This little pot is probably a powder pot from a vanity set - such a shame the rest of it (tray, ring tree, pin dish) was nowhere to be seen. 
This was the absolute find of the day - a complete Bisto wash set: wash bowl and jug, soap dish (with it's drainer), toothbrush pot and a chamber pot (otherwise known as a "gazzunder" because it 'goes under' the bed). The oriental / chinoiserie design in a colour combination of purple and yellow - opposites on the colour spectrum - would probably make most people go "YUK!" which is perhaps why the price tag was reduced from £85 to £45. I had seen the set in the shop's window on my last visit to Lewes and thought at the time it MUST be by Bisto, but the store was closed so I couldn't investigate. Sadly, there is some damage, a large crack in the bowl, but this is not uncommon for pieces of this size and a broken handle on the chamber pot. Rather bizarrely, it looks like it's been repared with a sticking plaster that's been coloured black - not exactly conservation standards!
This picture shows a handpainted charger - bought as a blank (a plain, undecorated plate) and then painted by an amateur artist. It illustrates the Victorian hobby for home Arts & Crafts where Joe Bloggs would have a go at decorating, designing, making, crafting all sorts of things at home in their spare time. This hobby was not limited to porcelain painting, but also woodworking, mosaics, woolwork, cardmaking and decoupage etc.; it was the forerunner of today's MASSIVE home crafts industry and was only possible as people found they had more wealth and time on their hands than they had ever previously enjoyed. Not everyone who had a go at painting ceramics was a talented artist and I wouldn't go as far to say that "E Jacobs" who did this charger was a Harry Pierce in the making, but it's not bad. The colour choice is however rather gloomy and the composition isn't great. The Victorians seemed to have a love of "heavy" and cluttered design and it was only in the hands of rather more skilled craftsmen and women that it was successful. The small globe vases either side, which sit on very cute bun feet are yet again, another example of how it pays to go by instinct when buying on Ebay. The seller had described them as being "stained" at the tops below the blue and gilt necks. This obviously put off a large number of potential bidders, but my instinct told me that the "discolouration" was actually an intended part of the design and what is known in pottery as a 'Blush' technique. Blush pottery became extremely popular around the turn of the last century and some of the best examples were produced by the Worcester factories. There were several variations of colour available, mainly ivory or pink, but Bisto used the idea of a blush of colour (imagine the look of pink blusher makeup on someones face) and experimented with a sponge-like gilding technique. I have to admit, i'm not a fan of the gilded interpretation, as it tends to make the overall design look messy and accidental, but the ivory blush is quite elegant and the pansies on my vases are rather charming.
These handpainted Bisto plates are beautiful examples of Victorian landscape painting on pottery/porcelain. Apologies for the terrible glare of camera flash, they weren't the easiest things to photograph.
This cup and saucer, although marked with the wand of caduceus, i think were bought as a blank and handpainted at home by a talented amateur art enthusiast. Their monogram is painted on the underside.
The works of this factory are usually very well marked (except for some small pieces like saucers) so you can usually spot one of their pieces quite easily. Also, to my knowledge, there has been no fad for faking/forging their works as there aren't many pieces that command massive prices (except for the White Star Line wares), so you can be pretty confident that when it's marked, it's the genuine article. The factory tended to be fairly consistant in their marking of pattern names and numbers. I haven't, as yet, found out if individual painters and paintresses had marks - if anyone out there knows, please do tell me. 
""DUAL MARKS Because Gray's Pottery was a decorating business - buying undecorated 'white ware' from other pottery manufacturers - the pieces that the company bought usually already had a backstamp. Many Gray's pieces therefore often have two backstamps (ILLUSTRATION 3) : the original maker's mark and the Gray's mark on top of it, usually large enough and bold enough to obscure the mark beneath. Mr Gray would not necessarily want the white ware producer to take any credit for the pottery, hence his use of bold backstamps.A rare exception to the common sight of dual marks can be found in the use of one version of the Pharoah's Boat (ILLUSTRATION 4) backstamp. Produced by some sort of rubber stamp, this mark was applied to ware exclusively made for Gray's Pottery. Typically, it can be found on matt-glazed ware supplied by Kirklands of Etruria or Whieldon Ware from Winkle & Co/Ridgways of Shelton.Dual marks are often an aid in dating items. The earthenware producer Johnson Brothers of Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, was a major supplier to Gray's Pottery and its products often have distinct date-related marks such as 'Pareek' (registered in 1925), 'Greydawn' (introduced in 1928) or 'Rosedawn' (introduced in 1930) (ILLUSTRATION 5). Lancaster & Sons, later Lancaster & Sandland, used distinctive marks such as 'English Ware' from 1944 or 'Sandland Ware' from 1949.The presence of an impressed mark can also be useful. The most common is 'JOHNSONS', usually on cup bases, but early Gray's ware often has impressed numbers. Examples are W931 (ILLUSTRATION 6), indicating a piece by Wood & Sons of Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, and made in September 1931. Bishop & Stonier of Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, supplied Gray's with white ware during the first 20 years of the company's existence. The characteristic entwined snake mark from Bishop & Stonier is often accompanied by one number on top of another: 2/29 meaning February 1929 ""
This is a small Bisto ware vase or possible even a toothbrush holder(!) with a fantastic dragon design, dating from the late 1920s/30s- i love the puffy clouds. The bowl above has to be one of the nicest surprises i've had from buying on Ebay. It turned out to be far larger and far more beautiful than anticipated. The sprig design on the outside is the same print as that used on an aesthetic movement teaset i have already blogged about.
Key dates
1851 - 1866 Livesley Powell & Co. Old Hall Lane and Miles Bank, Hanley.
1867 - 1878 Powell & Bishop. Parliament Row and Stafford Street Works, Hanley.
1878 - 1891 Powell, Bishop & Stonier. Stafford Street Works, Hanley.
1891 - 1933 Bishop & Stonier. Various addresses, Hanley.
1933 - 1939 George Jones & Sons bought the company and continued use of the Bisto trade mark.
Livesley Powell & Co. was formed in 1845 by William Livesley, Edwin Powell and Frederick Bishop. The Livesley family were potters in Hanley; Edwin Powell was a potter who had been apprenticed at Dimmocks of Hanley; and Frederick Bishop was a lawyer providing financial support to the venture.
In 1866 William Livesley retired and the partnership became known as Powell and Bishop. In 1878 Powell and Bishop were joined by John Stonier who was a china and glass merchant in Liverpool, employing around 400 people. One of his company's specialities was fitting out liners of the day, such as Brunel's Great Britain and the ill-fated Titanic.
Livesley Powell produced a variety of bodies including china, parian, and ironstone china and used transfer printing (sometimes in lilac), moulded, painted and lustre decoration. They patented a process of printing in gold and colours which produced a dead gold background. Much of their production was exported, with over one million different items sent to New York alone in 1851. They are reported to have exhibited at the 1851 Great Exhibition. Marks on their wares incorporate the name of the firm or the initials L.P. & Co.
In 1876, Powell and Bishop exhibited at the Philadelphia Exhibition.
In 1880, Powell, Bishop and Stonier registered a new trademark to accompany their ivory or cream coloured earthenware. This shows a seated Chinaman under a sunshade or umbrella containing the words ORIENTAL IVORY - their name for the earthenware body. This oriental ivory body and their green bodied porcelain were ideal vehicles for Japanese inspired designs which were popular in the Victorian period. These often featured asymmetrical floral and bird designs.
In 1891 Duncan Watson Bishop and John Stonier created a new company trade mark BISTO, using the first letters of their surnames. This name was incorporated into the backstamp of the period - the Wand of Caduceus. In 1906 they were using an advertising slogan in the trade press ' The sun never sets on Bisto wares'.
In the 1920s a new range of designs using bright and lustrous colours was produced, known as 'Aztec Ware' . Children's nursery ware was also produced featuring nursery rhymes and stories. Other wares of the 20th century period included bathroom sets, vases and sardine dishes. In 1933, the company was taken over by George Jones & Sons. They continued to use the wand mark and also the mark of a bishop until 1939.
Here is just a small selection of the jugs in my collection; they line the top of one of my bookcases and show a timeline of manufacture through the various partnerships. The oldest is an L&P (Livesley Powell) jug with beautiful flower and bird transfer print design and handpainted enamel colouring. There is another of a similar design from the oriental ivory range called "Wild Rose", made by the partnership of Powell Bishop & Stonier. The tall thin jug with the Deco interpretation of a Pre-raphelite woman is a very interesting and rare Bisto design. The pattern was designed by Louis Rhead (of the famous Rhead family....Frederick....Charlotte) who was a well-known illustrator who travelled to America and France. This image was used for The Sun magazine which in itself makes it very appropriate that Bisto should use it because one of their marketing mottos was, "the Sun never sets on Bisto wares", probably referring to their widespread export to all four corners of the globe. Indeed, by this stage in the company's history, it really was a worldwide trading empire!.
