The Literature of English Post-Medieval Pottery

Abstract

AT THE Spring Conference in 1965, one of the writers of the present article put in a mild plea for justice to be',done to the older writers on English ceramics, and this address was reproduced in Broadsheet NO.3 of the Post-Medieval Ceramic Research Group, as the Society then was. When the question of reprinting some of the old Broadsheets came up, it was suggested that this somewhat discursive foray into the realm of bibliography might be worked into something of more general usefulness to those not already familiar with the thickets of English ceramic bibliography. I 'Old books are best', and it is often surprising when trying to find one's way back to the sources of ceramic information how fresh and modern some of the older books strike, and how much fundamental spade-work was accomplished at the earliest stage of the growth of this literature-work consciously or unconsciously plagiarized by all writers on the subject since. One of the earliest was J. Marryat's Collections towards a history of Pottery and Porcelain, the first edition of which came out in 1850, and which contains much material on English wares. Not long after came the first edition of Chaffers's Marks and Monograms on Pottery and Porcelain (London, 1863), much of which also was devoted to English Ceramics. The latter work has come out in innumerable editions since, and it is now impossible, without going methodically back through successive revisions, to be sure what is the original Chaffers and what the work of subsequent editors. The book is unreliable, but often contains information which is not found in other sources but which it is well worth following up, provided that it is cross-checked by every means available. The earliest extensive work devoted exclusively to the pottery and porcelain of the British Isles is LlewellynnJewitt's The Ceramic Art of Great Britain (London, 1878), although R. H. Soden-Smith had already in 1873 brought out a Catalogue of the English Pottery and Porcelain at Alexandra Palace: Jewitt remains a fundamental work in ceramic research. Although much of it has been rendered obsolete by subsequent investigations, and some of it has been shown to be ,vrong, it is invaluable for its documentary basis. Much of the archival material was in Jewitt's own possession, and much of it has since been lost. For the basic history of the pottery industry in the 19th century it is indispensable. As 'with Chaffers, the cautious reader will take care to cross-check his facts in every way possible; but Jewitt is far the more reliable authority. In the field of English pottery alone, L. M. Solon's The Art of the Old English Potter (London, 1883), is probably to be regarded as the pioneer work. Solon was