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Monday, October 17, 2016

TRANSFERWARE EGGS

I recently purchased a transferware egg.  My first.  They are rather uncommon.  I wrote about transferware eggs in an article for the Transferware Collectors Club in 2012.  It was titled "Transferware Darning Eggs."*   The egg shaped transferware items were used for darning, but they were also bell pull handles,** and, perhaps, love tokens.  They were, arguably, mainly gifts for children, as the patterns found on many of the eggs were also used on nursery plates.

John Wilkinson's (1820-1867) "Our Early Days" is the name of a series of children's patterns.  The specific pattern here is "Now I'm Grandmother."  The  4.35 inch darning egg includes the name of the child for whom it was meant, as well as a pattern on the other side.
Notice that the series name, "Our Early Days," is printed above each pattern. In the center, see the name and initials of the child for whom the egg was intended.

The other pattern on the egg is "The Pet."

Below are "Our Early Days" patterns found on children's plates.  The Transferware Collectors Club Database of Patterns and Sources includes 10 patterns from this series.

John Wilkinson 6 inch child's plate "Our Early Days/Now I'm Grandmother."

John Wilkinson 5 inch plate "Our Early Days/The Pet." Notice that the plate was too small for the print, which runs over the molded border.

Here is a pattern on a transferware egg that is copied from George Cruikshank's popular illustrations for Harriet Beecher Stowe's 1852 edition of "Uncle Tom's Cabin." The patterns appear as a series on children's plates and mugs.

A 2.38 inch darning egg with an illustration from "Uncle Tom's Cabin."  The illustration shows "Eva dressing Uncle Tom."

The other side of the egg shows the title of the book, "Uncle Tom's Cabin."

Child's plate illustrating "Eva Dressing Uncle Tom."

Illustration by George Cruikshank from "Uncle Tom's Cabin" by Harriet Beecher Stowe, 1852.

The TCC Database of Patterns and Sources shows 15 patterns from "Uncle Tom's Cabin."

One of my favorite children's patterns is associated with the London Zoo, "Visit to the Zebra."  It is found on both a child's plate and an egg.  The egg below was intended as a gift for a girl.

Darning Egg with the "Visit to the Zebra" pattern.

The egg above is also printed with a floral group (see a bit of it on the right) and the words"A Present For A Good Girl." 


"Visit to the Zebra" 6 inch child's plate. 

Boys were also given darning eggs as gifts.  Perhaps, the egg below was intended to be used by the boy's mother to darn his socks!  I think the girl's egg above was probably used to teach a little girl how to darn.  I am not being sexist.  I am thinking about the egg in the context of its time.


Child's 2.5 inch long by 2 inch diameter darning egg.

"A Present for A Good Boy" printed on the egg above.

Another pattern on the above egg.

I couldn't find the patterns on a child's plate, but obviously, they were made for a child.

Here is one more egg.  It is illustrated with patterns copied from "The Mother's Picture Alphabet," which was published in London in 1862. 

John Wilkinson (1820-1867) Darning egg, 4.25 inches. The pattern illustrates the letter "N."  See the picture sheet below.

Initials between the two pattern on the egg.

Train pattern on the other side of the egg above.


"Mother's Picture Alphabet N begins News-boy, etc."

Here is the egg I purchased.  It has a rather utilitarian design.  It doesn't appear to have been made for a child.  Perhaps I'll use it to darn socks.  Does anyone darn sock anymore?

Transferware 2.25 inch by 1. 75 inch darning egg

*Many thanks to Tony Calvin of Cumbria, England for sparking my nascent interest in transferware eggs.

**See p. 137 in "West Cumberland Potteries, Volume II" by Florence Sibson. 

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

SHIPPING SERIES AND FILOLI


Notice the Shipping Series plate inside the small display table.

I was thinking about calling this post "You Never Know!"  I recently visited Filoli, a property of The National Trust For Historic Preservation, with my sister, my brother-in-law, and my husband.  The house is filled with many treasures, but no transferware (I thought).   Suddenly, my sister said "there's one of your things!"  A "Shipping Series" plate was nestled in a display table intended for small objects d'art, not a 19th century blue transferware plate. I wondered what this plate was doing in a house filled with more formal items.   Luckily, my brother-in-law knew that the former owner, Lurline Matson Roth, was the daughter of William Matson, who founded the Matson Shipping Corporation. 

The pattern known as "The Shipping Series" is one of my favorites.  It is a serial pattern printed with  a different ship or ships on nearly each size and shape.  Here are a few items from the series (the collection is not at Filoli).


A collection of the circa 1820s Shipping Series transferware pattern

Below is a larger photo of the pattern that is displayed at Filoli.  By the way, the name Filoli is derived from the first two letters of each of the following sentences: Fi/Fight for a just cause, lo/love your fellow man, li/live a good life. 


Shipping Series dinner plate, ca. 1820

The former breakfast room at Filoli is now known as the Ship Room.  It is filled with shipping memorabilia as well as model ships. 

The Ship Room (Breakfast Room) at Filoli is filled with ship memorabilia.  Notice the ship behind the glass.  It is carved from ivory.

Model ships in the Ship Room. 
 
I could stop here as this is the end of "you never know," but I thought I'd show you a bit more of the house.

Library

Dining Room

Kitchen
Drawing Room/Notice the display table with the Shipping Series plate.

Dishes and Me!  I am reflected in the glass. The plates appear to be Chinese.

The End for now.  The gardens are magnificent, so I may do a post about them someday.

A tiny bit of the gardens at Filoli