Dartmouth Pottery acquired Ashley Clough, Buckfast Potteries around 1958 and absorbed the Design part of the business into a new venture called Britannia Designs. It specialised in souvenir items and was well-known for the Jam pots it produced and decorated for Elsenham Jam and Preserves. [Read more on the Torquay Potteries website, here ].
Read MoreThe modern Royal Worcester mark (without the words Royal Worcester England and the dots) was first introduced in 1862. Initially two numbers in addition to the logo indicated the date (eg 63 for 1863 impressed or printed). In 1867 the number was printed or replaced with a Capital letter (starting with A and continuing to M in 1877 – neither F or J were used). In 1878 capital letters replaced the numbers completely and from 1878’s N continued through to 1888 and Z (missing out O and Q). The O was used in 1889. In 1890, the latter a appears in lowercase – clearly intending to follow the previous pattern, however, the McKinley Tariff Act meant the the country of origin had to be included on all export ware, so the logo was redesigned to include the words Royal Worcester England around the outside of the circle (with no dots
Read MoreSee the article on Ringtons for more
Read MoreIn 1907 Leeds business man Samuel Smith started selling Ringtons Tea in Newcastle with little more than a horse and cart and an investment from William Titterton, who he was able to buy out by 1914. By the 1920s they had started to sell Chintz and Willow patterned Ceramics aimed at tea drinkers. Ringtons Limited Tea Merchants has remained a family business and now supplies Tea and Coffee world wide. James Sadler and Wade Potteries (now Wade Ceramics) have both made bespoke ceramics for Ringtons and they continue to commission exclusive ranges of pottery for their shop, now.
Read MoreEnglish Retailer: H. Miller, China & Glass Depot, Seaton, Devon [SSS] – Victorian
Read MoreRoyal Corona Ware (also known as Corona Ware) with a very similar mark was made by Sampson Hancock and Sons from 1912 until 1937. Sampson Hancock was started in Tunstall around 1858. In 1870 they relocated to the Bridgeworks in Stoke. Primarily an Earthenware manufacturer, Hancock’s popular wares were inexpensive. (the hand drawn numbers in the picture are pattern numbers) Initials S.H. were used between 1858 – 1891 Printed mark S. HANCOCK was used from 1858 S. H. & S. S. H. & Sons 1891 – 1935 Other marks from this factory – including ones using the word MAGNET or THE “DUCHESS” CHINA – all either feature the company initials or the factory name within the design. The word England was added after 1891. Warning Marks featuring a Crown with the word CORONA on its own, underneath are NOT made by Sampson Hancock and Sons – they are either Gater, Hall
Read MoreAfter Longton Hall’s unsuccessul efforts to produce porcelain, New Hall became the first Pottery to produce a recognisable and commercially viable porcelain body in Staffordshire, in the 1780s. (http://www.thepotteries.org/features/new_hall1956.htm) New Hall is always popular with collectors. As a result, it is hard to find marked pieces that are “low budget” – and pieces with the New Hall stamp will command a high price. Unmarked New Hall, although “affordable”, can easily be confused with wares from its many competitors all using the same decorative features. The “trick” to collecting New Hall (not to be confused with the later reincarnation in the late 19th Century) is to understand the significance of the pattern numbers (and have a good reference book to confirm that the pattern number you see corresponds to the decoration on the piece). Two of my favourite bibles for collecting New Hall are “A Guide to New Hall Porcelain Patterns”
Read MoreModern pieces of Coalport are clearly marked. What is less well known is that the Factory also used marks that imitated other factories, particularly in the early 19th Century. Coalport also absorbed other factories and incorporated their marks in its own – including the crescent moon used on Salopian ware by Caughley and the S and N of Swansea and Natgarw
Read MoreSpode reputedly bought William Turners Stoneware patent some time during the second decade of the Nineteenth Century, with items classed as stoneware appearing from around 1815. Experimentation with Felspar and other additions to the formula saw a patent for “New Stone” filed around 1821, with pieces primarily featuring oriental style designs appearing by the following year. When Copeland Garrett took over the factory in 1833, the mark was retained. Pieces of this style and with comparatively early pattern numbers like the one illustrated below fall into the early and original Spode New Stone era and this plate dates from around 1822-1825
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