Flower Pots a.k.a Jardinieres

This beautiful flower pot, or Jardiniere has been in my collection for some time, but i've never known what to write about it except that it is beautiful and was the first piece of Bisto I bought at auction (excluding Ebay). The turquoise colour is also perfect for my living room. The pot was in a box lot of other pottery, mainly junk and mainly blue and white pieces including Spode and Wedgwood, but this was the only piece I was interested in. I almost lost my nerve when the bid got closer and closer to £40, but I kept going when my partner gave me the nod to say that it was ok. I'm glad I did because I adore this pot. The rest of the lot I gave to a friend who was at the same auction but refrained from bidding because he knew I wanted to win it so bad.

Look-a-likes

The two plates above are very similar in design but with several major differences: 1) one is by Powell Bishop & Stonier, the other by Meissen; 2) one is hand-painted, the other handcoloured transfer printing; 3) one would cost around £10-£20, the other around £100. Which is which? YOU decide...

Coming Up Roses

It could be argued that the Rose is synonymous with England in terms of design iconography and it is certainly ubiquitous at several points in our country's design history. Bishop & Stonier used the Rose flower for so many of their designs that it's easy to lose count: from the very formal and traditional representations to the more graphic and stylised shapes of the Art Deco period. Here is a selection of patterns found on Bisto wares that use the image of the Rose - note how there are floral groups, single flowers, swags etc and how the flower is used both as a central design feature and in border patterns. The Edwardians were very fond of the Rose and it appears on many designs from that period.

Goo Goo Gaa Gaa...

My partner and I took a trip to Salisbury, Wiltshire today for a stroll around this very well-to-do and very attractive city. If you've never been and you get the chance to go, do, it's lovely. Well, I have a favourite antiques shop there that climbs over three levels and houses many wonderful things from: furniture, antiquities, old books, photographs and postcards, silverware and pottery galore. Salisbury and this shop, is not really a cheap city to visit; so make sure you go just after your paycheck has arrived or with lots of birthday money in your pockets. I first saw a trefoil shaped dish in a cabinet on the ground floor: 1930s, BISTO's attempt at Art Deco mixing geometric trees and black bands with a more traditional body shape - not very successful and to be honest rather ugly. But it was BISTO and I was tempted, rather than come home with nothing. I thought I'd come back to it if I found nothing else. On to the top floor and peeking out from beneath a pile of other things I saw this baby's bowl with an image of Little Red Riding Hood and went Goo Goo Gaa Gaa over it. I have seen the design before and recognised it as BISTO instantly but I couldn't see a price label as it was obscured by the rest of the pile. I duly asked the man behind the desk to open the cabinet for me and saw it was £45 - hmmph, more than i would've like to pay at this stage in the month, but certainly a VERY good price as even chipped ones can go for over a hundred. This bowl is in fantastic conditon, no chips or restoration and only minor knife marks - what a find. I left it for half an hour then had to go back. The man knocked a fiver off for me and I am now delighted to add it to my collection and show it to you. This may be the start of a nursery ware section of my collection. I have previously blogged about another dish I saw on Ebay but never got round to bidding on it. May be i'll be more proactive about bidding now.

Honfleur

I was recently contacted by someone asking about the pattern called Honfleur. Although I don't have any pieces in my own collection, I was able to tell the emailer that this aesthetic style pattern came in different colourways - three of which are illustrated here: blue and white, brown transfer and with handcoloured enamels. The above pattern mark shows that the design was registered by Powell Bishop & Stonier and you can accurately date it if you have a registration reference guide ( i don't, sorry). The name Honfleur was used by several other factories, such as Wedgwood and bizarrely, Noritake. Many of P.B&S 's aesthetic designs were produced in plain brown transfer and mainly exported abroad. They also produced designs with coloured enamels and other colourways such as black/grey and white, pink & white. I do find the Brown & White not so appealling, but i understand it is highly collected in the USA.

Bishop England

You will find elsewhere on my blog a timeline for the factory and some info about maker's marks. The above two examples illustrate the trademark of "Bishop". The first, is an example of when the name 'Stonier' was dropped - when the firm of George Jones bought out the factory. They decided to keep the name of Bishop as it was well known. The second mark illustrated is of "BISHOP MADE IN ENGLAND". It was employed by George Jones, perhaps in an attempt to break away from the name of the original factory ownership, but to retain the name of Bishop and create a new identity for the pottery (in the late 1930s).

Ebay Police

I hate to admit it, I'm one of those terrible people that feels he needs to police Ebay and comment on wrongly listed items (when it suits me, that is). If I come across a listing that is factually incorrect - wrong dates, wrong names, wrong pattern etc, I tend to email the seller to let them know. How sad is that? And how rude! Anyway, this set of bowls (pattern name: Leicester) was advertised as being by Pinder Bourne & Co. I have found this to be a common listing mistake as people will look for P&B in their marks reference books and make the wrong assumption. The evidence that it is not by Pinder Bourne is the accompanying mark of Oriental Ivory. The irony is that I myself have bought items that I knew were incorrectly described because I wanted to grab a bargain and thought it might go for significantly more money if people knew the correct attribution. This canny git side of me has snaffled several bits for my collection that other collectors may not have found because the seller didn't properly do their research. So, why did I interfere with this auction, well, it's not the most exciting pattern is it? ..... but if it had been a whole dinner service, it might've been different...

Peacocks

The Victorians and Edwardians seemed to love the image of peacocks in design. Many pottery factories used them on their work - one of my favourites is a fantasticly rich design by Thomas Forrester in the Phoenix ware range. They fit so well with the Art Nouveau aesthetic. The toilet set shown here is on an Oriental Ivory body and extremely beautiful in it's extravagently chintzy looking design. Perfect for the time and again in the Laura Ashley decors of the early 1980s, but out of fashion now. Still, someone liked it enough to part with over £400 for it at auction according to one internet site. The problem with sets like these is not many people have the room to either display them, or even to use them. It's sad to say, but sometimes the jugs, bowls, and even the chamber pots alone are more saleable them sets because they can at least be used. Spitoons are perhaps a bit harder to swallow nowadays.

Diversifying your collection

There comes a point in any collector's life that they begin to wonder, should i diversify? The options open to a collector about what and how to collect are many and it can be hard for some people to remain focussed! I know from experience that I have found my eye wandering... I have begun to think about other BISTO (not gravy) connections and how i might introduce them into my collection; one such addition would be the Ogdens cigarettes card set of "Modern" British potteries which was produced in the early years of the 20th Century. It included images of wares from all the major British pottery manufacturers of the time: from Wedgwood, Moorcroft,Carltonware, Poole etc to the now less well known: Forresters, Elton, Clews etc. I say "less well known", of course to collectors of these wares and ceramics enthusiasts, they are not so, but to the general 'Flog It' watching public, they will hardly ever have heard of these great factories. One of the cards in the set is of a BISTO dragon vase. It's a double gourd shape, probably number 27, and has a glorious orange background with stunning dragon image. I have to say, if i ever found one (pref. with the stand shown in the picture) i'd give my eye teeth for it. And how do i know it's number 27 in shape? well, the wonders of Ebay.... I had seen for sale a vase of the same shape, but with the fruit design I have on a ginger jar. Godness, i'm such a ceramics geek.

Royal memorabilia and souvenir wares

It is not uncommon to find Royal memorabilia or souvenir wares produced by various Staffordshire potteries as they were a great money spinner of the day. Collectors of these wares are widespread and they will be able to tell you more accurately than I how much you should expect to pay for wares commemorating different monarchs or events, but generally speaking, the less popular the monarch was in their day, the more rare and valuable the pieces are today. Commemorative wares were not restricted to events such as Royal coronations, birthdays or jubilees but were sometimes made for local events and civic functions. The plate above is a very strange and, i believe, rare example of a plate commemorating the matyrdom of a Protestant believer at the hands of Roman Catholic Bishop Bonner. in Tudor England.

A beaker commemorating a Royal Visit to the town of Leek in 1913 - obviously a very big event for a small town!

the coronation of Edward VII and his wife Mary in 1902

The plate above was produced to commemorate PEACE after World War I and was presented by Samuel Samuel M.P to celebrate "The Great Victory of the British Empire". This interesting piece of social history tells us so much about that time when the "Empire" was still looked on with respect and pride. Mr Samuel was a businessman and conservative MP for Putney at this time. This little trinket box (sadly missing its lid) was given to me as a birthday present by some friends and is a really lovely little thing. It commemorates the coronation of King George V. The mark on the bottom is quite unusual for the company - perhaps they were keen to differentiate their wares from poorer quality commemorative pottery. It also gives us a good bit of historical info that it was produced at their Hanley factory.

This stunning jug was made to celebrate the 1887 Jubilee of Queen Victoria. It has a black transfer print of the royal coat of arms on an ivory body and indeed, is marked as Oriental Ivory. The portrait of her Majesty is rendered in a sepia toned transfer. I was extremely gutted to have lost out on this jug on Ebay recently, sadly finances prevented me from placing a large bid to secure it. I was interested to see that the winning bidder is an avid collector of Royal commemorative wares, so I wish them well in adding this find jug to their collection (sob, sob). The jug was not advertised as being by P.B&S so i found it by searching for Oriental Ivory

To Top It All Off...

Here is the latest addition to my BISTO collection and I am so delighted by it. Like every other pottery manufacturer, Bishop & Stonier had to advertise their wares. A pin dish such as this may have been given free to retailers to help plug the company's name with their customers or simply to remind the retailer to buy from them again. It shows the company's two prevailing trademark maker's marks of the day: the wand of caduceus and the oriental ivory man with parasol. The mark on the back says of the type of pottery that is is "Semi Imperial Porcelain". Quite what this means I have no idea! It is quite likely that although it was not true bone china or fine porcelain, the company still wanted to give the message to it's customers that it was a fine type of pottery. Also on the reverse of the dish is an impressed caduceus mark and the number 04, signifying that it was potted in 1904 - so an early Edwardian piece when the company truly was of "WORLD WIDE REPUTATION" as it so boldly states.

Stunning!

Well, what can I say? This really is a trully stunning coffee set, handpainted with mountain and lakeland landscape scenes and deliciously decorated with gilt on the handles and coffeepot spout. My hunch is that there would've been a tray in the set too, but sadly the seller doesn't have it. I am crossing all fingers and toes that i will be able to add this to my collection shortly as i will sit so nicely next to the other handpainted pieces i already own.

On a completely unrelated and non-pottery note ("what's this? a diversion from ceramics," you ask. Well, yes, I just had to share this fantastic song by Calpernia Adams, a transexual with Attitude, as it sums up this coffeeset so well for me - just follow the link) http://youtube.com/watch?v=dJFkrG9YOE4

More London Landmarks

I recently blogged about P.B & S London landmark series which includes images such as the Crystal Palace, the Houses of Parliament, Marble Arch etc. Well, here is a plate with the image of the Palace of Westminster fromt he other side of the river Thames. The foliate ornament is hand-coloured with enamels as is the geometric border.

Wishful Thinking

I normally buy things to add to my collection from antiques fairs, junk shops, charity shops and occasionally auctions, but most often from Ebay. Ebay has some sellers with their own online shops - presumably they have a physical retail premises somewhere but also choose to sell online. It was whilst browsing the ebay shops that i found a 1931 'part' dining set with hand coloured flower decoration. To many people's eyes they would be quite gross (in fact, i must admit, they're really NOT my cup of tea either and would've been much better for not having the sponged rim). Anyway, the astonishing, astounding and quite unbelievable part of this find was the price being asked. I'm not sure if this strategy works for this particular seller, but they sell parts of services on an individual "Buy It Now" basis. So, to actually buy their whole stock of this pattern, you would need to part with a whopping £549.82 to buy each individual plate, platter and tureen. All I can say is "Good luck" to them, coz i think they'll need it.

OF COURSE, the moral of this story is that things are only worth what someone is prepared to pay for them. As i have noticed that they have re-listed and re-listed this set many times with no sucess in selling them, I would suggest that in this instance, there is a bit of wishful thinking going on here - and as I am myself (to my knowledge), one of the biggest collectors of Bishop & Stonier and I would not be prepared to pay the price being asked, even if i did win the lottery, I would state the case even more firmly. Have a look and see what you think.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Bishop-Stonier-Art-Deco-Dinner-Plates-Circa-1931_W0QQitemZ260217857968QQihZ016QQcategoryZ25QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

If you are the seller of this set and you've found my blog, it's obviously not up to me what you charge for things, i just wish you all the best!

How times change

In the 1920s and 30s, Bishop & Stonier produced quite a collection of illustrated pottery which may now be termed as 'Nursey Ware' because the images often depicted popular childrens stories, or folktales. This baby plate ( not in my collection, but i'm hoping it will be) depicts the rhyme of "A Frog He Would A Wooing Go, Whether His Mother Would Let Him Or No". One could quite easily fill entire cabinets with BISTO nursey ware as it appears this became a staple market for the company of this period and there are many delightful designs to be found. http://www.decorativeart.co.uk/coukcatind51_52.htm This teapot - sadly not in my collection (yet!) shows just how times have changed and how things that once were widly acceptable, are now very no PC. This design by Kathleen Ainslie was taken from Florence Upton’s “The Adventures of Two Dutch Dolls and a Golliwog" and shows, presumably, the Two Dutch Dolls. The example above was sold on the decorativeart.co.uk website for £150 - so obviously something to look out for folks!

How much?!?

I was recently contacted by a lady who wanted some advice on a tureen that she had - an ivory body with the pattern named ASTER. I commented that part of the design, the border, was used on other pieces. With this info in mind, i set about looking for a picture to illustrate my point and came across this platter from P.B&S London series which illustrated famous London landmarks - in this instance, the Crystal Palace. As it turned out, I was wrong that the border pattern was exactly the same - sorry Jessica - but i'm sure you'll agree it is very similar. I have seen a few things from the London landmarks series before, sometimes in plain brown transfer, sometimes handcoloured. What surprised me most about this piece was not the pattern, but the price being asked by the retailer - $395 I knew the image of the Crystal Palace was collectable, but that is quite astounding for something that was really meant as just a bit of tourist ware.

What the critics had to say

I ocassionally surf for titbits of info about Powell Bishop & Stonier and recently came across a contemporary review from an exhibition held in Melbourne, Australia in 1881. I think this review has been scanned into some DTP programme which "reads" the original - so unfortunately and inevitably, there are some transcription mistakes, but you can get the general idea at this link: http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=NOT18810106.2.10&cl=&srpos=0&st=1&e=-------en--1----0-all It appears they won 5 medals for their works at that exhibition and were a well known company for both the quality and affordability of their wares.

In Love with Lewes

Today was a beautiful sunny day on the third day of a two week holiday. It was touch and go whether i'd be doing anything at all today other than the housework as my partner's paycheck was not expected to be cleared - but miracle of miracles it was, so we headed off to Lewes in East Sussex. This beautiful town is a favourite haunt for antiques shopping and has half a dozen or so places to go for a good rummage. On my last visit, I bought a splendid oriental ivory jug which now sits in a line of other jugs on top of a bookcase, and the time before that I came away with a splendid Miako patterned tazza ( the rest of the set is still in the same shop, but it's heavily overpriced, so i think i'll wait another year to see if it's still there and whether there's room for negotiation! On this occasion, I didn't expect much in the way of the Bisto front as I thought i'd completely cleared out the town of it on my last trip. How wrong I was. In the first place we visited, the splendid Lewes Flea Market, I unearthed several plates and a trio set (cup, saucer and sandwich plate). These pieces were: a P.B&S (Powell Bishop & Stonier) oriental ivory range plate with the pattern name "Pagoda" ( i have the same pattern on a much fancier and more colourful plate which i've previously blogged - can you spot it?); A large soup bowl/dish with the Nankin pattern - my first piece with this pattern; a large, colourful plate with a chinoiserie pattern of a boy holding a flower - again a pattern that I have in another colourway; a handpainted trio set which is probably my youngest piece and bears the wand of caduceus mark with Bishop England underneath. This one shop's haul shows a wide range of the factory's wares and timeline. The trio shows clear influence from designers like Clarice Cliff. and the octagonal Pagoda plate is similar in style to Mason's Ashworth Ironstone. Whilst I would love to have complete services of all these patterns, it's almost impossible to track them down, complete services are usually extremely expensive and where would i put them? I'm now starting to think of boxing up much of my collection, cataloguing it and storing it in the loft. If this happens, i feel i may have to have a loft conversion if only to have the floor up there strengthened to take the weight of it all. Of course, that is the curse of being a collector, living with the consequences of your hoarding addiction! (Tom, you see, i was listening...)