August Feature Articles

Swansea's Cambrian Pottery Public & Private Commemorative Printed Wares, by Arleen and Grahame Tanner

Very little has been written about the commemorative ware of the Cambrian Pottery, Swansea; the most informative lecture and subsequent paper was by P.D.Pryce in 1972. His remit, however, was much larger as he covered the commemorative ware of the Cambrian Pottery, the Glamorgan Pottery, Swansea and the South Wales Pottery at Llanelly. In general terms it seems that public commemorative pieces produced by the Cambrian Pottery tended to be early in date whilst the private commemorative pieces are of a later date. Of course there are exceptions to this. Public commemorative pieces are of major political, social, and royal events whereas private commemorative pieces take into the private lives of ordinary members of society, who they were, and what they did. More information.

Swansea’s Printed Wares: A Re-Assessment, by Jonathan Gray

Founded in 1764, the Swansea (later to be renamed Cambrian) Pottery was in production for more than 100 years before closing in 1870. For the majority of this period, certainly the eighty years after 1790, printed wares were to be an important feature of the factory‟s output. Certainly after the production and decoration of Swansea porcelain had ceased in 1824/6, printed wares were the main, and at times, the only output of the firm. More information.