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Spode's pattern 2812
Coffee cup, bone china, London shape, handpainted & gilded, pattern 2812 c1820How much can you say about one cup? Well it seems quite a lot!Not long ago I came across this lone coffee cup made by...
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Spode's pattern 967... and 1645
Milk jug, bone china, New Oval shape, pattern 967, c1807Pattern 967 is one of the most famous patterns made by Spode in the early 1800s. It was first introduced in about 1807. It is often described as...
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Spode, Desserts and Pyramids
Snapshot of the 1996 Spode Museum's dessert cabinet with services from c1800 - c1828'...a Pyramid of Syllabubs and Jellies'One of my favourite manuscripts in the Spode archive is the 1820 Shape Book....
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Spode and Cracked Ice and Prunus
Barrel Scent Jar in Cracked Ice and Prunus pattern c1821Spode's early 19th century pattern Cracked Ice and Prunus was derived from an 18th century Chinese porcelain design. The design represents the...
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Spode, Copeland, Waterloo and the Duke of Wellington
In 2015 many commemorations, battle re-enactments and discussions have been taking place connected with the Battle of Waterloo and the Duke of Wellington for the 200th anniversary year. I felt it was...
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Composition of Services or What's in my Spode dinner set?
Salad bowl, Warwick Vase shape, Italian pattern, late 1800sSalads, an addition to a dinner service c1870Many people enquiring about their old Spode and Copeland dinner, dessert tea and coffee services...
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Sam Spode: Artist
I am really excited to introduce you to my first guest blog. It comes from Peter Roden, a direct descendant of Samuel Spode (1757-1817), who was the younger son of Josiah Spode I (1733-1797) founder of...
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Spode and a Coffee Pot
Coffee pot, Meadowsweet pattern 1958This Spode coffee pot is in two colours. The colours are not painted but are coloured clays - in this case Flemish Green with yellow. They are soft delicate colours...
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Spode and a Teapot
Stoneware teapot, grey 1920sThis teapot was made in the 1920s and is from the Spode factory under the ownership of W. T. Copeland & Sons. It is made from stoneware - a pottery body which is hard,...
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Bone China
Many people ask me about the history of bone china - one of the most famous and successful products from the Spode factory. The Spode recipe became the industry standard and transformed the...
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Spode, Christmas Tree and Margery Allingham
Dinner plate, Christmas Tree 1986Spode's famous Christmas Tree pattern comes into its own at this time of year. The pattern was first introduced in 1938 specifically for the US market. To find out...
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Spode in January
January - 1 of a set of 12 tiles depicting months of the yearThis lovely tile, representing the month of January, was made by the Spode company under the ownership of W. T. Copeland & Sons in the...
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Spode and Vietnamese Limepots
Copeland & Garrett Vietnamese limepot, pattern B593 c1839Sometimes pots confuse. Something is so far removed from the present, a use long forgotten; or strays from the usual, or has simply never...
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Spode and Charles Ferdinand Hürten
*Monumental urn, cover and stand (gauge the size from the glimpse of an urn on a plinth, rightRegulars to this blog will know I love pots, flowers and botanical illustration. This blog, then, is sort...
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LECTURE Pots of Orchids - A Potter and A Plantsman: Spode and Biddulph Grange
I am delighted to have been asked to give the Eighth Annual Archive Ceramics Lecture organised by the Stoke-on-Trent City Archives.Come and find out about the unexpected connections between a...
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Spode and Poppies
Enjoy this beautiful plate for a while.It was was shared with me recently with a series of great photos. I find there is a lot to say about its decoration and manufacture. This will be coming soon...
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Spode and a Dessert Plate
Dessert plate, painted by Charles Ferdinand HürtenI have written about the famous Copeland artist and designer, Charles Ferdinand Hürten, elsewhere on this blog. Recently I was sent images of this...
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Spode and Showing Off
One of the important parts of the Spode business, not often mentioned, is that of the showroom. It was no use making beautiful things to sell if there was nowhere to display the wares to prospective...
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Spode and Kate Bruce
Kate Bruce Kate Bruce was a paintress employed by Spode for a long time. My research has found she started during the period when the company was known as Copeland & Garrett (1833-1847) and...
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Spode and India
Plate, India pattern c1815Spode is famous for the perfection of the ceramic technique of underglaze transfer printing in blue in the late 18th century. The fashion for this type of ware blossomed and...
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