"Aztec" Inspired Tube-Lined Cotswold Tableware

Edited 5th December 2017

A tube-lined coffee cup and saucer came up for sale recently and I was unable to resist! I call this the "Aztec" tableware design simply because of the stepped line motif and the same little tubed rectangles that Charlotte Rhead used in her Aztec pattern 2800.

The design is simple but must have taken a lot of effort, much more so than the stitched edge tableware. I wonder if the tube-liners had to mark out the line lengths before applying the slip before tube-lining, or whether their practised eye meant the ends of the stepped line would always join up correctly. Not to mention all those fiddly small rectangles.

Group of "Aztec" tableware on Cotswold shapes

There are four versions of the design in the pattern books. The tube-lining with black slip is identical for all of them, they just differ in the colour decoration.

Pattern 3213 has scarlet and gold filled pairs of rectangles, gold edge and scarlet and black inner lines. Having the gold probably means this was the expensive version.

Detail of pattern 3213

Pattern 3219 has scarlet and orange filled pairs of rectangles, scarlet edge and scarlet and black inner lines.

Detail of pattern 3219

Teapot in pattern 3219

Many thanks to Carole for sending me a picture of her teapot in pattern 3219. Tableware with handles and knobs, particularly tureens and teapots, are the best for showing off the embellishments that add interest to Charlotte's designs.

Pattern 3220 has scarlet and orange filled pairs of rectangles, orange edge and orange and black inner lines. I have yet to see an example in this colourway.

Pattern 3223 has just the tube-lining and no coloured decoration.

Detail of pattern 3223

All the examples I have seen have AGR1 backstamp style which includes the Cotswold shape registration number. This style was used until about the end of 1934. The design date of these “Aztec” tableware patterns is estimated to be October 1933 and because examples are not common I doubt production continued for long.

Backstamp style found on these designs

In my notes for these designs I have recorded the observation that someone brought  a similar coffee cup and saucer in pattern 3223 shown above for Bernard Bumpus to comment on at the Charlotte Rhead Collectors Day on 30^th July 2000. Since then, there have been very occasional examples for sale on Ebay. Some wide rimmed soup bowls and cream and sugar set in pattern 3213 and coffee pot in pattern 3219. So I am fairly sure there are more examples circulating or in peoples collections.

Tube-Lined Stitched Edged Tableware Designs

Pattern 3049 is the most easily found of the Crown Ducal “Stitched Edge” tableware designs. The February 1934 edition of the Pottery Gazette reported that:  

"Another new pattern that is sure to please, and which seems bound to result in solid business, is the "Stitch", a pattern which, though characterised by simplicity, has a strong power of appeal. This pattern, which is also depicted in the group photograph here reproduced, is offered in three different colourings, and at a very moderate price. It consists of a rather intriguing manipulation in tube-lining under the glaze, and is applied to the new "Cotswold" shape, which conveys the impression of pottery that is produced on the wheel by means of throwing and turning." 

The photograph from this article is shown below.

Stitched Edge (3049) Cotswold tableware on the right. Also shown are either Rialto (3140) or Belfast (3154) on the left and Daffodil (3234) in the centre.

Below are a few newspaper advertisements from around the world which would support the idea that the tube-lined stitched edge tableware was a commercial success.

Stitched Edge Cotswold tableware advert in a USA newspaper, The Binghamton Press of 27 March 1934.

Stitched Edge Cotswold tableware advert in a Canadian newspaper, The Montreal Gazette of 25 January 1934.

Stitched Edge Cotswold tableware advert in an Australian newspaper, The Adelaide Advertiser of 18 October 1935

Pattern 2864 is is believed to be the earliest recorded tube-lined tableware design for Crown Ducal by Charlotte Rhead. No examples have a pattern number on them, nor does a pattern book exist with this number. However, the evidence comes from the entry for pattern 3168 where the design for the large, black stitched edged trays and salad bowls is recorded. The number 3168 is crossed out and a note “Use 2864” written beside it. A similar note is beside entry 3167 which is the alternating black and orange large stitched edge design which says “Use 3049”. Pattern 3049 is present in the pattern book as the equivalent black and orange stitched edge Cotswold tableware, therefore it is reasonable to assign 2864 to the black slip version.

This suggests that the Cotswold tableware range were the original stitched edged designs. A little later, the much larger stitches on the "USA" salad bowls and trays were given different pattern numbers but by the time production had begun all shapes with the same colour stitches had the same original pattern numbers.

The third stitched edge slip colour often found is matt blue for which the pattern number is unrecorded. But 3171 is the number for blue stitch on the large salad bowls and trays, so that is the number I use based on the principle used in the pattern book for the other colour versions.

Pattern 2864 stitched edge design in black slip on Cotswold shape coffee duo

Pattern 3049 stitched edge design in orange and black slip on Cotswold shape trio

Pattern 3049 stitched edge design in orange and black slip on Cotswold tray or 17" charger and its base markings

Pattern 3171 stitched edge design in matt blue slip on Cotswold shape coffee duo

One interesting discovery from this research is that the orange and black, 3049, pattern is clearly given a name in the pattern book, but is difficult to read. Bernard Bumpus must have had the same problem because he scoured the books for pattern names but never put this one in his books. Below is an image of the name. My interpretation of it is "Niva" For a while I struggled to make sense of this until an internet search found out it is a girls name that may have been more popular in the early 20th century than today.

The pattern name for 3049 is Niva?

Examples of pattern 3049, Niva, tableware have been seen with an extra backstamp "EXCLUSIVE TO HARRODS KNIGHTSBRIDGE LONDON, S.W.1." which would have been a useful endorsement of the design. Another observation is that some items have the AGR3 backstamp style indicating they were produced in the mid 1950s after the WWII restrictions of decorated pottery were lifted and indeed after Charlottes death.

Before leaving the plain stitched edge Cotswold tableware of 1933, the other colourways should be recorded. None of which have been seen to date.
3048 Orange slip (Not yet seen)
3050 Crimson slip (Not yet seen)
3051 Alternating black and crimson slips (Not yet seen)

Pattern 3122 is a development of the plain black stitched edge Cotswold tableware (2864). In the pattern book there are three possible colour schemes for the enamelled printed centre, but two have been crossed out, possibly at different times. The floral design is printed in black and then enamelled either in yellow, orange and two greens which is the surviving version in the book, or yellow, fawn, crimson, peach and blue. The third version is similar to the first in greens, yellow and brown but with higher contrasting colours

Two colour variations of pattern 3122

One has to speculate as to whether or not this is Charlotte's first foray into print design. Crown Ducal was enjoying the success of the print and enamel Sunburst design and perhaps this is Charlotte's attempt at combining the current fashion for simple colourful floral prints with her trademark tube-lining. Certainly it is a  pleasing design and was quite successful since examples appear for sale quite frequently, especially in the USA.

Charlotte was busy in the summer of 1933 with her tableware designs. Again, using the black stitched edge format she created her nurseryware series.

Nurseryware series 3130-3135

The patterns are:
3130 The maid was in the garden
3131 Who said dinner?
3132 Is it carrots?
3133 Little Boy Blue
3134 Tom the pipers son
3135 Red Riding Hood

Several other nursery ware designs were made that do not have pattern numbers, these may have been samples or commissions. But "Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?" and "Polly put the kettle on" appear occasionally and so these designs probably went into production too.

A study of the backstamp styles suggests that patterns 3131, 3133 and 3135 continued to be produced while Charlotte remained at Richardsons and for patterns 3131 and 3133 continued after she had left. Little Boy Blue has been seen with the AGR4 backstamp style which probably means they were still being made in the 1960’s. This makes Little Boy Blue her longest running pattern in production, almost thirty years.

It is interesting to note that the number of  Little Boy Blue and Who said dinner? items made during the the WWII restrictions period of 1942-1952 greatly exceeds the total nurseryware production  made outwith this period. Perhaps about a quarter of these have been found outside the UK in the usual Crown Ducal export markets. But even so, is it possible that the nurseryware was exempt from the restrictions on the public being able to buy decorated pottery? Or just the result of a consumer requirement caused by the post war 1946 baby boom!?

The next group of pattern numbers are those that introduce the "USA salad bowl and tray" designs. The trays are usually displayed as large wall chargers because the base rim is pierced for a hanging wire. They were clearly designed for the USA market, where most examples have been recorded, and quite possibly at the request of Richardson's agents in New York, Maddock & Miller. Bernard Bumpus quotes in his book from an advertisement for the company that mentions that there are twelve decorations stocked and the advertisement included a picture of the Blossom pattern. I have not been able to track down the reference yet and without any further information it is difficult to identify the twelve specific designs. Also it is not clear if all the designs were tube-lined, and if one includes the enamelled designs produced on these shapes and the tube-lined trailing laurel leaf border designs as well, then it is easy to exceed 12 decorations.

The designs with large stitched edges are:
3167 Alternating black and orange slips (Use 3049)
3168 Black slip (Use 2864)
3169 Alternating black and orange slips with fruit tree centre
3170 Alternating black and orange slips with dragon centre
3171 Matt blue slip
3172 Alternating matt blue and Danube blue slips with fruit tree centre. Tree trunks are Danube blue, leaves and pebbles are matt blue and the apples are in salmon slip.

Pattern 3172

3173 Cotswold shape matt blue slip stitch on top of plate instead of over edge. (Not yet seen)
3221 Alternating matt blue and Danube blue slips with bird centre. (Not yet seen)
3257 Alternating matt blue and Danube blue slips with Blossom centre.
3258 Alternating black and orange slips with Blossom centre
3259 Alternating black and orange slips with  fruit tree centre (Use 3169)

Up to this point most of the tube-lined tableware designs will be familiar to collectors, either from examples seen or from reading "Collecting Rhead Pottery" by Bernard Bumpus. But we have hardly started. Charlotte continued to design more and more tube-lined tableware designs. Mostly for the Cotswold tableware shape, but also a lot for the Queen Anne shape that was popular in the USA, and to a much lesser extent patterns were made for the No 3, Florentine, Avon, Windsor and Regent ranges. Almost all of these are as yet unseen and I would be surprised if many went into proper production.

I will limit these notes to designs with either the simple or large tube-lined stitched edge. The first is a beautiful piece of tube-lining design on a tableware plate, although it is impossible to imagine it being used as tableware, it must have lived in the china cabinet.

3260 named "Florentine" (not to be confused with the Florentine tableware shape range!), which is also the name of the centre design which is similar to the Blossom centre design. There is a trailing twin stem border in the verge. The shape range is not specified, but the sketch of the rim is not perfectly round so it will be one of the moulded tableware ranges with gently scalloped plate rims. I am quite sure it is the No3 shape range as it has moulded dentilled edges which can accommodate the modified shape slip stitches. There is also a design detail for covered dish handles so it has to be a tableware shape range and not fancies or salad bowls and trays. The stitches are tube-lined slip covering the dentilled moulding of the plate.

Pattern 3260 Florentine, the stitches overlay the dentilled moulding of the No3 shaped plate.

3261 Alternating matt blue and Danube blue stitched edge "Grindley Hotel". A rather ambiguous description but since Grindley Hotel Ware was made by another pottery company, was this perhaps to be a joint venture with Richardsons applying  tube-lining to Grindleys hard wearing vitreous china for the hotel and restaurant market. (Not yet seen)

3262 Shape range No3 which is the heavily embossed tableware range with fruit trees and various fruiting and flowering plants on the plate shoulders. (See picture above of pattern 3260 which is on No3 shape). Trailing twin stem border in the verge and alternate stitched edge decorated in alternating black and orange slip and Blossom centre.This pattern is not properly illustrated but my best guess is that this is the same as 3260 except in different colours and with Blossom centre rather than Florentine centre. (Not yet seen)

3288 Alternating matt blue and Danube blue large stitched edge and dark, (Danube?), blue edge line, Blossom centre on the "New Large Punch Bowl" This is another ambiguous description that appears to be the same as 3257 but with a blue edge line. However the "New Large Punch Bowl" reference implies a different shape and I wonder if this is a reference to the giant 17" diameter bowls which are known to exist from an example of pattern 3191, the sailing ship design. (Not yet seen)

3347 Trailing twin stem border in the verge and alternate stitched edge decorated in alternating black and scarlet slip. Shape range not specified but the sketch it for the square plate with scalloped edges which may be the Regent range. (Not yet seen)

3370 A drawing but no description! Essentially as 3260, alternating matt blue and Danube blue stitched edge, trailing twin stem border in the verge, and Florentine centre. But, tableware shape looks to be round with scalloped edges, (Regent?), and is adjacent to other tableware designs with yellow glaze instead of the usual ivory and the sketch is shaded yellow like those. (Not yet seen)

3375 Essentially as 3260, alternating matt blue and Danube blue stitched edge, trailing twin stem border in the verge, but with Blossom centre. Round tableware shape shape with scalloped edges, but explicitly noted as No3 shape. (Not yet seen)

3376 Trailing twin stem border in the verge and alternate stitched edge decorated in alternating matt blue and Danube blue slips, no centre design. Cotswold shape range. (Not yet seen)

A mysterious group of four patterns, two colours and the words "Big Stitch". No drawings or other description or the ware to apply it to, but I presume them to be tube-lined  because Danube and Matt Blue are slip colours.
3407 Brown & Orange Big Stitch. (Not yet seen)
3408 Black & Orange Big Stitch. (Not yet seen)
3409 Brown & Green Big Stitch. (Not yet seen)
3410 Danube & Matt Blue Big Stitch. (Not yet seen)

3432 Simple green stitched edge on Cotswold. The description does not specify tube-lining, so I use pattern 4108 instead which appears to be exactly the same but does specify tube-lining.

3473 As 3376 only under yellow glaze. (Not yet seen)

3536 An extraordinarily complex tube-lined design on Cotswold shape. Imagine pattern 3376 with the addition of stitched spokes radiating across the plate shoulder from the trailing twin stem border in the verge. Within each segment, (bounded on three sides by stitched lines and one side by the stem border), there is a stem of laurel leaves. They have the same shape as those in the post Rhead era designs for patterns 6568, 6570 & 6571 but are tube-lined in the two blue colours of slip. (Not yet seen)

3537 The same as 3536 but tube-lined in orange and black slips. I have tried to draw the layout of patterns 3536 and 3537 below. (Not yet seen)

A sketch of the coloured slip design for patterns 3536 and 3537 on Cotswold tableware

The next design does not explicitly state tube-lining, but appears so similar to a previous pattern that it may be tube-lined.

3635 as 3376, trailing twin stem border in the verge and alternate stitched edge decorated in alternating green and black, no centre design. Cotswold shape range. (Not yet seen)

3853 as 3049 stitched edge decorated in alternating orange and black on Florentine shaped tableware and with tube-lined decorated handles. (Not yet seen)

4108 Back to the simplest and earliest stitched edge designs. Here we have green slip on Cotswold shape.

Pattern 4108 stitched edge design in green slip on Cotswold shaped sugar bowl

5027 Blue slip sponged solid face with tube-lined white slip stitched edge. (Not yet seen)

5485 Tube-lined blue stitched edge, two blue stitches alternating with one gold painted stitch.Tube-lining under white glaze. Probably Avon and Windsor shaped tableware. Also gold and blue slip decoration on handles and gold line work. (Not yet seen)

5694 Green slip stitched edge on Cotswold shape with yellow glaze. A fairly popular recycling of the design especially for export, with most examples seen in New Zealand.

Patter 5694 stitched edge design in green slip with yellow glaze

5950 Blue slip stitched edge on Cotswold shape with pink glaze. (Not yet seen)

More patterns will no doubt come to light, but collectors should be aware that there are a very large number of stitched edge Crown Ducal designs and many of them are applied with lustres or enamels. If you find an unusual stitched edge design do not assume it is tube-lined. Touch is the best way to determine if slip was used because the decoration will feel raised.

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 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. 

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.