The Dictionary of Blue and White Printed Pottery 1780-1880 - two volumes

The Antique Collector's Club, two volumes, complete,  1982 & 2001,  hardcovers, illustrated, set measures 22 cms x 28.2 cms x 5.8 cms, condition: new.

This two volume dictionary brings together as many facts as possible about blue and white printed pottery at the height of its popularity and production. The authors have produced a comprehensive guide, covering every possible aspect of the subject, with Appendices which include makers' initial marks and a list of source books used by makers. The discovery that prints could be transferred to porcelain and pottery helped transform the ceramics industry. Inevitably, the market demand at the end of the nineteenth century for brightly coloured wares put an end to this extraordinary potting endeavour but the interest of collectors has never declined. This book was awarded the Library Association's McColvin Medal for an outstanding reference book. 

The second volume is designed as a comprehensively cross-referenced companion to the original Dictionary. This second volume includes over 1,000 new or extended entries. These cover many previously unrecorded patterns, recent attributions, newly discovered design sources and a significant number of additional manufacturers and retailers. Some of the more interesting wares after the original deadline of 1880 have also been included. The social history behind the potters' choice of subject is of considerable interest and, wherever possible, entries include details of the people or events which inspired unidentified patterns or their titles. One new feature is an Appendix illustrating unidentified patterns, important marked examples of which may yet be unearthed by a diligent collector. Again a standard reference work.