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Redfern & Drakeford produced some of my favourite Porcelain bone china in their Balmoral pottery. These sets date from between 1892 and 1914 . The Teacups are still the classic Victorian open round bowl, but the pattern and rim decoration reflect the art nouveau design trends sweeping across Europe.

Longton is one of the most famous and concentrated districts of bone china production in the early 1900's in England. Foremost amongst the potteries of the time were those operated by T C Wild & Co, a rapidly expanding group between the period 1908 and 1920 and producers of Royal Albert Crown China. The fortunes of T C Wild mirrored the English Potteries over the next 100 years, with one exception. Where many failed Royal Albert China continues to be produced, their iconic Old Country Roses pattern first introduced by Production Director Harold Holdcroft remains one of the most famous...

During the first two decades of the 20th Century Colclough produced what is now loosely called Imari style decorated pieces for the domestic mass market. Pattern 3383 is one such example. A simple transfer printed design, later block coloured in the familiar cobalt blue, red, yellow and lime green glazes so popular at the time. 3383 is typical of the family of designs, literally dozens of variations were produced. These pieces were the antithesis of art deco design also in production at this time. Post Great War nostalgia perhaps for the Victorian England, now gone for ever. The overall effect...

Geo-Political upheaval during the late 1700's lead to import taxes of over 100% on Chinese produced porcelains, fueling the expansion of the English potteries keen to copy these popular designs and meet the growing domestic demand. The chinese style of decoration is now often generally refered to as imari, but this generalisation does little justice to these early, highly styalised designs. This is pattern 1749, we only know this from decorators marks, applied by hand on a very few pieces in the set. At first glance it could easily be mistaken for Ironstone china, but this is translucent bone china...

Still perhaps one of the most instantly recognisable china patterns of all time, but with so many subtle variations and qualities. Blue Willow remains one of the most produced, and reproduced designs of the last 300 years, with most large china factories in the Staffordshire Ironstone region producing lines in the design at some period. This square Ironstone serving dish, dates from the 1820's and is typical of the mass market demand for dinner wares in the growing English Empire, but not just here in England but the far reaches of the expanding Empire and Colonies and Ex Colonies and independent...