Poole Room Blog

BBC Antiques Road Trip

2011-02-12T16:01:00.001Z

The BBC Antiques Road Trip programme has been back on the screens of late in series 2. I have to admit to quite liking this show, even though it seems to depend on the experts beating dealers down to way below cost price. Why do the dealers always end up saying "oh alright then"? It just proves there are three prices in this world - retail price, wholesale price and TV price!

Anyhow, apart from that quibble, it is a fairly watchable show with picturesque views, amiable banter and classic cars. It is good to see how many antiques shops still survive round the country and the interesting stock that can be found.

This series came close to home when it visited the Townsford Mill Antiques Centre in Halstead (or Hall-stead as Tim Wonnacott calls it) in episode 24, filmed in May 2010. David Barby and Philip Serrell both bought some silver and Philip stood in front of my own cabinet at one point (blocking the view!) but didn't look at the Poole. Just as well, I probably couldn't afford a visit from them.

Then in epsiode 28 Anita Manning visited the Poole Pottery Studio on the quay in Poole. She threw a slightly wobbly pot with Alan White. The top fell off at one point, to which Alan drolly observed that it would now be a smaller pot than anticipated! Good to see the Studio getting some TV exposure.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00xgqvf

Chris White

2009-10-10T12:27:00.010+01:00

I recently heard from Chris White, who was a thrower at Poole between 1975 and 1980, and whose distinctive CW monogram can often be found on the hand-thrown Delphis, Aegean, Traditional and other pots of this period. In fact, Chris thinks he must have thrown tens of thousands of pots!

Chris has been living and working in Finland for 30 years as a ceramist, having 10 Finnish Master Championships, 2 Scandinavian Master Championships and exhibitions in Japan, Sweden, Holland, England and France. More recently, he has become a wilderness guide as well! You can read more about his current venture at his website http://www.northtrek.net/.

Chris tells me that he has just got his pottery workshop into working order. In the workshop I was surprised to learn he still has the turning lathe that Jimmy Soper used to turn all the hand-thrown ware in the Craft section at Poole Pottery. This was to give a smooth surface to the pots for the paintresses to work on.

I hadn't realised Jimmy Soper was still working at Poole in the 1970's. He is, of course, best remembered for the banded vases of the late 1930's and early 1950's which echoed the style of Keith Murray at Wedgwood. Chris says "You could say Jimmy was part of the old Poole Pottery, he worshiped the place, and had his hands full teaching us young ones! One day he put 3 or 4 trucks of ware outside to dry (for turning), he didnt noticed that they had frozen, when he bought them in they all started to collapse!`Well I´m Buggered´ was his comment."

Chris bought the lathe from Poole Pottery together with the original blocks used for shapes 15, 31, 84, 93 and 660. Chris promised Jimmy he would take care of the lathe - which he has, as it is still in excellent working order!

This picture is of some of Chris's more recent ceramic work. If any old workmates would like to get in touch Chris would be pleased to hear from you via his website.

The Official Poole Pottery Collectors Club

2008-07-17T15:19:00.004+01:00

We have received the following press release from the Poole Pottery Collectors Club:

Offering a great deal of benefits for the collector and Poole Pottery enthusiast, members will receive a club badge modelled on the new club emblem “The Galleon”, club magazines and membership card which entitles the holder to a 10% discount off limited edition pieces at the Poole shop on the Quay.

A brand new feature for the very first time is a member’s only website containing a huge online reference library of information just waiting to be discovered, and member’s only forum to chat with other members.

We have various membership options to include single, joint & international, we have also included a special rate for Poole Dorset residents, along with a special rate for current and former Poole Pottery artists/designers.

To join the Poole Pottery Collectors Club online please visit www.poolepotterycollectorsclub.co.uk or you may call in at the Poole shop on the quay for an application form, we would be very pleased to see you. Alternatively you may call Steve on 01285 659674 (daytime) or Ed on 0114 2530054 (evenings) to request an application form.

Since March 2008 Ed and Steve have worked tirelessly to launch the new and official Poole Pottery Collectors Club and are delighted to announce that in conjunction with Peter Bello, Chief Executive, Poole Pottery 2007 Limited, the club is now open with members already joining and the club is growing day by day, Ed and Steve are looking forward to welcoming new members during the coming months.

I am delighted to welcome you to the new Poole Pottery Collectors Club to which Poole Pottery is giving its full support.

Lifestyle Group purchased the assets of Poole Pottery from administration in 2007. Since then, we have been actively re-building the infrastructure and the Poole brand. We established a Studio Pottery in the Poole Store on the Quay. Design, Limited Editions and production of certain lines sold in the store are manufactured by the Studio Pottery.

The team on the quay consists of Alan White, the Master Potter and artists - Jane Brewer, Nicola Massarella, and sprayer, Graham Moss. The latest creation from the team is African Sky which was recently launched and proving to be a best-seller.

The Poole production facilities were recreated at the Royal Stafford site in Stoke on Trent under the guidance of Norman Tempest, Managing Director of Poole 2007 and Royal Stafford. Alan and his team relocated to Stoke for 15 weeks to assist in training the artists and production team. This was a mammoth task – involving the removal of kilns, production machinery and people. Glazes had to be re-formulated and in some cases – from scratch, the first Poole Pottery production in Stoke commenced in September 2007. Capacity has increased ever since and we are delighted with the results achieved by the Stoke Team led by the factory’s manager, John Nixon.

Our initial focus was to restore the production of the best selling lines such as Volcano and Gemstones. In the Spring of 2008, we launched African Sky and Himalayan Poppy. We have just released initial quantities of the Imagination Design – which is a new departure in Duck Egg Blue, Cream and Metallic hues. The design is contemporary and in keeping with current colour trends.

We are keen to work closely with the Collectors Club. We recognise that member’s feedback can be a tremendous asset. We are keen to preserve the heritage of the brand we have inherited. We are acutely aware of the troubled waters that Poole has navigated through over recent years. Our focus is to develop the brand and manufacture the Collectables of tomorrow.

I do hope to hear from and meet members in the near future.

Peter Bello
Chief Executive
Poole Pottery 2007 Limited
Lifestyle Group Limited

Poole Museum

2008-05-24T17:10:00.005+01:00

Poole Museum has recently re-opened after refurbishment. On display is an extensive collection of Poole Pottery, mainly sourced from the Poole Pottery Museum archive auction at Christies in March 2004. Many of these pieces are pictured in the Hayward and Atterbury Poole Pottery book.

The earliest items are examples of Owen Carter’s lustre ware dating from just after the turn of the century, displayed together with James Radley Young lustre, unqlazed and early tin glazed pieces from c. 1915. A particularly striking piece is the green lustre-glazed vase with a moulded Lizard decoration applied by Lily Graham.

There are some interesting and rarely seen Harold and Phoebe Stabler and Joseph Roelants figures dating from 1915-1920, including the iconic Buster Boy figure and an elaborate bull figure group. This apparently retailed at £6 6s at top department stores Heals and Liberty’s when issued. There is a selection of bookends from the mid to late 1920’s, including elephant and mounted knight models by Harold Brownsword and a Harold Stabler small galleon.

Moving onto more familiar territory there are quite a few 1930’s Truda Carter designed traditional pieces, including two good art deco patterns (GPA and YE), and also a number of Arthur Bradbury designed ship plates. One of these depicts an Empire Flying Boat from 1940 in Poole Harbour; only 6 of these were made.

The 1950’s is represented by a small number of items from the Alfred Read period, including a 12” Freya plate and Poole Pottery plaque designed by his daughter Ann Read. There is also a collection of coronation pieces.

Delphis and Studio fans may be a little disappointed as there is nothing particularly spectacular from this period, although there is a small collection of 1960’s pieces and some 1970’s Aegean and Atlantis. Unusual is a carved vase by Tony Morris and Guy Sydenham, which is a copy of a vase presented to HRH Princess Margaret in 1966, and an early Robert Jefferson owl dish.

One curiosity is the red stoneware miniature bottle kiln made by Guy Sydenham in 1973 to commemorate the centenary of Poole Pottery. This is pictured in H&A on p168 but is quite fun to look at for real as the interior of the kiln contains miniature examples of pots in all the different Poole Pottery styles from Owen Carter lustre ware to 1970’s Delphis.

Away from the display cabinets is an extensive collection of Carter Tiles, including the famous Edward Bawden designed tile panel depicting a map of Poole and the words “Here in 1873 at Poole Pottery were Carter tiles first made”. There are also various architectural sculptures, faience plaques and a video film of the factory in c. 1970. This includes some footage of Guy Sydenham throwing.

The entire third floor is dedicated to Pottery and ceramics of various kinds and other interesting exhibits include 16th & 17th century Bellarmines, known to have influenced Guy Sydenham, and a collection of Broadstone Joyous pottery (often mis-sold as Poole).

At the time of writing the museum is open from Monday to Saturday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and on Sundays from 12 p.m. until 5 p.m. Admission is free. However, please check details with the museum before visiting.

Return of The Blogger!

2007-10-24T21:31:00.000+01:00

Apologies, but I have been neglecting this blog recently due to other commitments. So what's been happening in the last few months?

Poole Pottery is still at the quay shop, but still looking for new premises I understand. No change there then. Giftware is being produced and painted in Staffordshire and I have heard that retailers are now receiving supplies. I was on holiday in Devon this summer and it was quite a shock on visiting the Dartington Glass factory to see the Poole section in the shop stocked only with Lifestyle branded products of a most un-Poole like nature.

The studio section within the quay shop is now operational after some initial delays and the limited edition Sunface plates are reaching their owners. There has been quite a turnover of store managers in the last few months, Michael Collins being the latest and, I am assured, best so far! A new initiative seems to be the selling of one-offs and special editions through Poole Pottery Online, an eBay shop.

For the last few months the Poole Pottery website has just displayed a holding page saying "Under New Management". However, at the time of writing the website seems to have disappeared altogether so I am not sure what is happening in that department.

An interesting development is that Roger Hartley of Poole Zone has acquired some retail space upstairs within the quay shop, together with a small workshop, and is selling the current work of ex-Poole paintresses such as Carol Cutler, Janet Laird, Sue Pottinger and Lynn Gregory under the Poole Zone brand. This is said to be in collaboration with Poole Pottery, rather than in competition. One obvious possibility is that this will form the basis of an enlarged Poole Studio operation, featuring familiar names from the past as an attraction to collectors. Something to keep an eye on. I hope to be able to visit in the next few weeks.

Over the summer I had the pleasure of meeting with, and interviewing, Nikki Massarella, for an article that will appear in the forthcoming issue of the "All About Poole Pottery" collectors journal (which will probably be published in Spring 2008). Nikki is a delightful lady with a wonderful career at Poole Pottery spanning 28 years. I would love to tell you more but I had better wait until the magazine is published!

Talking of publications, I see that this months edition of Antiques Info magazine has an article on Poole Pottery written by Roland Head, together with three pages of illustrated auction results. The article is a well informed piece with some accurate observations on the secondary Poole marketplace, with the one quibble that the Alfred Read period is completely overlooked! I would argue that without the diversification of the product range and adoption of contemporary design philosophy that Read began in the 1950's there would have been no Delphis. He should not be underestimated! And, of course, there is a distinct market for 1950's pieces.

I believe Roland is the man behind the excellent Perfect Pieces blog (rather more frequently updated than my own!) He has been kind enough to link to this blog in the past so now I have an opportunity to return the favour.

Finally, we are just a couple of weeks away from the autumn Poole Pottery auction at Cottees. The catalogue has just been released and, as always, there is much to interest the Poole collector. More on this in due course.

Open Day at The Quay

2007-05-05T00:02:00.000+01:00

On the Sunday after the Cottees auction, the new owners of Poole Pottery held an open day at the Quay shop. This was organised for them by Roger Hartley of animallblues, and a very good job he did too in a short space of time.

If you have not heard the latest, the Poole Pottery brand has been bought by the Lifestyle Group and the quay shop re-opened, but the factory remains closed. At the moment the shop is mainly selling old stock, although I believe some items are being made at Lifestyle’s other factory in Staffordshire. A small studio section has also been established in the quay shop where Alan White is working.

John Robinson of Lifestyle gave a speech affirming their commitment to the brand, but also confirming that they will not be re-opening the factory. It is simply too expensive to run. However, they are looking for new premises in the quay area as there is only a short lease on the current shop. The pottery is a big tourist draw in Poole and the local council were said to be co-operating in the search. I had wondered whether the old Purbeck Pottery building might be the target but others had heard it was too small and too expensive. John commented that the Lifestyle Group are not asset strippers, and in any case there are hardly any assets to strip.

Alan White gave some throwing demonstrations, making it look deceptively easy to create perfectly shaped and sized bowls, without any apparent reference to a measure. The first limited edition from the new studio was launched at the open day and was on public display for the first time. It will be based on the Tony Morris sunface design, thrown and carved by Alan and decorated by Nicki Massarella. There will be two sizes, 30cm and 41cm, limited to 50 of each.

Roger had arranged for several ex-Poole paintresses to attend, including Carol Cutler, Janet Laird, Lynn Gregory and Debbie Farrance. I couldn’t resist the opportunity to ask Carol whether there was any story behind the early shape 81 dish of hers that I have, which is signed with the 1969 Y dot mark. It appears to have CND style roundels as part of the design and I had fondly imagined Carol, fresh out of art school, bringing protest into pottery. Sadly, Carol was unable to recall any particular interest in CND, or its logo, so we just had to put it down to a general influence of the period. Still, Carol was charming to talk to and did reveal that when she first started marks were simply allocated to paintresses, which is how she came to use the Y dot mark and others used their various symbols.

Amidst the Poole Pottery Roger had arranged a fine display of Poole Zone artists work, including Janet Laird, Carol Cutler, Anita Harris and Mark Baker. Mark, who runs the Tradpots pottery in Poole, is a really nice guy and was also at the open day. He produces some excellent pieces that clearly have a Poole heritage whilst still carrying a unique style of their own. I am particularly fond of the carved vases and have recently started to offer some of Mark’s items for sale through The Poole Room.

Another nice guy is Eddie Goodall, who has been throwing pots for many years and regularly gave demonstrations at Poole Pottery open days. Eddie actually taught both Alan and Mark to throw. Unfortunately, Eddie told us that he is still redundant following the factory closure. He spotted a massive Forest Flame vase he had made in the studio and agreed to pose with it (revealing it was made in four separate pieces). This vase is on the back of the 2006 catalogue, standing on the beach at Sandbanks.

All in all the open day set the tone for a positive future, which was enhanced by the involvement of the Poole Zone artists. Our best wishes to all involved. All open day pictures in this post were taken by fellow AAPP group member Paul Prince, and are used with his kind permission.

Sun Shines at Cottees Shock!

2007-05-04T19:31:00.000+01:00

Last Saturday saw the spring Poole Pottery auction at Cottees come round again. Unusually, the weather was glorious and, rather than freezing in the “shed” whilst trying to get near the solitary gas heater, everyone was roasted and the snack bar ran out of bottled water!

The event was a notable success this year, with more people attending than I have ever seen before. This can be attributed, I think, to the publicity surrounding the factory closure and also the activities of the All About Poole Pottery group. This group, founded by Dave Goddard, has recently published a Collector’s Journal, and is filling the space vacated by the official collectors club. Quite a few members attended the auction, some for the first time, and an enjoyable pre-auction dinner was held the night before at The Duke of Wellington in Wareham.

The catalogue estimates may have helped the turn-out as well, being set at a rather tempting level on the whole. Cottees also mailed a copy of the catalogue to everybody who had bought at the last auction, thus keeping interest up.

Unfortunately the number of people attending, along with an apparently healthy set of commission and telephone bids, meant that there were few bargains to be had. I was pleased to pick up a mixed bag of collectors club magazines and an old Christies catalogue for £10 hammer price on a maiden bid, but otherwise pickings were slim.

A lot I was particularly interested in was a Freya plate, designed by Ann Read in 1958, and featuring a hand-painted picture of Poole harbour with the bow of the vessel Freya in the foreground. This was estimated at £40-£60, although I had expected it to sell for around £120. In fact after fierce bidding it went for an astonishing £230 hammer!

In the end I had to make do with a Beardsley vase, replacing one I had sold a few months ago, a 1950’s contemporary cucumber dish and an early 8” Delphis “blue mark” studio plate. I paid slightly over what I had intended for all of them, so let’s hope the buoyant market continues!

Cottees must have been pleased with the auction results, there were very few unsold lots, the majority seemed to reach estimate and a good proportion far exceeded the top estimate. Despite the lack of bargain buys it was an enjoyable event and, as always, the opportunity to have a good look at rare items close up is a treat. There was a range of Tony Morris chargers, two Guy Sydenham Atlantis helmet lamps, a Harold Stabler galleon “door-stop” and some Phoebe Stabler figures that fetched good money. It was also a pleasure to meet fellow members of the AAPP group face-to-face. Roll on October.

Guy Sydenham Exhibition

2007-02-13T19:43:00.000Z

This week I visited the Guy Sydenham exhibition at the Dorset County Museum in Dorchester, which runs until March 10th 2007. Although a little expensive at £6, entry does include access to the rest of the museum.

And what a fascinating story the exhibition tells. If, like me, you know of Guy mainly as a name associated with the freeform, studio and Atlantis initiatives for Poole Pottery, then his wider story presented via information boards and exhibits gives a brand new insight into his life. His inspirations, his living and working environment, his family and his personal trauma are all introduced alongside some magnificent pottery from all periods.

Guy was born in London in 1916, but settled in Dorset in 1928. He studied at Poole School of Art in the 1930’s, and even then revealed a talent for creative pottery. The exhibition includes two “pot within a pot” examples that Guy made when he was 16 or 17. Moulded as one piece rather like a posy vase, the inner pots are glazed in a different colour to the cut-through outer pots. Apparently, Guy never revealed the secret of how he managed to do this!

He joined Poole Pottery in 1931 as a trainee thrower, where he was mentored by James Radley Young. By 1939 he was head thrower, but the war intervened. A few years after his return several big changes occurred in Guy’s life. In 1950 he got married, to Joan, and bought a large boat, the Oklahoma, which became home to the couple while moored in Poole Harbour. His son Russel was born on-board in 1954. Guy also began development of the freeform and contemporary shapes in conjunction with Alfred Read and Claude Smale.

The exhibition includes several hand-thrown originals of classic freeform shapes, with an example of a slip-cast version in comparison. Although a beautiful shape, side by side it is noticeable how the slip-cast version has far less texture and life than the hand-thrown original. Apparently, Guy was somewhat scornful of the slip-cast products describing them as “paperback editions”.

This is perhaps the first hint of a conflict that the exhibition reveals to have persisted throughout Guy’s life, the need to reconcile what appears to have been a natural affinity with hands-on, experimental and creative pottery with the commercial realities of an operation the size of Poole Pottery. In 1955 Guy indulged his creativity by relocating his boat to Long Island and establishing his own studio there, whilst still commuting to Poole for his day job (he must also have been extremely hard working!).

The Long Island story is fascinating, telling how Guy dug his own blue ball clay from the island’s cliffs, decorating it with coloured slips from Poole Harbour. He built a Roman style kiln and used seawater to introduce salt into the firing process. The salt reacts with oxides in the clay to produce the rich, dark salt glaze that are the hallmark of his items from this period.

I have often noticed that Guy’s island work includes a lot of very small pieces. The exhibition explains why. Salt glazing requires even spacing of the items in the kiln. Guy developed a range of small pieces to fill the gaps between the larger, thus improving results as well as increasing the range of items made. A perfect example of how he was constantly pushing the boundaries of both design and the available technology.

His inspirations at this time are revealed to be his island maritime environment. There are fish, replica Bellarmines (medieval wine vessels) based on those dredged from the harbour, seashore detrius such as an old bottle and even a drainpipe based piece. When I visited Brownsea Island some years ago I was struck by the amount of broken drainpipes at one end of the island, industrial waste from a low-grade pottery based there in the nineteenth century. Guy used this as an inspiration for his creative work!

At Poole Pottery, Guy had set up the studio which was ultimately responsible for the phenomenally successful Delphis range. The exhibition has examples of early work, mainly blue, turquoise and green in onion and mushroom shapes. There are also some unusual black clay pieces and a stunning Tony Morris paraffin wax charger. By 1966 Guy was head of design.

In 1968 Guy moved boat, family and pottery to Green Island. By now, his own studio was a real family business. Both wife Joan and son Russel produced items for the kiln, having a family contest to see who could produce the smallest cat figures (Russel had smaller fingers, he won!). We are told that the kiln could only be opened with all family members present, Guy describing it as a “magic” moment. If there was one point in the exhibition when I felt I came to understand Guy’s motivation it was in this statement, conveying the pure excitement he felt on opening the kiln to discover what the results of this unpredictable process were, shared only with his family – a sheer love of pottery.

Back at Poole, the influences of Guy’s personal work came to the fore in the seminal Atlantis range. Guy encouraged “whole piece” working by the potters, as he himself practised, and using terracotta and stoneware, and innovative carving and glazing, they created some of the most amazing pottery that Poole has ever produced. The exhibition includes many examples, such as the popular helmet lamp.

However, by 1977 the commercial pressure at Poole became too much for Guy and he suffered a nervous breakdown. He resigned and took a teaching position at Southampton College. He also formed a business partnership with his son, but mainly returned to his first love, potting. He was still pushing boundaries, particularly in developing thrown sculptures, especially mermaids that were to become his trademark for the final chapter in his life.

In 1988 the isolation of island life became too much and, with failing eyesight, Guy and Joan moved to Portland. Even there he created a new studio, known as Mermaid Studios, this time with a gas bottle kiln, where he worked until his death in 2005. The exhibition has a good selection of mermaids and other sculptures from the island and Portland periods.

From a name, Guy has now become a person to me. Although one of the most influential figures in establishing Poole Pottery’s reputation on an international stage from the 1950’s to the 1970’s, it seems to me that he was at his happiest opening his own kiln, just him and his family and their latest unpredictable but much loved pottery. As a Poole collector there is a sadness in that, but also a joy that he was able to bring his personal influence into the wider commercial world for thousands to appreciate for years to come.

Poole Pottery: The End

2006-12-20T18:48:00.000Z

Following on from the closure of the Quay shop last week, the Poole Pottery factory has been closed today, leaving over 100 staff without jobs and without this month's pay just before Christmas.

There is a great deal of anger, amongst staff, unions and local people, about the insensitive timing of this announcement and the lack of advance warning. There are also suspicions that the closure has been intended all along by the latest management team. A planning application for a care home has already been placed for a section of the Sopers Lane factory site, although it has been refused.

Managing director Jeffrey Zemmel has announced that the factory may partially re-open in the New Year "leaner and fitter", although staff would have to re-apply for jobs. However, TGWU leader Bob Lanning, who met with the management yesterday, is reported as saying that the factory would no longer manufacture pottery but would import clay biscuit which would be painted and glazed at the factory.

Essentially, after playing a survival game for the last few years, it appears that Poole Pottery has finally folded. Any resurrection that does not include manufacturing can never truly be regarded as Poole Pottery. Thoughts of all those who hold the pottery in affection will today be with the staff in these difficult times, and on our memories of happier days at the factory.

Quay Shop Closes

2006-12-16T00:33:00.000Z

Today is a very sad day for Poole Pottery. Since 1873 they have had a presence on the East Quay at Poole, mainly as a factory complex and latterly as a retail unit since the factory moved to Sopers Lane.

However, the retail unit has closed suddenly, sadly leaving 50 full and part-time staff redundant just before Christmas. The retail outlet is run by Poole Pottery Outlets Ltd, a separate company to the factory. It is not yet known whether the company will go into administration. There is a rumour that concessionaires have not been paid for some while and that 2 of them have obtained a closure order from the courts.

The company has apparently said that it is going to restructure it's business. It is not clear what this means, although the existing shop was due to close and move to new premises in the Dolphin Quays development in February in any case. It is possible that this may still go ahead, but with a new business structure behind it.

The closure inevitably leads to speculation about the future of the pottery itself, which must be facing increasingly difficult trading conditions. Let's hope it can survive this latest crisis and continue to keep the flame alive for independent British potteries.

How old is my cockerel?

2006-11-27T21:22:00.000Z

At the Thurrock Antiques Fair last week another stallholder asked me about two Poole Pottery jugs she had bought on e-bay. They had a traditional floral pattern featuring a blue cockerel and she had been told they were 1940's and worth over £100 each. The jugs were nice enough but unfortunately much more recent than the 1940's, carrying the backstamp for 1967 - 1972, and perhaps worth £25 - £30 retail.

The cockerel pattern is traditional design LE, which originally dates from Truda Carter in the 1930's. However, along with patterns BN and CS, it was produced well into the 1970's and so there is plenty of room for confusion with dating.

The designs did change over the years though, and it is fairly easy to spot the differences and date the pieces approximately without reference to backstamps and paintress marks. Essentially, the older the piece the more finely painted it will be.

It is worth noting that before the 1950's there was a much larger range of floral patterns, so it is much less common to see a 1930's / 40's LE pattern. If you do, most Poole Pottery from the 1930's shows its age - it is likely to have at least fine crazing. In the LE pattern the birds are very detailed, and the blue bird (cockerel) has 5 tail feathers in the examples I have seen.

In 1951 the floral ranges were standardised and simplified by Ruth Pavely. The bluebird in the LE pattern is now much less detailed, but still retains a yellow highlight. Most examples have 4 tail feathers.

The flowers are also less detailed, petals delimited with a single line rather than a subtle graduation of colour, for example.

In 1963 the designs were simplified again. In this case the LE bluebird is drawn with just a few brushstrokes, and probably has only 2 or 3 tail feathers. The flowers have fewer petals and even less delineation. The only confusion in dating is that the 1951 design was still produced as an elaborate version ("E/LE").

So, as soon as you see the very simple bluebird (or flowers on other patterns) you know you're looking at a piece of '60's or '70's worth rather less than a finely drawn 1930's piece. I hope the stallholder hadn't paid too much!

Freeform or Contemporary?

2006-10-24T19:56:00.000+01:00

Leslie Hayward, author of the definitive Poole Pottery reference book, was behind the counter during viewing at the Cottees auction last week. I asked to see a rather nice contemporary vase from the cabinet. "You got it right, you didn't call it freeform" he said. What did he mean?

Well, it is noticeable that almost anything from the Alfred Read period is now likely to be described as freeform. In fact, this title should only apply to a limited range of shapes designed by Read and Guy Sydenham in 1956/7 specifically for flower arranging. There were eight different shapes (illustrated on page 100 of the Hayward book), all asymmetric, and all slip cast. They were available in contemporary patterns, but also with traditional floral decoration, in monochrome and in twintone.

The contemporary range, on the other hand, combined mainly symmetrical hand thrown shapes with a fantastic series of abstract geometric patterns, which perfectly captured the spirit of artistic revival that was prevalent in Britain in the mid 1950's. Contemporary patterns, some designed by Ruth Pavely, were also applied to tableware and the freeform shapes.

Another related bugbear: I keep seeing "Alfred Rhead". Wrong! Rhead is Charlotte Rhead, who worked for various Staffordshire potteries in the 1930's and '40's. Remember, there's no "H" in Alfred but there is in Charlotte!

Poole Pottery Auction

2006-10-13T18:40:00.000+01:00

Todays blog comes to you "live on location" from Poole itself!

One of the biggest events in the Poole calendar, if there is such a thing, is the Cottees Poole Pottery auction in Wareham. This takes place twice a year, in April and October, and tomorrow is the day of this autumn's event. Today has been viewing day, so what is on offer this year?

Top estimate is for a Phoebe Stabler designed figure "Shy Girl" at £2,000 - £2,500, probably dating from c. 1920. Phoebe Stabler was the wife of Harold Stabler (of Carter, Stabler, Adams) and was herself an established sculptor and designer. Prior to joining forces with Carter and Adams, around 1918, the couple regularly exhibited their works at the Royal Academy and many of their pottery figure designs were produced under licence by Royal Doulton and Royal Worcester, amongst others. There is also a Phoebe Stabler Picardy Peasant figure in the sale estimated at £1,200 - £1,400.

There are no really spectacular vases in the sale, although a 23cm, shape 596 YE pattern art deco 1930's vase is being estimated at £1,000 - £1,500. This is a popular pattern but it is hard to see it achieving this amount in today's market.

An unusual item is a Tony Morris architectural slab, which is said to have been one of the first items Tony produced for Poole after he joined in 1963. This was positioned on the east elevation of the old East Quay factory and was removed when the factory was demolished. Fortunately the east side must have been fairly sheltered and the slab has survived in good condition. This is estimated at £400 - £600.

The sale contains a private collection of Guy Sydenham pieces, both from his time at Poole and other work. There are some nice Atlantis period pieces, although the hedgehog estimated at £200 - £300 has some minor damage and may not reach this figure.

For more modest pockets there is a fair range of Barbara Linley Adams stoneware figures, 1920's glazed animal figures and various Aegean, Delphis, contemporary and traditional pieces of all periods. Happy bidding!

The Beardsley Collection

2006-09-27T22:44:00.000+01:00

Poole Pottery introduced a transfer printed Beardsley collection in 1979, developed by Ros Somerfelt. This was a black and white range based on the works of Aubrey Beardsley (1872 - 1898). Recently it has become extremely popular, perhaps more for the black and white style which is in vogue again rather than the pottery itself. Nevertheless the designs are attractive and I like to have some in my collection.

At auction a few weeks ago, at Sworders in Stansted Mountfitchet, I came across a lot of Beardsley prints which I bought. This has inspired me to learn a bit more about Beardsley and his illustrations.

Beardsley was born in Brighton in 1872, becoming one of the most controversial artists of the Art Nouveau period. He was extremely influential on the Poster Art Movement and other fin de siecle artists, and was also an author.

He mainly created highly detailed black and white pen and ink drawings, some extremely erotic, reflecting the decadence of the age. His work is characterised by random grotesques, such as satyrs and lewd dwarves, depicted alongside sensuous mythical and contemporary figures.

He illustrated books and magazines, notably Thomas Malory's "Le Morte d'Arthur", Alexander Pope's "Rape of the Lock" and the Savoy magazine. He was also a friend of Oscar Wilde and illustrated his French play Salome.

At the age of six, Beardsley contracted tuberculosis, giving him a weak and pallid constitution. His works were produced in just six brief, but extremely prolific, years before he died of the disease in France, at the age of 26. In his final months he converted to catholicism and repented of his earlier eroticism, asking his publisher to destroy "all obscene drawings" (to no avail).

The Poole Pottery range adapted Beardsley's drawings. On the large vase there is an illustration of "The Stomach Dance" from Oscar Wilde's Salome. Compare this to the original illustration. I also have a bud vase featuring an extract from "Eyes of Herod". More amusingly, the demure ladies featuring on the heart-shaped box are very much toned down from "Lysistrata Haranguing The Athenian Women".

My prints (two of which claim to be genuine 1930's!) are all from "Rape of The Lock", which was one of Beardsley's final works produced when he was virtually bedridden. These images really showcase his fabulously detailed line drawing technique.

Welcome

2006-09-26T21:54:00.000+01:00

Welcome to the new Poole Room blog.

The blog is dedicated to collectors of antiques and collectables, particularly Poole Pottery which has been my introduction to the world of collecting, but also anything else that catches my interest.

One the things I find interesting about collecting is the research into an item's history. Even working at the lower end of the market (as I do!) it is fascinating to discover a little bit about the circumstances that gave rise to the item in your hands, the people involved, their motivations, successes and failures.

I have started this blog to try and share some of this interest with the world at large. Will I find enough to blog about? Will I find the time to do this? Will anyone care? Who knows, but let's give it a try.