Photos of the Month

A few of the famous Brimfield MA Antique Shows transferware finds during a visit by TCC members as part of the Spring 2025 Annual Conference. Visit the TCC website to view the conference report by Scott Hanson.

Dating from 1865, passenger service was discontinued in 1972. It has been the home since 2006 of long-time transferware researcher, lecturer and author, and TCC member Dick Henrywood and his wife, Melanie. Much more information and photos at https://www.reynardine.co.uk/BowStation/BowStation.html and in Wikipedia.

Photo credits: Early 1900s: Bow Station website (reynardine); 1968: Wikipedia; 2021: Alan Peters (the train driver).

Early 1900s:	1968:	2021:

A beautiful display of an overall floral sheet pattern with painted gold background, first produced by Spode ca. 1812. This pattern is Convolvulus (also known as Sunflower), #3438 in the TCC Database of Patterns and Sources. Can anyone identify the pattern on the foot bath, below? Photographed at a TCC member home during our 2012 Seattle, WA meeting.

The oven collapsed on February 23, 1972. Those who have visited the Spode site will recall the location. Robert Copeland claimed that he had been standing next to the oven just minutes prior to its collapse.

We viewed marvelous collections during our 2012 Seattle meeting, which was organized by Marcia and Klaus Zech. Thanks to David Hoexter for preparing the "Photo of the Month."

Undated photo (1930s?) of housing and pottery kilns. The close proximity would not have been healthy. The Clean Air Act of 1956 led to the phasing out of coal fired kilns, which was largely accomplished by 1963. According to The Potteries Bottle Oven, https://bottleoven.blogspot.com/p/1964-potteries-progression-to-cleaner.htm, 2150 bottle ovens were reduced to 47 (none still operating with coal).

Flint, when ground to a granular or powder form, was an important ingredient to the pottery recipe. Although this image is of flint gathering from a beach in Normandy, the same scene likely occurred in the southern England flint locales. Obviously backbreaking work for both humans and horses. In England, the flint was shipped by barge, ship or road to the Potteries in Staffordshire, where it was ground in mills such as the one at Cheddleton which we visited during our 2003 England meeting.

Since 1959, Brimfield, Massachusetts has been the Antique and Collectibles Capital of the United States. Today, there are 21 independent shows and thousands of dealers. As evident from the map below, there are many opportunities to find treasures at the Brimfield Antique Markets, which we will visit as our optional day just prior to our Spring Conference (transportation from our meeting site included in this Optional Day offer). More information & schedule and registration information.

This image is of a search result in Google Images for Rabbitware. Yes, these are transfer-printed (with a lot of added color), although a few of the items do not belong. See the parallel posting of the Pattern of the Month for more information.

Located at Edensor, Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire (near the present-day Gladstone Pottery Museum), this photo, dated ca. 1910-15, shows the large scale extraction of marl, a type of clay. The Stoke area rose to prominence as a pottery center in large part due to the nearby presence of materials, such as clay and coal, needed for pottery production. Information from Staffordshire Fast Track and photo from Stoke-on-Trent Live.

Memorial Hall was the subject of Prattware (polychrome) transferware plates and pot lids printed specifically for the 1876 Philadelphia Exhibition likely as souvenirs. Seen here are examples of each, as well as a recent view of the subject building (one of few remaining to this day). Memorial Hall currently houses the Please Touch Museum, for children, of course. The exhibition site is now Fairmount Park. For more information, view Database patterns 6098 (plate) and 20316 (lid).

We’re working on a new pattern identification feature for the Database of Patterns and Sources (DB)! This exciting development will use AI to identity patterns from recovered transferware sherds and of course complete pieces as well. Needless to say, the pattern will have to already be in the DB. If you possess a pattern which is not yet in the DB, please send it to the Database Editor Len Kling at otlink@aol.com

Ever wonder why coal was discontinued as the energy source for the pottery kilns of England? Undated image, source unknown.

Undated photo captured by Phil Rowley from the Potteries of Stoke on Trent website. Three stack designs. Difficult to precisely locate the site, which is in the Gladstone Museum vicinity and appears to no longer exist, as Kingcross St. and Chancery Ln no longer intersect as they did in the ca. 1900 map also shown. Anyone care to take on the task of identifying and precisely locating this pottery?

A few of the transferware pieces from the collection of the California Department of Parks and Recreation archaeology collection, viewed by TCC members in 2009. We are looking at artifacts from Cooper-Molera Adobe located in Monterey. The two plates are the iconic Winter View of Pittsfield, Mass ("Pittsfield Elm") pattern, DB Pattern 2994, and a side-wheel steamship bearing the name “British America”, the pattern is “Montreal” and it is DB 2800.

The Middleport Pottery, one of the few remaining, active, potteries in England, was built in 1888 by Burgess & Leigh Ltd and is located in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. A memorable tour of the facility was included in our 2015 England meeting. Nineteenth century methods continue to be employed in the 21st century.

Tiles don't need to be placed on floors, walls, or surrounding a fireplace. This one nicely compliments a chair. The tile pattern shown here is Wheat Bouquet, and for those interested in additional information, it is pattern # 19246 in the TCC Database, of Patterns and Sources. Thanks to Jayne Scott for the images, posted to our website Message Board.

Seven superb lectures, the largest ever raffle, and tours of the Winterthur transferware rooms and reserve collection highlighted the Philadelphia 2024 Annual Meeting. Shown is a smattering of the fantastic transferware presented at the meeting’s final event, the Show and Sale. Photo credit: Judie Siddall

On view, a spectacular collection of Philadelphia producer pot lids and bottles. Jules Hauel was the most prolific of the producers, active 1839-60. This is perhaps the most complete collection of Hauel lids and bottles (the image includes a few samples from other Philadelphia producers). Our April 26-28, 2024 meeting in Philadelphia will include a lecture on the topic of Philadelphia product producers and their transfer-printed product containers and lids.

Excavation at the Spode Works in Stoke-on-Trent. Just one example of several thousand images related to the pottery industry and transferware available for download from the TCC website Image Gallery: https://www.transferwarecollectorsclub.org/annex/image-gallery/

Just a very small fraction of the spectacular transferware collection assembled by Colin and Patricia Parkes, our hosts for an afternoon during our 2015 England tour. Most if not all of the patterns shown here are in the TCC Database of Patterns and Sources, as Colin was an avid DB editor. We are saddened by Colin’s recent death.

Use it Wisely.  Words to the wise from William Pyke, Diamond Merchant and Goldsmith in Birkenhead, England.  This merchant plate, a complimentary gift to customers, dates 1891-1905.  TCC members can learn how we dated the plate by viewing Entry 15552 in the Database of Patterns and Sources.  Also shown is the Pyke Grange Road shop.

Ceramic artist Forrest Middleton, of FLM Ceramics in Petaluma, CA, creates transfer-printed pottery using tissue transfers from silk screened “plates”, applied directly to the thrown or formed pot or tile. For more information, see the FLM website: http://www.flmceramics.com

At least 107 transferware patterns are appended to interior and exterior walls at four locations within Junagarh Fort. Shown here is a projecting window surround, with at least 37 patterns. How many can you identify? Refer to the 2020 article by Hoexter and Siddall, in TCC Bulletin Vol. XXI, No. 3.  Members can download the entire bulletin; the article is available to anyone here.