REINDEER ON TRANSFERWARE?

In a nod to the season, I thought I would write about reindeer.  Actually, it was my sister Janet Rudolph, who blogs at Dying For Chocolate and Mystery Fanfare, who suggested it.  She had just visited the reindeer at the California Academy Of Sciences in San Francisco, so she wondered if there were reindeer on transferware.

Reindeer at the California Academy of Sciences/Photo courtesy of Janet Rudolph

The Don Pottery (Green & Co) 1801-1839 made a reindeer pattern.  A woman is milking a reindeer. The front of a sledge appears in the left corner of the plate. The pattern seems to be a rendering of a Lapland scene or Arctic scene (summer, of course). If you look carefully, you'll see two more reindeer in the background.

Don Pottery Reindeer Pattern, 4.5 inch plate, ca. 1820

The reindeer in the plate, however, didn't look the same as the reindeer at the Academy.  The horns were quite different.  I did a bit of googling and found the Norwegian reindeer with velvet horns (actually horns covered with fur).

Norwegian reindeer/The antlers are covered with fur

Although they look wild and share many physical characteristics with their wild cousins, reindeer are often domesticated animals. Members of a species (Rangifer tarandus) that also include wild caribou were first domesticated in the Eurasian Arctic more than 2,000 years ago. They’re still commonly raised as pack animals, as well as for their energy-rich milk.

My interest in reindeer goes back to my early childhood when I first heard the song, Rudolph The Red Nosed-Reindeer sung by Gene Autry.  My maiden name is Rudolph, so I felt a kinship with him.

DOGS ON TRANSFERWARE

Enoch Wood & Sons (1818-1846), The Point 3.5 inch cup plate, ca. 1825/Notice that the only part of the border used is the stringing on the inner part of the border

When it comes to dog patterns on transferware, you are spoiled for choice!  I certainly had a tough time figuring out which patterns I wanted to include in this blog post.  As with the cat patterns, see my post Cats On Transferware,  most of the dogs appear on children's plates and mugs, but there are also many patterns on dinner services (and other items intended for adults).  For example, the Transferware Collectors Club shows nine patterns in their database which feature dogs in Enoch Wood & Sons' Sporting Series.  There are five patterns with dogs in the Quadrupeds series by John Hall & Sons.  I'll show you a few of the patterns.

Enoch Wood & Sons, Water Spaniel 10 inch plate

Enoch Wood & Sons, Three Hounds 5.75 inch plate

You can read more about the Setter plate seen below in my blog post titled Golden Retriever. 

Enoch Wood & Sons, Setter 10 inch soup plate

Enoch Wood & Sons Running Dogs 4.5 inch cup plate

Enoch Wood & Sons Pointer and Quail 8.5 inch plate

Here are a few dogs from the Quadrupeds series.

John Hall (& Sons) 1814-1832 Mastiff  6.5 inch plate, ca. 1825

John Hall English Setter 5.5 inch plate

John Hall Dalmation or Coach Dog 6 inch plate

I thought I would also show another dog pattern. This one was made by Ralph Stevenson (& Son).  All of the items in the Stevenson service have the same central pattern.  The dog is similar to Wood's Water Spaniel, but it is actually a springer spaniel.

Ralph Stevenson (& Son) 1810-1835, Springer Spaniel, 10 inch plate, ca. 1825

My last photo is a vignette of patterns that feature dogs.  Only the soup plate is part of a dinner service, but at least all of the items were intended for adults!

Clockwise:  Herculaneum soup plate, Field Sports; Unknown maker stilton cheese stand, Game Keeper; Unknown maker jug with pointer (same pointer that is seen in the Enoch Wood plate above); Unknown maker toothbrush box lid

ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS, SOME SOURCE PRINTS AND MORE

I have written about zoo patterns in my post titled Transferware Zoo Patterns #1, but here I want to focus on  Zoological Gardens by Ralph & James Clews (1814-1834). The London Zoological Gardens opened in 1828 to great fanfare. As the Staffordshire potters often capitalized on popular culture, many of them  printed zoo patterns on their dinner and tea services.   Zoological Gardens  features different animal enclosures on most sizes and shapes.  The lacy border and fairly realistic center patterns seem to be a bridge between earlier 1820s patterns and 1830s Romantic patterns.  The center patterns were often copied from illustrations of the actual zoo.

Below is a 17.25 inch by 14 inch platter that features the Brahmin-Bull House.  The source print for the platter was created by George Scharf the elder (1788-1860).  Scharf was a well-known artist and lithographer who did many illustrations of early 19th century London.  

Zoological Gardens by Ralph & James Clews, 17.25 inches by 14 inches platter, ca 1830/Other ruminants in the enclosure are a llama and a cow.

Brahmin-Bull House by George Scharf the elder, ca. 1830

Clews Zoological Gardens 12 inch by 10 inch platter, Ostrich House

Clews also copied the artwork found in an early zoo guidebook for children titled Henry and Emma's Visit to the Zoological Gardens, In The Regent's Park by James Bishop, 1830.  The platter to the right shows the Ostrich House.  The source print is below.

Another pattern copied from Henry And Emma's Visit is The Otter House,  which is seen on an 8 inch plate and its source print below. 

Clews Zoological Gardens 8 inch plate

A few years ago I purchased a Zoological Gardens soup tureen undertray in blue, but the mark had the initials for Podmore Walker & Co. (1834-1859)!

Podmore Walker & Co. Zoological Gardens 16 inches by 12.75 inches soup undertray

Unlike the Clews' items, the tray is poorly printed  and the already busy border  includes a cartouche filled with bird, flowers and fruit. The pattern is The Deer House (see the source print below).  It appears that Podmore Walker & Co. may have purchased the copper plates when Clews went bankrupt in 1834.

Pottery printed with zoo patterns gave the general public a look at what was in the zoo.   You may wonder why people didn't just go to the zoo, but  the London Zoo was not open to the public until 1847! 

CATS ON TRANSFERWARE

Although not as popular as dogs on transferware, cats are found on many patterns.  I love dogs and cats, actually any animal (perhaps not most insects or arachnids). I have noticed that most of my favorite cat patterns are found on items made for children, but not all.  Below are some of my favorite  patterns plus a few of my favorite cats.  All of the china is 19th century.  The cats are more recent.

Child's plate,  The Mischievous Cat, 5.5 inches/The cat has killed a pet bird.  Today we might call the pattern Bad Cat! This may be another inappropriate pattern for children.

Child's mug/Do you think the girl will be able to teach the cat a lesson?

Child's mug, Cat After Bird, 3.75 inches/Two handles would make the mug easier for a young child to hold

Joey waits for a bird to come to the birdbath

Bowl, 4 inches high by 9.5 inches in diameter, ca. 1825/The child cuddles the cat and looks at a dog

Child's mug, 3 inches high/the cat is not amused by the dog!

Child's alphabet plate, Cat And Kittens, 7 inches, Thomas & Benjamin Godwin (1809-1834)

Cats can be very decorative!  Here is my 25 pound Ragdoll

THANKSGIVING AND TURKEYS ON TRANSFERWARE

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays.  It is about food, family, fun and, of course, thanks.   There is always way too much food and family and friends at the table.  For this, I am thankful.  Here are some of my favorite turkey patterns, as well as some photos of the wild turkeys roaming the Oakland-Berkeley Hills near my sister's home,  and a photo of my Thanksgiving table last year. 

Turkey hen looking for food in my sister's garden. Photo courtesy of Janet Rudolph

Turkey hen and chicks roaming the Oakland-Berkeley Hills.  Photo courtesy of Janet Rudolph

Enoch Wood & Sons (1818-1846) 7.25 inch child's plate, ca. 1825

Turkey with chicks 6.5 inch child's plate/The proper name for a baby turkey is a poult

Don Pottery (1801-1839) 6.5 inch plate/The source print is from Thomas Bewick's History of British Birds, Vol. I, 1797.

Turkey 7 inch child's plate with feather edge, ca. 1820

Turkey and Other Birds dessert dish in the Ornithological Series, ca. 1820

Thanksgiving 2012/Notice the Spode "Italian" pattern plates

We had 14 people for dinner last year.  Thanksgiving 2013 will see 18 people trying to fit around the table (which has seven leaves).  Liam makes 19 people, but he is only three weeks old so doesn't need his own place at the table. 

TRANSFERWARE SOAP DISH

Nineteenth century British transfer printed soap dishes could be some of the most ephemeral items.  Soap, water, and china eventually meet with disaster!  I have only owned a few soap dishes in the last 20 years.  Here is one of my favorites from the early 19th century.

Soap dish, ca. 1825/Known as Lovick or Lovick's for the name of the China and Glass Emporium found printed on the bottom

Top of the Lovick's soap dish

Drainer and bottom of the Lovick's soap dish with the lid on the side

All three parts of the Lovick's soap dish/bottom, drainer and lid/A handle on the lid would have been a good idea!

YELLOW PRINTED BROWNWARE

I have been intrigued with transferware items printed in yellow on a brown body.  My husband likes this style of printing so much that I give it to him as a present (although I rarely find it).  When I searched the database of the Transferware Collectors Club,  I found 22 patterns printed in yellow on a brown body.  Although this type of printing does not have a formal name, Michael Bailey of England calls it "Yellow Printed Brownware" or YPB.

Yellow Printed Brownware in my collection.  Notice the sheet pattern jug on the top left.

 Below are some photos of individual YPB items.

Maker Unknown, Chinoiserie (Chinese style) Mug, 4.5 inches high, ca. 1810.  

Maker Unknown, Plate, 6.5 inches, ca. 1810

Maker Unknown, Eastern Port pattern jug, 5.5 inches high, ca. 1810

Most of the YPB patterns are Chinoiserie (in the Chinese style), but a few are printed with patterns intended for children.  Children's patterns are my favorites.  YPB is quite early, dating from around 1810, so it is lovely that items intended for children have survived so long.  If you want to learn more about YPB, take a look at the TCC link to an article titled Yellow Transfer Printed Brownware.

Maker Unknown, 2.5 inch child's mug, ca. 1810

Maker Unknown, child's alphabet mug, ca. 1810

Maker Unknown, Child's Mug, 2.5 inches high, ca. 1810/Notice the lovely saying on the mug

Most of the items found are jugs, cider mugs, small plates (really rare) and children's mugs.  I have never seen a tea or dinner service.  However, I have found a teapot from a child's tea set.

Yellow Printed Brownware teapot, 2.35 inches high.