SHELLS

Stubbs & Kent 9.75" Shell Pattern Soup Plate, c. 1825

Stubbs & Kent 9" Shell Pattern Sauce Tureen Undertray, c. 1825

Stubbs & Kent 19" Shell Pattern Platter, c. 1825

I have always liked shells.  They remind me of my childhood summers at the beach with my grandparents in Atlantic City, NJ.   I collected shells.  They smelled of sand and salt and the essence of the animals that lived in them.  So, when I first saw a dark blue plate with a shell center, I had to have it (a familiar refrain for me), and I wanted to know more about who made it.

I learned the pattern was from a series of shells and sea plants surrounded by flowers, scrolls,  and fruit!  (Sometimes there is a disconnect between the center and the border.)  Both Joseph Stubbs (1822-1834) and the partnership of Stubbs & Kent (1822-1830) made the series.  It is printed in dark blue for the American Market.  Although the blue is dark, there is usually good contrast.  So far, there are thirteen different center patterns from this series in the Pattern and Source Print Database of the Transferware Collectors Club.