SQUIRRELS ON TRANSFERWARE

John Meir (1812-1836) "Flora Pattern" 10 inch plate, ca. 1825.

January 21 is National Squirrel Day.  As I have mentioned before, there appears to be a national day for almost everything.  I love squirrels.  (Not so much when they eat my birdseed.)  I have written about squirrels before,* so take a look at the links at the bottom of this post.  Luckily for me, squirrels were popular transferware patterns, so I have a few more to show you.  Remember that the squirrel you see on 19th century English transferware  is the Eurasian or British red squirrel, not the interloper who goes by the name of the Eastern or American grey (sometimes gray) squirrel.  The print below is the source print for the squirrel in the "Flora Pattern" plate above.  It is from the "Cabinet of Quadrupeds" by John Church.

"Common Squirrel" from the "Cabinet of Quadrupeds" by John Church, 1805. This is a red squirrel.

The following patterns are similar to the source print, but were probably not copied from it.

This cup may be from a child's tea service.  I like the excellent print.

"A Squirrel For Mary" child's yellow glazed mug

Child's Mug

Child's plate with a molded alphabet border

Many squirrel patterns appear on children's items.  For example, the child's teapot below. It is printed with a squirrel copied from Thomas Bewick's "The General History Of Quadrupeds," which was first published in 1790. 

Child's teapot printed with a squirrel copied from Thomas Bewick's "The General History Of Quadrupeds," which was first published in 1790. 

"The Squirrel" from "The General History of Quadrupeds" by Thomas Bewick. 

 The squirrels below are part of Aesthetic Movement patterns. All, except the child's plate, are on items intended for use by adults. 

T. & R. Boote (1842-1906) 6 inch by 6 inch tile known as Four Seasons, ca. 1880.

Unknown Maker, 6.5 inch Pitcher, ca. 1880

David Methven & Sons (1847-1928) "Squirrel" pattern 10.5 inch bowl, ca. 1880.

Child's plate with a molded alphabet border, a squirrel, and Aesthetic Movement decoration.

As I said, I do love squirrels, just not the mess they make of my bird feeder!

Squirrel on my bird feeder.  It is an American Grey Squirrel.  The squirrel needed to jump onto the roof of my house and shimmy down the feeder in order to steal the food!

*Endangered Animals And Transferware and "Flora Pattern" And Squirrels