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.

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 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.