Antique English printed stoneware

Still trying to figure out why

we are so crazy

for these 

little printed

English stoneware 

pots and crocks.

I think

that it probably 

has something to do

with a love for 

the printed word, fonts,

and artful lettering.

These little beauties date back to a time

before there were paper labels.

And though some of them

are printed by transfering

a tissue with wet ink

that had been stamped 

using a copperplate 

(started during the 1820's through the start of WWI),

others even 

OLDER

have their lettering 

impressed into the stoneware

before it was glazed and fired.

So if you are out shopping

and you run across one of these items --

 be sure to run your fingers

over the printed letters

to determine if they are old

or

if they are 

really old!

English Transferware Collections

We love the designs and patterns of transferware.
English transferware looks great in groupings on a shelf,
layered in a buffet or hutch, or mix and matched on a table setting
for a romantic meal.





A Brief History of Transferware

"English transferware" refers to ceramics -- china, ironstone, etc. -- which has been glazed using a specific decorative treatment traditionally produced in Staffordshire, England. Some of the more popular manufacturers of transferware included Spode, Ridgway, Adams, Clews, Johnson Brothers, and Wedgwood.

The transfer printing process was developed in 1756 using copper plates which were etched with a design. The plate was then inked and the pattern was "transferred" to a special tissue. The inked tissue is then laid onto a bisque-fired ceramic item, which would be glazed and fired again.

The transfer printing process caught on quickly and was later adopted by Josiah Wedgwood to create his popular, ivory based "Creamware". Prior to the development of transfer printing, only the most affluent English families could afford complete dinnerware sets, because every dish was carefully hand-painted by an artisan and thus, very expensive.

Transfer printing allowed hundreds of sets of plateware to be produced in a fraction of the time and cost of their hand-painted counterparts, and allowed middle-class families to have both utilitarian and decorative pieces for their homes. Transfer printing was originally produced in single-color items only, with the favorite hues in blue, red, black, brown, purple and green. Brown tended to be rather a common and inexpensive color, while blue was the most sought after and expensive color.

(Taken in part from Erasofelegance.com)

Do you have a collection of English transferware?

What color do you collect -- blue,

red, purple, black, brown, or green?

Photo credits include: Country Living, House Beautiful, Eclecticrevisited.wordpress.com, thetransferware.com, btchwstix.blogspot.com, goodlifeofdesign.blogspot.com, antiqueonline.ning.com, euroantiquemarket.blogspot.com, stonegable.blogspot.com, bonnesamies.com, flickr.com, cottagegardens.teresa.smith.blogspot.com