Uncommon Copeland - Images Sought

Two Uncommon Series by Copeland & Garrett

Dick Henrywood

In assembling volumes of The Transferware Recorder some series of views have proved elusive. Prominent amongst them are two series made by Copeland & Garrett, not a factory you would think to hide any lights under bushels. They are the firm’s so-called Arabesque series of English views and their “Continental Views” series showing scenes across Europe.

In the case of the Arabesque series, I have records of seventeen different scenes which are found printed on dinner, dessert and toilet wares in blue, brown or green. Examples turn up infrequently and I would be particularly keen to locate images of the following: “Eton”, “Folkstone”, “Greenwich Hospital”, “Hastings” (two different views), “Plymouth”, “Pope’s Villa”, and “Richmond Bridge”. The example shown here depicts “Margate” on a lobed dessert dish.

The “Continental Views” series is a little more difficult in that the scenes are not individually titled. Again I have records of seventeen different scenes and with a great deal of work I have managed so far to identify seven of them. They are found on dinner and toilet wares printed in blue, black or brown. Examples seem to show up even less than the Arabesque series and I have decent images of a paltry three of them. The example shown here is a view near Lisbon on a baking dish.

The scarcity of these two series is difficult to understand. The firm must have invested heavily in the large number of copper plates needed for the dinner services so it is difficult to imagine low production runs. Records suggest that they were both exported to Canada and examples do turn up in North America. Both series have been proving elusive for some time and will currently escape inclusion in any forthcoming volume of the Recorder unless some more images can be unearthed. Surely one or two must features somewhere in collections of TCC members? Any help would be hugely welcomed and should be sent via the editor or to recorder@transferprintedpottery.com.