|
 Royal Doulton
Porcelain
and china takes its name
from the companies
founder, John Doulton, who in 1815 became a partner
with a widow named Martha Jones, whose late husband had originally
founded Lambeth Pottery, and the foreman of the pottery John
Watts. The pottery
operations
began as Jones, Watts, and Doulton, the firm became best known under
the Doulton name in 1853. The business thrived by specializing in
stoneware, such as bottles, sewer pipes, water filters and chimney
pots.
By the mid
19th Century the company expanded into the production of decorative
stoneware which rivaled the finest in the world. It was John's
son Henry Doulton that took the company through it's next stage of
development by expanding into a line of art pottery in 1871 with the
opening of the Lambeth pottery. The Lambeth pottery offered students
and designers from the local art school the opportunity to produce
designs for the company. The new line was a great success thanks to the
work of artists such as Florence, Arthur and Hannah Barlow, Eliza
Simmance, George Tinworth, George Butler, and Mark Marshall.
The company entered into the production of fine porcelain they are now
famous for, after purchasing Pinder, Bourne & Co. of Burslem, England in 1882. Under
the direction of John Slater, Doulton moved rapidly into the production
fine quality decorative porcelain, winning honors at major international exhibitions for their
tremendous
variety of figurines, vases, character jugs, and other decorative
items this success brought Doulton to the attention of the Royal
family, the company being allowed the honor of using the world "
Royal" by King Edward VII in 1901.
It was during this period that the company began production of its
famous line of decorative "Series Ware" such as the Gibson Girl plates
in 1901, "Dickens ware" pottery, plates and figurines in 1911, the
"Robin hood" series in 1914 and the "Shakespeare" series in 1914. The
most
well known of these pieces are the HN" numbered figurines still in
production today. The first
being designated HN1 " Darling" in 1913. The "HN" stands for
Harry Nixon, the head artist in charge of decorating the figurines.
Other noted artists who worked on the designs and decoration were
Authur Barlow. John Sparkes and George Tinworth. The popularity of
Royal Doulton's figurines brought about other lines, such as the
"Nursery Rhyme" series in 1930 and the "Bunnykins" line in 1933.
Royal
Doulton is still in production, and welcomes visitors. Tours are
available at the Burslem Factory at Burslem, near Stoke -On -Trent,
England, Monday-Thursday from 10:30 am-2:00pm. For more information
contact UK 01782-292443 or 01782-292292, Royal Doulton Factory, Museum
and Shop, Nile street, Burslem, Stoke-On-Trent, Staffordshire, England,
ST6 2A
|
