Product Description

Staffordshire figures provide a wonderful reflection of the Victorian age, as their period of production coincided almost exactly with the reign of the Queen herself. Made in great quantities by the pottery factories expressly for working people and either sold for only a few pennies each or given away as 'fairings' (particularly the tiny figures), they allowed most working-class householders and cottagers to own a cheerful piece of ceramic ware that suited their interests and pockets. By the standards of quality factories such as Chelsea or Derby, Staffordshire figures were crudely modelled and naively painted and their subject matter was dismissed an uninteresting to wealthier classes. Previously overlooked, they did not become really popular with collectors until the latter half of the twentieth century. This book offers an overview of Victorian Staffordshire figures, describing their manufacture, their makers and illustrates a wide selection of figures across the range.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #122916 in Books
• Published on: 2005-10-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 56 pages

About the Author
After graduating with a degree in history, Frances Bryant started Wessex Antiques in 1986, focusing on quality English antiques from furniture to ceramics. She has written numerous articles for West Country publications and given talks to collectors. Her showroom is situated in the historic abbey town of Sherborne, Dorset.

Customer Reviews

Good introduction to Staffordshire figures
This is a really interesting, colourful book, and it's so CHEAP! It includes colour photos of figures you might be able to find in a good antique shop, rather than just in a museum, although it has some rare pieces too. It's written in a straightforward, informative way, by someone who obviously has a feel for these jolly British ceramics. There's a useful chapter on how to spot fakes, which I found particularly interesting, as there are a lot of fakes around. I shall take it with me when I go out hunting for figures for my (very small) collection! Thoroughly recommended as an inexpensive, thorough, historically informative book for the inexperienced - and those who know a little bit about Staffordshire figures (like me!)