. Presumably a mould for shape 211 vases was broken and its replacement had the shape number made slightly differently.

A study of many observations of pattern number, backstamp style and shape number impression style does indeed show an age relationship. Examples of Caliph 5411 made in period 2, (AGR2 backstamp style), have the full stop after the shape number 211. Examples of Tarragona 5623 made in period 2 do not have the full stop. The approximate design date for Caliph is late summer 1937 and for Tarragona is early summer 1938. So it seems likely that sometime between these two dates the mould(s) for shape 211 were remade with a very slight design change. Late spring or early summer 1938 would be a good estimate for the change.

The Byzantine/Danube 2801 vase mentioned earlier does not have the dot in the shape impression and adds weight to the idea that this item was probably a special order made outwith the main production period of 1933-1935 for this design.

 

Crown Ducal Period Advertising

Period advertising material for Crown Ducal can be found online in projects that are scanning old newspapers. I found hundreds of examples within a few hours searching, but the majority are not explicit about the pattern and so are of no real value, but I do believe this could be useful resource to help with the production history of Crown Ducal ware.

The main surprise for me was for how long the popular patterns remained in production. One always felt that the well known patterns, Red Tree, Sunburst and Bristol had long production runs, but if one takes the advertising at face value there could have been quite a few designs that Richardsons were able to rely upon throughout the 30s, 40s and 50's. 

Here are a few observations that caught my eye.

Lithograph Rosalie on Florentine tableware shape, ivory glaze & gold edge

Rosalie on Florentine shape, ivory glaze and gold edge

Quite a common pattern and easily found at auction but I never knew how old the design was. The standard Rosalie on Florentine shape, ivory glaze with gold edge is not recorded in the surviving pattern books. The transfer, (made by Ratauds, No.6319), is known to exist from the early 1930s because it exists with other shapes or glazes. There is publicity material for Rosalie in a trade magazine from 1955 but the Florentine shape itself dates to about 1930. There was always the possibility that Rosalie on Florentine could have been either a post war introduction or date to early 1930’s but it is great to have found the evidence of its long production history.

Advertisement in The Binghampton Press 5 October 1943

So far I have found advertisements for Rosalie in the:

Albany (New York) Evening News 2 June 1933

Leader Post (Regina) 15 October 1935

The Binghampton Press (New York) 13 May 1940

The Binghampton Press (New York) 30 April 1943

The Binghampton Press (New York) 5 October1943 (illustrated)

The Knickerbocker News (Albany New York) 6 June 1945

The Binghampton Press (New York) 13 July 1945 (illustrated)

The Binghampton Press (New York) 29 September 1949
Pottery and Glass April 1955

Western Herald (NSW) 20 July 1956

The June 1933 advert is significant because the pattern books start at pattern 2900 which dates to May 1933 and so the pattern probably predates the start of these documents by a few months or a year. Therefore there is good evidence that the pattern remained in production for almost 25 years, (possibly longer).

Empress pattern (4746) on Avon shape tableware

The advertisement shown above with Rosalie also promotes the Empress pattern. This is a design with a known pattern number, 4746, which dates to the summer of 1936. It is one of the earliest popular designs that Crown Ducal created with a rich coloured band on the Avon shape and with gold coloured detailing and floral transfers. The same design was also made with a maroon, (deep pink), band as pattern 4745 and a green band as pattern 4747. I believe the name Empress was used for all three colour versions. The floral transfer was made by the Universal Transfer Co. Ltd. (litho number 8944). For Crown Ducal patterns it is referred to as the Yukon litho after their first pattern that used it. 

Empress pattern 4746 on Avon shape tableware

Advertisements for the Empress pattern have been found in the:

The New York Sun 2 February 1940
The Binghampton Press (New York) 13 May 1940

The Binghampton Press (New York) 19 February 1943

The Binghampton Press (New York) 5 October 1943 (illustrated)

Charm pattern (1790) on Gainsborough shape tableware

The Charm pattern is the third design illustrated in the above advertisement. This is the oldest design of the three and is one of the earliest, and most popular patterns on the Gainsborough shape. The lithograph decoration was made by the Universal Transfer Co. Ltd., (litho number 7506). From the dates of the advertisements Charm remained in production for at least 15 years. There is a mystery why examples of Charm are numbered with 1790 as do references to the design in Crown Ducal documents. But Richardsons own publicity for the launch of the pattern in the Pottery Gazette of 1930 labels it as pattern 1768, (or perhaps there is a minor design difference between the two that I am missing).

An example of Charm, 1790

Advertisements for the Charm pattern have been found in the:

The Pottery Gazette and Glass trade Review 5 February 1930 (illustrated)
The Binghampton Press (New York) 16 October 1930
The Montreal Gazette 19 October 1934 (illustrated)
The Rochester Chronicle 27 January 1937 (illustrated)
The Binghampton Press (New York) 12 January 1940
The Vancouver Sun 9 December 1942 (illustrated)
The Binghampton Press (New York) 9 July 1943 (illustrated)
The Binghampton Press (New York) 5 October 1943 (illustrated)
The Binghampton Press (New York) 13 July 1945 (illustrated)

Advertisement in The Montreal Gazette 19 October 1934

The George Washington bicentenary commemorative plates of 1932

A series of twelve plates made for the USA market in celebration of the Washington bicentennial. Two feature articles have been found discussing the home furnishing memorabilia available including the Crown Ducal plates.

An example of a Washington bicentenary commemorative plate

Feature article in the New York Sun 25 January 1932

The feature in The New York Sun of 25th January 1932 includes the following text relating to the plates:

A whole series of Washington plates is offered by several of the stores, and each plate in the set of twelve illustrates a different event in the life of Washington. Service, dinner and dessert plates are available in this design in Crown Ducal ware, of which the borders recreate fine old eighteenth century patterns, and the colorings include dark blue, pink or mulberry on white. The center scenics show each of the houses connected with Washington Sulgrave Manor, ancestral home of the family in England; Wakefield; his birth place, and Mount Vernon. The leading events in his career are depicted, together with groups of his family, associates and friends.

Feature article in the Brooklyn Eagle Magazine 21 February 1932

A full page article in the Brooklyn Eagle Magazine of 21st February 1932 has an illustration of one of the plates and discusses the themes thus:

Another patriotic textile is somewhat broader in scope, beginning with the landing of the Pilgrims and including the boston Tea Party and Betsy Ross at work upon the flag; also reproducing the famous "Spirit of 76" and Washington Crossing the Delaware". Leutze's great painting is one of the most frequent designs to be met amongst the bicentennial decorations, as in spite of the outbursts that come now and then from some art critic denouncing the great achievement as bad art, or from a matter of fact sailor who rails against the possibility of a rowboat holding so many people and the impracticability of the father of our country standing in such attitude under such circumstances, the famous picture continues to be the symbol of patriotism and courage for Americans.

It is one of the twelve patriotic designs imprinted upon a set of Crown Ducal plates, one of the modern Staffordshire wares. And here again history repeats itself as the idea of featuring American scenes and symbols upon chinaware was first adopted by the Staffordshire potters immediately after the Revolutionary War as a means of capturing the American trade. All feelings of animosity engendered by the war were put aside in the interest of business. And upon the "Old Blue" Staffordshire ware - the tableware of early America and one of the most prized subjects of Americana - was to be found patterns representing American scenes, episodes from American history, and the likenesses of our national heroes.

In the same -colors, today - the blue, the mulberry and pink – as a century and a half ago the new Staffordshire pottery repeats itself. And among the new designs on the patriotic plates we see reproduced famous paintings and prints, "Surrender of Cornwallis." "Washington and his mother." "Adams proposing Washington as Commander-in-Chief." "Washington and His Family." also views of Mt. Vernon, Wakefield, his birthplace, and Sulgrave Manor, the ancestral home of the Washingtons in England.

With dated commemorative plates they end up in the sales the following year. Here is an example from the New York Sun in 1933.

Advertisement in The New York Sun 15 February 1933

The twelve designs in the series are titled:

• Surrender of Cornwallis
• Washington and Lafayette at Mount Vernon
• John Adams Proposing G Washington as Commander in Chief of the American Army
• Washington at Trenton
• Washington crossing the Delaware
• Washington’s Headquarters Morristown NY
• Washington and His Family 
• Washington and His Mother
• Mount Vernon
• Washington at Valley Forge
• Birthplace of Washington at Wakefield
• Washington Ancestral Home

Images of all the plates can be found on the New York Historical Society website

http://www.nyhistory.org/exhibits/search?words=washington%20crown%20ducal

Two Queen Anne shape designs, Melrose and Vine and Charlotte Rheads Rialto and Belfast designs on Cotswold shape.

The Queen Anne shape with fluted moulding was always more popular in the USA than the UK and here are a couple of lithograph designs with ivory glaze that were mentioned in the advertisements. Vine, 3566, was designed in early 1934, and Melrose, 4041, is from the end of 1934. The Vine lithograph was made by the Universal Transfer Co. Ltd, No. 8535 and the Melrose litho was made by Ratauds.

Platter in Vine, 3556 and coffee cup in Melrose, 4041

Advertisement for Vine in The New York Sun 5 December 1934

Advertisement in The Binghampton Press 28 January 1937

The advertisement for Melrose is not illustrated with the Crown Ducal patterns but is still useful as it tells us that the design was on sale and probably in production for around 3 years. A similar production period would to apply to the other designs mentioned, Rialto, 3140 and Belfast, 3154, which are probably Charlotte Rhead designs from late summer of 1933.

Top Belfast , 3154 and below Rialto, 3140

It has been interesting to link recent images of Crown Ducal pottery to the period advertising and fortunately there is plenty of scope to revisit the subject with more patterns in a future post. 

Table Lamp Shapes (Update 1)

Back in April I posted my first article on Crown Ducal table lamps and as one might expect, when I said "unseen”, what should turn up within a few weeks. You’ve guessed it, an example of a shape I have never seen before but it is recorded to exist.

Click here to see the original post.

http://rhead-crownducal.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/crown-ducal-table-lamp-shapes.html 

Previously I wrote:

“Returning to unseen and unknown pattern 4253, 4254 and 4255 refer to “Lamp Vase E1” the “Handled” lamp shape. They are decorated with a Chinese inspired print and enamel floral design but there is no clue as to the shape of the lamp or what the handles look like.”

Well I have yet to find those patterns, but here is the shape.



Pattern 4193 on Lamp Vase E1 "Handled" lamp shape



It is not one of the pattern numbers that I mentioned but it is in a known Crown Ducal design recorded for the Queen Anne tableware shape. If the design were on an item of Queen Anne tableware in this green colouring it would carry the pattern number 4193. The printed pattern is identical to that in the pattern book with the printing in Pussy Willow brown, (as used for the popular Crown Ducal pattern of that name), and the design infilled with Cairo green and 175 green enamels. The only obvious design difference is that the lamp has additional line decoration in a golden brown colour.

The fluting on the lamp shape is very similar to that used for the Queen Anne shaped tableware, so perhaps they were designed together to create a co-ordinated look.

Crown Ducal Premier & Old Hall Ivory Ware shape

Not so much about Charlotte in this post. This article is about the Premier shape of tableware introduced in 1931 a year or two before Charlotte started work at A G Richardson and Co.

The Premier tableware shape received its review in the December 1931 edition of the Pottery Gazette. Many of the designs probably date back to earlier in that year because April 1931 is written in the front of the Crown Ducal book containing the earliest designs for the Premier shape. The spring of 1931 also tallies with the date for the registration number, 762055, found on the base of some items.



An example of the Premier style in design No90 with lithograph border overlaying the embossment and with orange enamelled edge

Like the Gainsborough and Florentine shapes that preceded it, the Premier shape includes an embossed design within the modelling, but the area of the embossment is much less than the other two tableware shapes. The Premier motif is a small linear grouping of fruits, flowers and leaves that mimics the curve of the adjacent scalloped rim of the ware. There are also modelled details on handles, knobs and sides of teapot spouts.

The exact layout of the Premier embossment depends on its size.

Left, large motif is 67mm tip to tip, on the right the smaller is 30mm across

To avoid confusion by using two names for the same thing, I will refer to the shape as “Premier” because that is the name used in the Crown Ducal documents of the period. But many items can be found with a backstamp with the words “Old Hall Ivory Ware” and this term is also used in the Pottery Gazette. My feeling is that Old Hall Ivory Ware was a name used by Richardsons to try and create a new brand name separate from Crown Ducal because there is no mention of A G Richardson and Co. or Crown Ducal in the backstamp. The Old Hall Ivory Ware back stamp seems to have only been applied to the Premier shape during the earliest years of production, (1931-1932), after this the company used whatever standard backstamp was applied to tableware at the time, with the exception of the Bristol pattern which usually had a special mark.

Searching on the internet with terms like “Old Hall” and “Bristol”, (Crown Ducals most popular pattern on the Premier shape), and “Asiatic Pheasants”, (the source design for Bristol); one will discover a lot of information about English transferware. This includes the fact that there was a company called The Old Hall Earthenware Co Ltd of Hanley that was producing the Asiatic Pheasants design long before Richardsons was in existence. There is clearly a link here between the use of the name and the Bristol pattern but I think I’ll leave that up to the experts on English transferware to unravel, or perhaps someone who knows will contact me with the real story.

One can understand why the designers at Richardsons would have liked the Premier shape. They had already discovered with the Gainsborough and Florentine shapes that they could be decorated in many ways. The body could be left undecorated and just glazed plainly to show off the embossment, usually with their ivory glaze. But mostly they were decorated with freehand enamels, prints, lithographs, gold printed borders and various combinations of these techniques. Furthermore the embossment gave opportunities for additional treatments such as picking out the detail of the embossment in freehand enamel, or having a transfer specially made to fit the embossment, which would save a lot of time in the decoration of the ware. With the smaller Premier embossment restricted close to the rims this enabled various lithograph borders to be manufactured, probably at a modest cost, yet still leaving large areas of the ware free for a wide variety of decorative treatments.

Anyone hoping for a nice simple catalogue of designs on the Premier shape is going to be disappointed. The early designs, those most likely to be associated with the Old Hall Ivory Ware backstamp, were produced in 1931 and 1932 and these predate the surviving pattern books with sequential Crown Ducal pattern numbers. There is an earlier document that begins with designs solely for the Premier shape. This starts at number 1 and gets to around 110 before being used for other purposes. Of the examples seen, only a few have either Crown Ducal or Premier pattern numbers. The best chance of finding a numbered pattern is if it is a freehand enamel design as it would have passed through the hands of a paintress and she might have numbered it as well as applying her own mark. Some popular lithograph designs had special numbered and named transfers applied in addition to the backstamp.

So putting it another way, there are about 110 early Premier designs recorded in a special book that dates from about April 1931 until mid summer 1932. Amongst them are virtually all of the commonly found designs on the Premier shape, including Bristol. But there are no conventional Crown Ducal pattern numbers. Once we get to May 1933, which is the beginning of the period covered by the surviving pattern books there are quite a few designs on Premier but none that were as popular as those from 1931/32. Also one needs to remember that these early designs may well have continued in production throughout the 1930s and beyond. Certainly Bristol was produced from 1931 until the 1960s.

The earliest design with a Crown Ducal pattern number determined by observation and matches the documentation is "Empire", which is No1 in the Premier list and pattern 2016 in the Crown Ducal sequence. There is a little uncertainty with this pairing as examples seen have an enamelled orange edge whereas the Premier book specifies a gold inner line, (at the verge). The same difference applies to No2 in the Premier list and pattern 2048, known as "Doris". So I believe that these were design changes once production had started.

The Pottery Gazette article of December 1931 has a picture of pattern 2060 and mentions that it was produced in four colours. It is a simple band and line enamel design with features of the embossment picked out out in freehand enamels. I have seen 2060 with a red band and line, 2061 has black, and 2063 has green, so I presume the blue version mentioned would be 2062. Mysteriously these designs are not in the Premier pattern book! Although there are similar ones in different colours.

Photograph of pattern 2060 in the Pottery Gazette of December 1931

 


Detail of pattern 2061

The named illustrated patterns in the same article are "Pinafore" and "Pasadena". Pinafore is design No3 in the Premier list and pattern 2107 in the Crown Ducal sequence. The small floral lithographs were made by the Universal Transfer Co. and may not be proprietary to Richardsons. But they were certainly a favourite as they were used on dozens of designs throughout the 1930s. Pasadena is design No4 in the Premier list and pattern 2137 in the Crown Ducal sequence. The floral and border lithographs were made, (presumably to Richardsons specifications to overlay the embossment), by the Rataud Transfer Co.



Photograph of pattern 2107 Pinafore and 2137 Pasadena  in thePottery Gazette of December 1931

There are not many Premier examples in my collection to photograph but if you search with Google Images for each of Crown Ducal Pinafore, Crown Ducal Pasadena, Crown Ducal Doris, Crown Ducal Empire, etc you will soon find examples.

The "Danube" lithograph was designed to cover the embossment like Pasadena and was also made by the Ratauds Transfer Co. The combination of border and floral spray, (design No5 in the Premier list), does not seem as common as Pasadena, but instead, the designers married the border of Danube with other lithographs and decorations. The image below is one of these and could be No55 in the Premier list. It is a combination of the Danube border with Pinafore sprays all over and with an orange edge.



Possibly design No55, Danube border with Pinafore spays

Bristol was one of the most popular of the Crown Ducal patterns, but I have yet to discover the pattern numbers for it. I presume because it is simply printed, it never passed through the hands of someone, like a gilder or enameller to put the number on it and being such as well know pattern it would just have been referred to as Bristol. The design date would have been in the summer of 1931.

The entries for Bristol in the Premier book listed together with the ceramic printing colours used are:

No24 printed in Old English Blue

No26 printed in Grey (Blythe 22)

No27 printed in Grey (Blythe ? not legible)

No28 printed in Blue-Green (Blythe 2003)

No39 printed in Mulberry (Swann 1755)

No40 printed in Pink (Sneyd Mills 1031)

Bristol Premier design No24 printed in Old English Blue



Bristol Premier design No40 printed in pink

There are several colourful freehand enamelled designs and some of these were quite popular. Examples do appear on Ebay regularly, but because they lack pattern numbers or names it is difficult to describe them meaningfully or search for them with any precision. It is a matter of keeping a watchful eye. Here are a couple of examples on Premier shape biscuit plates. Fortunately, the No63 example is named in the book as "The Clifton", and the No64 example is marked on the base as pattern 2359 providing another link with the Crown Ducal pattern numbering system.

Freehand enamelled Premier design No63 "The Clifton"

Freehand enamelled Premier design No64 (Pattern 2359)

I have another demitasse cup and saucer in the Premier shape featuring coloured lithographs of courting ladies and gents from a time past and country scenes. The lithograph was made by the Universal Transfer Co. and would be contemporary with these other patterns shown. But unfortunately I do not have a design number or Crown Ducal pattern number for it.



Lithographs of courting couples and country scenes from a bygone era

Here is an example of the Charlotte Rhead Stitch pattern 3274 on the Premier shape. The Premier was not generally used by Charlotte, there are no forms suitable for fancies, (decorative vases and jugs), in the range. She preferred to use the Cotswold range for tube-lined tableware and Cotswold and Victory for freehand and print designs. There are exceptions of course and because there was no small condiment set made in the Cotswold range, the Premier version tended to be used instead.



Charlotte Rhead designed Stitch, (3274), condiment set on Premier shape



For anyone interested in the Premier shape of Crown Ducal tableware it is worth occasionally searching on Ebay for "Old Hall Ivory Ware". Because Crown Ducal is not marked on the base, many folk will not know what they have and just list the text of the backstamp. When I searched recently there were several items in blue print of British country scenes, these are Premier design No29, (if you find them in grey print they are No58 and in green No59). They have a special back stamp with the word "Countryside" above a simplified image of Little Moreton Hall near Congleton and beneath there is the usual "Old Hall Ivory Ware England". Another pattern you may see is a chintz style, simply printed in one colour. Pink and blue have both been seen but records show that it was also made in mulberry, crimson, green,  grey and black. These are Premier design No93.

Edited 19th March 2019 to remove invalid links.

Crown Ducal table lamp shapes

I have been collating information about Crown Ducal table lamps, particularly from the era when Charlotte was working at the company. It has been tough, as there are not many examples in circulation. So this post is a presentation of what I have discovered so far. I hope collectors of Crown Ducal and Charlotte Rhead pottery will find it of interest.

As usual with trying to research Crown Ducal there is the frustration with the lack of period documentation and this is particularly acute when it comes to the topic of table lamps. The surviving Crown Ducal pattern books do contain a few freehand enamel designs for lamps, with partial sketches of shapes, but most of these designs and shapes have yet to be seen as examples. Moreover the bulk of the reserved numbers specific to lamps have the teasing reference “See Lamp Book”, which is not believed to be a surviving document so we may never know what these are.

There are three styles of Crown Ducal table lamps made by A G Richardson & Co Ltd.

1. Shapes created especially to be lamps
2. Modified vase shapes that have the same profile as vases but with the addition of a top and with the base removed.
3. Vase shapes that have the addition of a hole to allow the cable to exit the side or through the base.

It is also possible to find other home made or professional conversions of vases to lamps that involve the drilling of the fired and glazed ceramic body, but these are not the subject of this note. But anyone buying a Crown Ducal lamp should be aware that these exist.

Crown Ducal lamps prior to the 1930s seem to be in the third category, that is to say they are simply vases that had a hole created in their bases prior to being fired and glazed. Look for a smooth edged hole where the glaze continues to the inside edge of the hole and into the inside of the vase shape. There are various styles but they tend to sit on a wooden or metal plinth so that the cable is allowed to exit underneath. At the top of the vase is a cover to which is attached a metal tube and/or the bulb holder and shade fittings. If you search Google images for Crown Ducal Lamp you will soon come across images of a turquoise blue lamp and a couple of chintz patterned examples.

Occasionally one can find Charlotte Rhead patterned vases from the 1930s for sale with these holes in the base but have subsequently lost their lamp fittings. In the past I have seen examples with the original fittings but I have not managed to find any  images to show.

Hole in base of vase for original lamp conversion

I have seen only two designs in the second style and each seems to be unique to a particular Rhead design. (Invariably after making a statement like that someone will come along with an example to prove me wrong!)

The Hydrangea, (3797), pattern was applied to a modified form of the 146 shape with no base and a gently domed top. The cable exit is through a small hole in the side close to the base rim.



Lamp base on Crown Ducal vase shape 146

The domed top, removed base and cable exit hole - otherwise it is Crown Ducal shape 146



The Mexican, (6189), pattern is to be found on a similarly modified form of the shape 212 vase.

 

Lamp based on Crown Ducal vase shape 212



The first category of lamp style is perhaps the most interesting because the shapes were specifically designed to be lamps, and there are also fragments of period documentation giving some of them shape names.

To date I have found references to, or examples of more than 20 different Crown Ducal specifically designed lamp shapes. Some of these are just references and have yet to be seen, and others are known to exist from pictures on the web but are not recorded in any Crown Ducal documentation.

The earliest references are to a “Lamp Vase No5” shape for patterns 3151, 3152, 3153 and 3159. The patterns are freehand enamelled in blocks of bright colours with perhaps small leaf or floral decorative motifs. The No5 shape silhouette is shown.  

Lamp Vase No5 silhouette

There are another cluster of designs for patterns 3500 to 3515 some of which are similar to Charlottes Stitch (3274) and Padua, (2691/3636) designs. Although there is no mention of tube-lining in the description there does remain the possibility that they might be...... you just never know what might be waiting to be discovered. Others have strong similarity to Charlottes trailing leaf and gold motifs in her non-tube-lined designs 3727 and 3728, (incorrectly recorded as 5728 in the Bumpus book). So I believe there is a strong possibility that some of these designs belong to her. There are various shapes without names but here are silhouettes approximating two of the shapes.

Unknown Shapes which may yet turn up with Rhead designs

Next are two designs with enamelled wavy stripes in green black and gold on the “Lamp Vase No1“ shape, pattern 3517 and 3518. The body of this this shape may have vertical fluting. 



Lamp Vase No1 shape

Then there is the shape “Lamp Vase E4”, also referred to as “Geometrical Square Lamp”. Pattern 4132 is decorated quite plainly with panels picked out in fawn on ivory glaze; there is also a version in chocolate brown. Rhead collectors may have seen this shape before as examples of Byzantine (2801) and Tudor Rose (4491) are known to exist on this shape.

Pattern 2801 without enamel colours on Lamp Vase E4 shape (Geometrical Square shape)

Back into more vague territory, pattern 4133 refers to “Lamp Vase E6”. It appears to be an elongated ovoid shape on integral round feet. The whole is decorated with what looks like a jointed bamboo pattern with large star flowers. It may be that this design is moulded into the pottery.  The “New Shape Bamboo” is referenced elsewhere in Crown Ducal documents so I believe this shape did go into production – we just have to wait for an example to surface.

Next, patterns 4134 and 4135 a design illustrated in the Pottery Gazette of April 1935 on the “Lamp Vase E5” shape also known as the “Lily” shape. The lily stem, leaves and flower are moulded as part of the pottery shape and decorated with enamels. A few examples have been sold on Ebay over the years so this is probably one of the easier ones to come by. The same shape is used for pattern 4263 which has a mother of pearl lustre ground.

Pottery Gazette image of pattern 4134 or 4135 on the Lamp Vase E5 shape (Lily shape)

Returning to unseen and unknown pattern 4253, 4254 and 4255 refer to “Lamp Vase E1” the “Handled” lamp shape. They are decorated with a Chinese inspired print and enamel floral design but there is no clue as to the shape of the lamp or what the handles look like.

After that, any entry for patterns relating to lamps refers the reader to “See Lamp Book”. A few extra snippets of information are references to a Coronation Lamp E9, (presumably for the coronation of Edward VIII), and other lamp shapes E11, (another elongated ovoid shape), and E12.

A separate information source is a Crown Ducal sample book which has pre-production designs. This has some helpful sketch fragments which tally with known lamp shapes seen with Crown Ducal designs. These are shapes 401, 402 and “Lamp Vase E2” also known as the “Tassel” shape, (the tassels are moulded into the lamp design near the top).

Left, pattern 4088 on lamp shape 401. Right, pattern 4100 on lamp shape 402

Below is an example of the E2 Tassel lamp design with pattern Persian Rose (4040). This lamp even had the original label with confirmation that this is shape E2. How’s that for historical research in action!

With regard to Crown Ducal lamp shapes with shape names that is all I have found out. But of course that is never the end of the story because other shapes have been seen.

On the late George Conner's website, amongst his huge collection is a splendid shaped Patch (4088) lamp. Scroll down to pattern 4088.

https://web.archive.org/web/20101112194205/http://charlotterhead.jimdo.com:80/crown_ducal.php

Then we have what looks like a variation of the E5 Lily shape without the lily moulding and a simpler, domed top rather than the extended neck. This shape has been seen with Charlotte's Tudor Rose (4491) and Golden Leaves (4921) patterns and a post WW2 pattern 6568.

Left, pattern 4921 and right, pattern 4491 on unknown lamp shape but similar to E5

There is another shape which is actually the most commonly found of all the Crown Ducal lamps and appears with Charlotte Rhead patterns Tudor Rose (4491), Manchu (4511), Golden Leaves (4921), Tudor Rose 5393), Tarragona (5623) and Mexican (6189).

Unknown ovoid lamp shape known to exist with several Charlotte Rhead designs

Does anyone know where that Crown Ducal Lamp Book is? It would make everything so much easier!

Edited 19th March 2019 to remove invalid links.