WHITE IRONSTONE NOTES VOL. 19 No. 2 FALL 2012 OLYMPIC SHAPE HANGING PEAR JUMBO This issue gives you a triple treat of profiles plus all our regular features. The picture above is of an Olympic Shape cookie plate by Elsmore & Forster. An elegant and timeless piece of pottery if ever there was one. We hope you enjoy this newsletter.
Page 2 Vol. 19. 2 WICA BOARD OF DIRECTORS Harry Moseley, President Dorothy Riley,Vice President Carol Fleischman, Secretary Dave Klein, Treasurer Jeanne Atkinson Roland Bergner Jane Diemer Bev Dieringer Joe Eidukaitis Jim Miller Rev. John R. Schilling III Barbara Tegtmeyer Don Wagner Legal Advisor: Tom Moreland The WHITE IRONSTONE CHINA ASSOCIATION, INC. is a not-for-profit corporation whose purpose is to further our knowledge and enjoyment of white ironstone china. WHITE IRONSTONE NOTES is the official newsletter of the corporation. Photographs submitted by members become the property of WICA, Inc. and no article, photograph or drawing may be reproduced without the express permission of WICA, Inc. WHITE IRONSTONE NOTES is published and edited by Ernie and Bev Dieringer with associate editor, Jim Kerr. Drawings and photos are by Ernie and Bev Dieringer unless otherwise noted. Please send all news notes, articles, photos, suggestions, questions and listings for advertising or for the Spare Parts and Whole Pieces column to: WICA, c/o Dieringer 718 Redding Road Redding, CT 06896. 203-938-3740 e-mail Dieringer1@aol.com. WICA web page: www.whiteironstonechina.com ADVERTISING RATES Advertisements will be accepted in order of receipt from WICA members and, space allowing, from non-members. Rates (subject to change): $10 per column inch (7 lines). Nonmembers, $20 per column inch. Payment in full by check made out to WICA must accompany each ad. Send to newsletter address. PUBLISHING DEADLINES are Nov. 15 for Winter, Feb. 15 for Spring, May 15 for Summer, Aug. 15 for Fall. Members can list white ironstone parts & pieces wanted and for sale without charge in the Spare Parts column of each issue. APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP Send $40 for one or two individuals at the same address with check made payable to WICA, Inc. to: WICA c/o Suzanne Nielsen PO Box 6052 Chesterfield, MO 63006-6052 e-mail: rn1132@earthlink.net Membership year is June 1 st to May 31 st. ADDRESS CHANGES e-mail rn1132@earthlink.net INDEX Pg. 4 Olympic Shape Pg. 8 Hanging Pear Pg. 10 Jumbo Pg. 12 2013 Convention Pg. 14 Sears Roebuck Catalog Pg. 16 Show & Tell Pg. 18 Spare Parts Pg. 18 Collectors Showcase FROM THE EDITOR S DESK We received a request to profile Olympic Shape. It s the first request for a shape profile in 19 years so we decided to put it in right away. Love to hear from more of you. There were more recent responses to our request for your experiences with Jean Wetherbee. They are included here at the end of the letters column. LETTERS Jane Diemer sent us a portion of a letter she recieved from Pat Halfpenny who will be our keynote speaker at the next convention. **************************** Ernie, this to me says it all: To some extent, British collectors and ceramic historians have a different perspective on pottery than their American counterparts. Perhaps it is because of the nature of their available primary sources of information that is, the information that came into being at the time the pottery was produced. On the whole, the British, living in the country of manufacture, focus on potters, factories and dates, while Americans, who were the original consumers, focus on patterns and shapes. A combination of both aspects gives us a more complete picture of the wares and, to my mind, offers us more opportunities to reflect upon and enjoy the pieces... Pat Halfpenny **************************** Vol. 19 No. 1 has arrived and its dedication to Jean was so great. I learned much more about her. This is a very special issue. I treasure it and do thank you. Harry Lowe **************************** We all have great memories of Jean. Your paragraphs are wonderful. Our paragraph is below. Our friendship with Jean Wetherbee began in September, 1980. We were young tea leaf enthusiasts fascinated by the early white ironstone body styles adorned with the rich copper lustre decoration. Jean s book A Look At White Ironstone had just been released. We eagerly absorbed its contents and desired to learn more. So, the first chapter of our 32-year friendship began with a letter to Jean, who then lived with her daughter and son-in-law, Linda and Karl Dalenberg, in Lynnfield, Massachusetts. We asked if it would be possible to visit and discuss white ironstone. The response was affirmative and a two-hour meeting was agreed upon. Four hours into our discussion of white ironstone, we took a dinner break, and then continued on until midnight. From that marathon meeting, we were hooked on white ironstone and, more importantly, Jean and her family. We shall always remember Jean as a remarkable woman gifted with a contagious love of life and God and an inspiration to her family and all who met her. Rick and Adele Armbruster
PRESIDENT S LETTER WIN August 2012 I hope that this summer has been a happy one for you and yours. The WICA board continues to keep busy in preparation for the mid-year meeting on October 20. I again thank the many members who worked hard to produce a very enjoyable 2012 Convention. In this letter I want to recognize those who are already working to make the 2013 Convention another memorable one. The Crowne Plaza Baltimore North Timonium, Maryland, provides a fine venue and I urge all members to attend and support our great association. WICA 2013 Convention Planning Convention Coordinators: David Klein & Jane Diemer Off-site auction: Rick Nielsen & Jim Kerr On-site auction: Don Wagner First Timers: Dorothy Riley Flea Market, Tops and Bottoms: Boyd Payne Hotel Negotiations: David Klein & Harry Moseley Photographer: Diane Dorman Programs & Exhibits: Convention Program Planning Committee Publicity: Public Relations Committee Raffle: Gather items: Ernie Dieringer On-site coordinator: Roland Bergner Registration: David Klein Show & Sale: Rick Nielsen Show, Tell & Ask: Patty Hurt & Rick Nielsen Silent Auction: Jim Miller Trip Planning: Jane Diemer Wetherbee Honors Award: Jim Miller WICA Shoppe: Karen Klein I am looking forward to being with you in Maryland to see friends old and new. Yours in collecting, Harry NEXT ISSUES Vol. 19. 2 Page 3 The Winter issue will have a large overview of gravy boats. If you have a shape you would like to see profiled, let us know. CALENDAR Area 7 Regional, September 15, 2012 Bob & Bonne Hohl, Reading, PA 610 775 2240, krh11340@ptd.net Area 8 Regional October 13, 2012 Tom & Olga Moreland, Spencertown, NY 518 392 7207 WICA 2013 Crowne Plaza Baltimore North - Timonium, Baltimore, Maryland May 2-5, 2013 WICA SHOPPE WHITE IRONSTONE: A COLLECTOR S GUIDE Jean Wetherbee, $30.00 WHITE IRONSTONE CHINA, PLATE IDENTIFICATION GUIDE 1840-1890 Ernie & Bev Dieringer, $25.95 WHITE IRONSTONE TEAPOTS Ernie & Bev Dieringer, $25.00 WHITE IRONSTONE PITCHERS WHITE IRONSTONE PITCHERS II Ernie & Bev Dieringer, $30.00 each RELIEF-MOLDED JUGS BOOK Volume II Kathy Hughes, $29.00 Single back issues of WHITE IRONSTONE NOTES ON DVD Vol. 1, No. 1 thru Vol. 17, No. 4, $95.00 A savings of $250 over printed issues. Yearly updates will be available. Packing & Shipping Charges Up to $25.00 $4.99 $25.01-$50.00 $5.99 $50.01-$75.00 $8.99 $75.01-$100.00 $10.00 Make check payable to WICA, Inc. and send to: Dave & Karen Klein 1513 Perry St. Davenport, IA 52803 563-449 4908 whoisbugs@hotmail.com
Page 4 Vol. 19. 2 OLYMPIC SHAPE Above: A raised pad mark and a directly embossed one with a drawing of the mark. Olympic Shape was registered for a patent on November 10, 1864 by Elsmore & Forster. Its plain rounded body with uplifted handles is a fore-runner of their other shapes of the 1870s-1880s. The uplifted handles are squared and ebossed with fine reeding. It has spire-shaped finials. It is rare. The pieces shown here are the only ones found by collectors in over thirty years. Perhaps it was not marketed in the US for long. The list of pieces not found is long. A ewer & basin, soap dish, brush box or vase, large waste jar, footbath, soup tureen, ladle, well & tree platter, salad bowl, punch bowl, hot beverage pot, coffee pot, butter dish, pancake server or even a platter. Elsmore & Forster followed this shape with its more elaborate Laurel Wreath Shape which must have been much more successful since it is easier to find than Olympic Shape. Above: The registry page from the Patent Registry Offices at Kew, England. It shows the registry Number #181215 was used for both the dinner and toilet services even though the image is missing any pieces from the toilet service. Perhaps the jug is a hot water jug from the toilet service. Note that the relish dish and platter are illustrated but neither of them have yet been found by collectors. Above: Another page from the Patent Registry Offices - this one is #181214 and is of the tea and coffee service. Interesting that it included a butter dish which has also never been found. Below: The classical compote is beautifully proportioned with a decorative border on the bowl s inner rim and also a smaller border on the foot.
Vol. 19. 2 Page 5 OLYMPIC SHAPE Below: Large and small size vegetable tureens shown with the sauce tureen. Note the rectangular shape uplift handles with reeding. This plate and drawing illustrate the classical greek key border and outer and inner rope accents.
Page 6 Vol. 19. 2 OLYMPIC SHAPE This tea service illustrates how well the simple classic round body shape works when decorated with a Greek key border at the hip or under the rim of the cups and bowls. A smaller delicate border is used at the neck. Handles on the tea service are embossed with fine reeding. There are simple spire-shaped finials that Jean Wetherbee described as pagoda-type. Note that a scalloped rim is used only on the teapot and sugar bowl. The syllabub cup at the right is not a part of the tea set but it fit nicely on the page. The tea waste bowl is a lovely and useful piece all by itself.
Vol. 19. 2 Page 7 OLYMPIC SHAPE This potty and the mug below are the only pieces of the toilet set that have been found so far. It is remarkable that this lovely metal-lidded syrup has been found when a ewer & basin and a platter or soup tureen haven t!
Page 8 Vol. 19. 2 HANGING PEAR Mayer Bros. & Elliot registered this shape which has been named Hanging Pear by contemporary collectors, #108052 Dec. 18, 1856 and #108105 Dec. 23, 1856. Mayer Bros. & Elliot took over Dale Hall Pottery which was started by T. J. & J. Mayer. This is a plain round and oval shape with uplift handles made of pear stems and leaves. The pear finial is mounted on stems and leaves that have the appearance of hanging. We have not identified any pieces of the toilet service which may indicate that one was never created. The plate at right was first identified as Triple Border by E. & C. Challinor in the White Ironstone China Plate Book. It was obviously used by both potters.
HANGING PEAR Vol. 19. 2 Page 9
Page 10 Vol. 19. 2 JUMBO SHAPE Jumbo was potted by Henry Alcock the last of the Alcock family potters. He was in business as Henry Alcock & Co. in Cobridge between 1861 and 1910. Jumbo Shape was named after a famous huge P.T. Barnum circus elephant. It has a plain round or oval shape distinguished by a remarkable elephant s head used as a finial and as a thumb rest. Pairs of heads are used for tureen, potty and relish dish handles. Some pieces have a cable and/or a large daisy blossom embossed near the neck. Above: The teapot, gravy and mug (below) show the elephant s head used as a thumb rest. The drawing clearly shows the elephants ear and tusk. Daisy blossoms are used at the handle terminals.
Vol. 19. 2 Page 11 JUMBO SHAPE Left: Two styles of pitchers are shown. The one at the right may be the creamer since its body shape is similar. Like the teapot it also has a raised collar line at the neck. It has almost no foot and a cut off pour spout with sharp corners on the rim. The other pitcher has a traditional pour spout like the three graduated table pitchers below. The relish and tureen show the paired elephant handles.
Page 12 Vol. 19. 2 HEAR YE, HEAR YE!! Re: WICA s 19th Convention at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Timonium, Maryland May 2-5, 2013 Reporters: Diemer, Kerr, Nielsen Have you shopped antique shows and shops lately looking for ironstone? It seems as though premium pieces are getting harder and harder to find, so why not save time and effort by planning to attend the huge WICA convention s Sunday show and sale at the annual meeting at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Timonium, Maryland, May 2-5, 2013? You will find the largest, finest selection of white ironstone for sale in the world! Let this event be just one of the highlights of your convention experience. It is time to start thinking about consigning items to the 19th annual WICA auction. Past auctions have shown that the more unusual items in excellent condition consistently bring the best prices. The commission rate is still a low 10% of the selling price; a reserve option is available as well. If you wish to donate white ironstone with all proceeds going to WICA s Education Fund, please consider an offering to Jim Miller s silent auction (annemiller010@comcast.net) and/or to Ernie Dieringer s raffle (dieringer1@aol.com). Thanks for being such a great group of people. Jane M. Diemer This hotel was a nice choice for the 2013 convention. The lobby is very cozy and inviting to relax in after a long drive.
Vol. 19. 2 Page 13 This hotel really seems to have the idea of comfort in mind. The rooms have actual easy chairs instead of those stiff dining room arm chairs. The eating facilities also seem comfortable and the ball room tables are set for eight people instead of ten. We will be more able to talk to everyone at the table. There will be much more information about the convention in the next issue of Notes.
Page 14 Vol. 19. 2 From an 1897 Sears Roebuck catalog Our stock of tableware includes only the finest selection of crockery from the best European manufacturers. American made crockery is well known to be inferior to the English and French manufacture. Our orders have hence been placed in Europe for the best and most select patterns, with manufacturers whose goods are known the world over as the finest it is possible to produce. Importing our own stock, we are not only offering a line that has no superior on the market, but we are in a position to name prices against which the retailer cannot compete. You pay what he himself pays, for we sell to the consumer just as an other importer sells to the retail dealer. The advantage of our Factory-to-Consumer system is apparent. We are constantly breaking down the wall between maker of merchandise and the actual user. In connection with our crockery, we desire to say that every set is most carefully packed in barrels and casks, and we seldom or never hear of any breakage. The freight is a very small item indeed, when the great saving in price is considered. This class of goods ships as first-class freight. It is impossible to examine these goods satisfactorily at your depot. Hence we request full cash in advance on all orders. However, we practically ship subject to your approval. Any goods not found as represented, or unsatisfactory, may be returned to us and money refunded. GENUINE ENGLISH STONE WARE CHINA. Manufactured by J. & H. MEAKIN, Hanley, England No. 9610. Plain white. We guarantee these goods to be the finest and most durable earthen ware made in the world. Warrented not to craze. One set of the above will our-wear three sets of the domestic goods, and will cost but a trifle more
Vol. 19. 2 Page 15 Although we didn t have a slop jar in our archives, we thought this sugar bowl would do nicely to illustrte what Sears was selling.
Page 16 Vol. 19. 2 SHOW & TELL Inna Turner sent us pictures of this cassarole. We replied: Thank you so much, you sent all the right stuff. The mark tells us the most. The Rd. number dates the piece to the 1890s and the name of the pattern is Majestic. The piece is a covered cassarole. This piece was made in the late years of the pottery which is probably why you couldn't find any information about it. Most of their popular patterns are from the 1850s to the 1870s. We both think it is a very nice shape and we would have bought it too. Don't be afraid to use it but don't put it in the oven. Rick Nielsen, who has the ultimate collection of Adriatic Shape, has acquired four variations on the sugar bowl. There are only two body shapes but they have been found with two variations of finials all mixed up. The consumer was given all these choices when they ordered their sets.
Vol. 19. 2 Page 17 SHOW & TELL Having missed the convention, we have been feeling a little "out of it" with our ironstone which is still packed in boxes and only a little comes out now and then. Yesterday, Ron found a box with a few odds and ends of plates, some white, some copper lustre. We have had this plate for years. I finally turned it over and looked at the back. Was I surprised to see that E & F made Gothic Shape! Didn't see that listed in the newsletter. This is probably a mark that accidentally came about because of "leftovers" or an "end of the day" prank. Whatever, it made for a little wake-up call that we do still like to "check out the mark", no matter how long a piece has been in the house. Thanks for looking at our plate. Ron and Janice Stork Jim Kerr Pointed out this ewer on ebay. We had not seen this shape before but it was registered by Pearson, Farrall & Meakin on April 11, 1854. The design is quartered and divided at the waist by a raised edge. The four divisions have embossed raised ribs at the bottom half and inverted ribs t the top. A very pleasing form. There must at least be other pieces of a bath set out there. Jim Kerr also found this Long Octagon sugar bowl. It is an early octagon form not often found in white ironstone. We could not find an example of a white long octagon tea pot in our archives. There is no potters mark only a blue printed mark including the name of the hotel for which it was made. The Mark reads Cambridge Market Hotel Z.B. Porter 1842. The patent registry started in 1842, so we suspect that it was actually potted for the hotel when it opened in 1842. Printed blue cartouche like marks were common then. Jim found a lithograph of the hotel by John Henry Bufford. It was printed by Pendleton s Lithography.
Page 18 Vol. 19. 2 SYDENHAM SHAPE 7 3/4 diam. round lid for a stew tureen, 10 pitcher, a mug, All SYDEN- HAM. Mike Hair, 717-263-0792 or e-mail mchair@embarqmail.com ------------------------------------------ We are receiving fewer and fewer requests for spare parts. We suspect it may be because many of you are frustrated with no responses to your requests in the last few years. We know for a fact that there have been a few match ups but not many. So we are suggesting something SPARE PARTS new for this page. Haven t we all had a yearning for a particular piece of ironstone that we have seen somewhere? Our fantasy is finding the child s set in Sydenham Shape. We know it exists because the Lautenschlagers have a few pieces of it. Everytime we pass by an antique shop or even a mall, we say in unison, That s probably where the child s set is. This is the perfect venue to express your desire for that elusive ironstone treasure. You may not be fulfilled but on the other hand, someone out there may have two of them and be willing to part with one! But don t give up on trying to make a match for your orphaned ironstone pieces. We are always getting new members who might just have your item. COLLECTORS SHOWCASE Star Bank, the name above the door, has seen better times. There are chips off several of the corners which denotes a child s attention and love. But I for one, would love to fill up this dear piece with spare change. This picture was taken at one of the earlier conventions and is in Janet Allers collection.