Category Archives: Lambeth

Collecting Doulton Lambeth’s famous sporting reliefs.

  Images of sports including cricket, cycling, shooting, running, football, long jump, rugby, soccer, horse racing and golf can be found decorating Lambethware. These items remain as popular today as they did during the time they were produced from the 1880’s to the outbreak of World War I. Typically decorated in the art nouveau taste in addition to the sporting motifs, these unusual pieces of Lambethware remain as stylish today as they did when first introduced! 
  Originally designed by John Broad, sporting relief items can be found with silver mounts, befitting their status as trophies and commemoratives and enabling personalised inscriptions to be given to the silver mounts. 

  

 

The most popular remain the golfing, cycling and cricket subjects and items of Doultonware featuring these sporting themes regularly crop up at specialist sporting auctions and consistently command among the highest prices in such sales. 

The best Doulton present of all….

Starting to think ahead, here’s the perfect gift for Doulton lovers – a subscription to our magazine! If you haven’t yet subscribed to the Doulton Collectors Club magazine, here’s a glimpse inside Issue 3. 

  
Issue 4 is about to go out around the world, so watch this space for a glimpse of the cover and to see what is in the next issue! 

To subscribe simply visit: http://www.paulwebsterantiques.co.uk

and register there by clicking on the Club tab. Alternatively you may subscribe via Seaway China!

Doulton Artist Profile – Katherine B. Smallfield. 

   
 Katherine B. Smallfield is a typical Doulton artist in that her career literally blossomed during her time at Doulton. She was one of a large number of women artists engaged by Henry Doulton, an uncommon industrial trend for the time. She began her time at Doulton c.1881 and in 1882 was already listed as a senior assistant before being promoted to artist, still in the faience department. 

   

 Museums around the world hold examples of her fine work with floral subjects being a particular forté. She continued working at Doulton until 1912 and examples of art nouveau designs, such as the vase below, confirm her adaptability as an artist. 

  

Collecting Doulton exclusives for W.T.Lamb.

The Distillers W. T. Lamb & sons like many other firms commissioned exclusive designs from Doulton to supply as commemoratives or in the case of Lamb’s as Christmas Presents. 

This large size jug measuring 8.5″ features the head of Bacchus with appropriate vinery decorating the sides and bearing the initials of the company and the date 1929.

  
  
In total there have been 5 Doulton items found that were produced for W. T. Lamb including an early jug, a typical 1920’s comport, the above tankard, a fire-well or well head and this vase, probably a design by Vera Huggins and dated 1928. 

  
 These dated pieces date from 1927 through to Christmas 1931.

Other conpanies to Doulton also produced wares for Lambs including Poole but there are certainly other Doulton items out there to be found! 

Collecting Doulton leatherware and blackjacks!

  
Two blackjacks with silver collars dating them to 1891 and 1900.

These simulated blackjacks and other items date from 1887-c. 1914 and are realistic to the eye with stitching and also the imitation of various types of leather. 

  
Leatherware motto jugs and drinking cups.

These wares, typically jugs, can be found with applied mottos again in imitation stitching and were considered to be of sufficient quality to be produced with silver mounts too. 

  
Rare copper and leatherware jug.

Rarely examples of Leatherware and Copperware have been found used together, the two colours making a striking contrast.

  
Unusual nursery jug with elaborate silver collar from 1905.

Novelty items can also be found including a match holder and this children’s mug featuring the rhyme ‘Tom, Tom the piper’s son’. 

   

Collecting Doulton Lambeth’s Copperware.

 This technique, which belongs to the group of so-called Simulated wares, involved creating a simulated copper effect on a silicon body. Typically the seams, rivets and dents are recreated very realistically so that to the uneducated they appear to be copper until further inspection. 

 

Copperware was produced during two periods, 1887-1914 and 1924-6, meaning that examples do turn up but not regularly! 

 

Rare miniature versions do crop up occasionally as as with most things miniature, command a high price! 

 

Royal Doulton’s famous, former Headquaters in Lambeth. 

Built in the 1870’s in the gothic style  ‘A’ and ‘B’ blocks as they were known and the huge chimeney that stood next to them were a London landmark for 75 years and witnessed many of Doulton’s major accomplishments as well as playing host to many famous visitors from Royalty, to politicians, to latter day celebrities.

A floodlit view of blocks A and B from 1935 celebrating a Royal jubilee.

Doulton vacated these impressive buildings in early 1940, moving to the newly erected Doulton House, then just a few hundred yards along the Albert Embankment. Lying unoccupied and suffering bomb damage during WWII there was little option left than to demolish these impressive buildings in 1951.

A close up of the showroom and main offices block.

On the left is the former main office and showroom building, on the right a factory block and chimeney.

A drawing of the Albert Embankment by Arthur Pearce showing the extent of the Doulton works in 1924. Note the corner building that still stands today. 

Collecting Doulton Lambeth miniatures.

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No other area of Doulton offers more scope than the collecting of miniatures and Doulton’s Lambeth factory created the lion’s share of these miniatures.
Not including cruets, bird feeders, advertising items, inkwells, teawares and many other lines that were produced in a small scale, as you can see above there are numerous vases, flasks, containers, whimsies and other items that can be found in miniature.

Doulton’s famous Huntingwares, produced over many decades, are perhaps the most easily found but again many subtle variations exist. Brown, green, blue and metallic glazes can be found decorating them as in the picture below.

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These items can be found with silver or plated silver mounts in a variety of shapes.
Other such applied patterns can also be found if you have a keen eye including a Willow design and the rare Naval reliefs.
Many of these miniatures were perfume bottles. Here on the left is one such example for the old London department store Jason Shoolbred & Co and these were stamped as such to their bases.

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Naturally many typical art wares can be found in miniature like the vases and ewer above and there are some examples above including the Mark Marshall rabbit paperweight, again pictured above.

Other lines containing miniatures are the simulated wares such as blackjacks and also the many commemorative wares produced to mark events over the years. A particular favourite are the Nelson miniatures!

Perhaps you too collect miniatures, if so why not share a photograph on our Doulton Collectors Group Facebook page!

Collecting Doulton bibelots.

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The selection of bibelots or ashtrays as they were commonly known, that were produced at Lambeth, are today some of the most collected items of Lambethware.

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Naturally their popularity and price depends on their ‘artistic’ value for there were countless such objects produced at Lambeth; some very plain examples, others for events, others for commercial advertising for numerous firms and still others designed by some of Lambeth’s most popular artists including Leslie Harradine, Vera Huggins, Harry Simmeon and no doubt others too that are unrecorded.

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They date from the 1920’s to 1930’s but it is fair to say that some were made for a longer period and no doubt introduced earlier such as the Wrights Coal Tar Soap dragonfly dish.

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The term bibelot is a derivative from the French, meaning a trinket or small fanciful object. One only needs to look at the subjects of these fanciful trays to see that this name suits these imps, nymphs, comic birds and other creatures very well.

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Whatever your budget you can find examples of these trinket dishes to suit! For me this fanciful line of Lambethware displays perfectly alongside the many vases created by Doulton’s greats!

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Doulton’s Frank Butler – a versatile artist.

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A chance find of this impressive pair of vases by Frank Butler reminded me of what a great talent he was. Never more so than when one considers that he was reported to be practically deaf and almost dumb.

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Yet, over an almost 40 year period, his output of stoneware certainly changed reflecting a versatile, confident ability.
His particular flair for me is his art nouveau work, in particular his vases where the clay appears ‘pushed out’ as in the example below.

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Whatever our individual tastes, it is impossible to reject this great talent!

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