Contents

Multi-color printing on ceramics

its earlier than you think
Pat Halfpenny..................................................................................... 3
New Spode Pattern
Richard Halliday................................................................................ 6
Transferware Collectors in Review
Loren Zeller........................................................................................ 8
Transferware from a British Perspective
Dick Henrywood........................................................................... 11
16 TONS and all that!
Grahame Tanner............................................................................ 12
Return to Bikaner
Sue Wagstaff.................................................................................. 14

2015 Vol. XVI No. 2

New Spode Pattern

by Richard Halliday

ne of the great things about

in the black and white image in the
transferware is that things
Drakard and Holdway book.
have a habit up turning up.
Paul said that he owns three
Just when you think youve
examples of this pattern and
seen it all, a new blueknew of only two others (coffee
printed pattern emerges. Of
can and a tureen), both printed
course, one must be careful
in red. None has the amazing
about using the word new
gilding as do Grahams pieces.
in relation to these discovPaul sent me images of his greyeries; perhaps a better deprinted and green-painted plate
scription would be hitherto
(Fig. 5.), along with his red-printundocumented. A friend, Graed and gilded plate (Fig. 6.) in the
ham McCreath, recently found
manner of Pattern 1024. Paul was
two dessert plates and two desjust as excited as I was at the discovsert dishes of high-quality printed in
ery of the first blue-printed Spode
blue and lavishly gilded. A retired colexample. The quality of the engraving
lege lecturer from Brighton, Graham Fig. 1: New Spode find: 8 blueand the gilding are quite astonishsent me images and suggested I
printed and heavily gilded Spode plate. ing and are a real tribute to the
check pattern P503 in Drakard and
Spode workmanship (Fig. 7.).
Holdway, Spode Transfer Printed
If we look at the blue-printed
Ware 1784-1833. Sure enough, there
examples, we see how the pattern is
is an image of the Spode pattern
printed on the underside of the
book and quite clearly, this
dessert dish and gilded as well.
was the same pattern.
This adds greatly to the cost
The book also reports
of production. This type of
that a piece of ware
treatment in transferware
has not yet been
is quite rare, as we very
found. While it is
seldom see patterns printed
true to say that the
to the underside of a rim.
book was published a
This again shows the quality of
number of years ago, as
Spodes ware and sets them apart
far as I am aware, this patfrom much of the competition.
tern printed in blue had not been
To complete the story of this patdocumented previously.
tern, in about 2000, Spode thought
Fig. 1. shows the Spode blue-printabout re-introducing the design. The
Fig. 2 & 3: Top and bottom of
ed and heavily gilded 8 dessert
job was given to Bill Heath, a highlyblue printed and heavily gilded
plate. Fig. 2. and Fig. 3 show both
skilled engraver who had worked
Dessert Dish, 7 .
sides of the 7 dessert dish.
at Spode as an engraver for about
On closer examination of the patthirty years. Heath copied the design
tern book image, Fig. 4., some of the
from the Spode pattern book and
flower centres looked a little difthought it was a delightful
ferent when compared with
pattern. In a recent converthe blue printed and gildsation with him, he said
ed plate. After speakhe admired the designs
ing with Paul Holdfrom this Spode period,
way, he said that the
and there were elements
pattern book image
within the pattern that
shows the pattern
really pleased him, includwith gilding applied
ing the dragon-like section
as it would have been
(seen at the bottom) and a leaf to
intended to be produced
the right that looks like it has frogs
by Spode as Pattern 1024.
spawn on it. He said that he enjoyed
However, this did not translate well
working on it.

6 TCC Bulletin, 2015 Vol. XVI No. 2

After Bill finished engraving the

copper plate, a job that would have
taken about four to six weeks,
the design was sent to the printing shop and a single piece was
produced. When it was returned
(Fig. 8: the pink background was
added with the aid of a computer)
Bill was delighted with it. He felt
it combined classical and modern
design and would do well in the
market place. However, Spode
decided that it was not what they
were looking for at that time and
did not put into production. So, the
plate illustrated is unique, and Bill

is lucky enough to be able to keep

it, something engravers are almost
never allowed to do. The quality
of Bill Heaths engraving can be
seen in Fig. 9.
In conclusion, I want to thank
Paul Holdway, Bill Heath and
Graham McCreath for being part
of this discovery. The Drakard and
Holdway pattern name of P503,
Red Flowers now seems slightly
inappropriate, given that these
examples are blue.
The image of the Spode pattern book appears courtesy of the
Spode Museum Trust.

Fig. 5: Green painted Spode plate.

Fig. 7: Close-up of the center of

the new Spode plate showing the
quality of the Spode engraving.

Fig. 4: Spode Pattern Book image.

Fig. 6: Red printed and gilded Spode plate.

Fig. 8: Modern copy of the Spode

plate, engraved by Bill Heath.

Fig. 9: Detail of the Heathengraved Spode plate

TCC Bulletin, 2015 Vol. XVI No. 2, 7