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24 © Henry E. Kelly

Chapter5

Chapter V.— Wares, Transfer patterns and marks of the1840s and 1850s.

The generally accepted view of the transfer—printed patterns issued by Bells is that theones with elaborate backstamps with scenes attached date roughly from the 1840s and1850s; that those with the pattern name in an oval or oblong frame, however elaborate,

date from the 1860s and those with the pattern name above or below an oval garter mark with J.& M. P. B. & Co. on it are from the 1870s. Of course, any with J. & M. P. B. & Co. Ld. willdate from after 1880. (40) As a rough guide this seems to work very well, though the patterns found in the excavations of1996 would alter it somewhat. One must also remember that the dates are approximate, that notall patterns of the 1860s would be introduced in 1860 and that there will be exceptions. It is alsonecessary to remember that these dates will not apply to individual pieces since some of Bell’spatterns were made over very long stretches of time. “Triumphal Car" for instance must datefrom very early in the Pottery’s life but is made in the period after 1880 still. Here is a list of some of the patterns with very elaborate pictures in their backstamps, to whichpatterns found in the dig have been added where necessary. All such are marked with an asterisk:

Amazon (fig. 5.11) — impressed IMPERIAL on the back — p.28, fig.5.11Anemone - floral, — App. 3 p.127Apsley Plants * — p.30, fig 5.18Arcadia I * - found so far only during the excavation.Aurora — App. 3 p.122Balmoral — p.28, Fig. 5.14Bohemia * — App. 3 p.119Broseley — never named on the pieces. — App. 3 p.129California — p.28, fig.5.13 — the Gold Rush became famous in 1849 which is an accept-able date for the jug pattern which was also made by Jamieson of Bo’ness Pottery on variousshapes of jug, including one that is identical to the Bells’ shape. A similar pattern, made by otherpotteries suggests that the main picture is not original but copied from an illustration.Chinese Sports — App. 3 p.120Chinese VillaCorinth - a pattern of classical vases found on teaware. — App. 3 p.118Crystal Palace — made for the Exhibition of 1851 but not shown there. — App. 3 p.122Deer Stalking — App. 3 p.118English Lakes - a lacustrine landscape - extremely rare. — App. 3 p.129Fibre * (fig.5.1) —this does not have a lavish backstamp but was definitely being made by theend of the decade. Made by many potteries. In England it is often called ‘Weed’. — p.25 & 38figs. 5.1 & 7.5The Gem * — p.52, fig.11.10 German Stag Hunt - a pattern also made by Methven of Links pottery, Kirkcaldy.Goatherds — App.3 p.123Going to Market — App. 3 p.123Gondola * — p.30, fig.5.19Harvest — App. 3 p.118Harvest Scene — a pattern revived c.1905. — App. 3 p.118


Chapter 5Hawking * — a ‘changing’ pattern — App. 3 p.122Hawking in Olden Times * — found on jugs only.Herculaneum - perhaps the same as Battle of the Amazons from 1851. — p.22, fig.4.16Indian Sprig - a mulberry pattern found on early hexagonal jugs - wispy plants. — App. 3 p.119Italian Lakes * — known in 1851 — a ‘changing’ pattern - issued in blue, grey and green.. —p.20, fig.4.12Jenny Lind — p.28 & 30, figs. 5.12 & 17Malaga — a rare pattern which has been found in Java as well as at home. — App. 3 p.119Marble * — never named as such at this period. — p. fig. — App. 3 p.120Marine— p.31, fig 5.20May Morn - found in blue of blue/green on bedroom wares. — App. 3 p.120Ning-po* — p.25, fig.5.2Palestine * — p.27,figs. 5.9 & 5.10, a ‘changing pattern, is almost identical with a pattern usedby T.Mayer of Longport (41), known in blue and sepia. — App. 3 p.123Parisian Sprigs * — App. 3 p.119Passiflora — App. 3 p.123Reindeer — App. 3 p.121Sporting Subjects * — App. 3 p.121Swiss Subjects — App. 3 p.120Triumphal Car * — p.26 & 27,Figs. 5.3 to 5.8—made also by Jamieson of Bo’ness Pottery as teaware and by Verreville Pottery — a ‘changing’ pattern in Bell’s manufacture.Victoria Scroll - impressed ROYAL and a kite mark for 1850 — App. 3 p.123Victoria RegiaWarwick Vase — p.20, fig.4.11Wellington — p.28, fig. 5.15— made to commemorate the Duke’s death in 1852.Willow — App. 3 p.123

fig. 5.2 Ning-po

Fig. 5.1 Fibre

Apsley Plants, Broseley, Fibre, The Gem, Gondola, Italian Lakes, Marble, Ning-po, Arcadia Iand Sporting Subjects do not have pictures on the backstamp but are included as being definitelyknown at this period.


Chapter5‘Changing’ patterns are very common at this and later periods of production. The border isconstant to all pieces, varying only in size to fit the pot it is on. The central picture, on the otherhand, is constant only for one type of piece, e.g. a dinner plate, and varies, sometimes consider-ably, from piece to piece. The classic example is Triumphal Car which is known with over adozen central pictures.

Figs. 5.3 to 6 Triumphal Car Almost all include a chariot and all include a fountain in a lacustrine landscape but the animalsdrawing the chariot vary from horse, through leopards to swans and everything else in the picturecan vary just as much.

with Swans

Fig. 5.7 Ladles with Triumphal Car


Chapter 5

While we are on the subject of “TriumphalCar it would be as well to point out anothermistake of Fleming’s. He claims that thepattern was designed and engraved by DavidRoberts and that the Bell Brothers helpedDavid Roberts to build a career. A glance atdates would have corrected this assertion. In1842, the earliest possible date for the pattern,David Roberts was already 45 years old and aRoyal Academician, selling his paintings for

“Triumphal Car” was an incredibly popularpattern which was made in enormous quanti-ties and over a long period, even after 1880when the Company was in other hands. It isfound not only on dinner ware but also on teaware made in earthenware and on jugs andbedroom sets.

hundreds of guineas each and about to break the£1000 barrier for a single painting to greatapplause; it is unlikely, to say the least, that hewould give up any time to designing and en-graving a pattern for a provincial pottery com-pany or that its proprietors were capable of

furthering his career. It is possible that Fleming had got confused with some story of Robert’searly career as an engraver for Mauchline ware.. Palestine(Fif 5.9 is a changing pattern but the dinner plate, soup plate and vegetable dish all share the same central picture, a phenomenon

common as to dinner and soup plates; theashets are different from these.

Fig. 5.9 Palestine

The choice of patterns is very much geared to the market. As well as John Bell’s own classicaltaste being pandered to (e.g. Amazon) there are a number of lacustrine landscapes which hadbeen immensely popular for over 50 years and which were to continue so for at least another 40.There is also a tendency to follow contemporary events.

Fig 5.10 Palestine

Fig. 5.8 Ewer with Triumphal Car


Chapter5

Fig. 5.11 Amazon

Jenny Lind

Jenny Lind (figs 5.12 & 5.17) would beprinted for the visit of the singer to Scotlandand California would be produced during theGold Rush during 1849 or 1850.

California

This sometimes results in actualcommemoratives, like Wellington for the deathof the Duke in 1852. Fig. 5.14 Balmoral

Fig. 5.12 Jenny Lind

Fig. 5.13 California

Fig. 5.15 Wellington


Chapter 5

The Glasgow Pottery used a number ofbackstamps to mark their wares in this period;some were transfer-printed, some impressedand one was moulded on a raised pad or sprig.The transfer-printed marks are many, each onebelonging to its own pattern. The commonfactor seems to be simply the pottery descrip-tion each carries. This can be either “J. & M.P. B.& Co.” which is the most common or “J.& M. P. BELL & Co.” which is found on, forinstance, Warwick Vase. Having a differentbackstamp for each transfer-printed patternseems to be a Scottish trait of this periodwhich makes the study of marks for identifica-tion purposes a rather fruitless occupation. Theimportant factor in each mark tends to be thepottery description which can quite often helpto date the piece.

There is also a tendency which became more marked in later years to follow the fortunes ofthe Royal Family (e.g. Balmoral). This displays a good business sense in whoever was choosingthe products in this period, whether it were John Bell or Clough, or, after 1850 some other man-ager such as Mclaughlin. The colours used in this period for transfer prints are less restricted than one might havesupposed. Dominant is, of course, blue, and flow blue is known. The Pottery produced a darkpurple colour, usually referred to as mulberry, which is well known in a ‘flow mulberry’ versionwhich seems to have been very popular with the public. Pink and black are also known from thisperiod and several patterns appear in a very attractive blue/green colour which seems to beunique to Bell’s at this time. Grey is known in Fibre and Apsley Plants and in spongeware.Brown is unknown, as is the purple which was to become so popular in the 1860s, though Bell’sexperimented with a very rich purple-pink which is very beautiful but rarely seen.

Fig. 5.16 moulded on a raised pad

The commonest impressed mark in this period is the bell with the initials JB inside it. Thisseems to be applied to all sorts of wares, even sometimes to transfer-printed earthenwares whichare already marked. It is the only mark found on china. But it is not, perhaps, the earliestimpressed mark. On the Parian jugs two marks appear whichseem to be earlier than the impressed JB in abell. These are: firstly, a blue or white pad markwith a moulded sheaf of wheat and the wordsVINTAGE(fig. 5.16) which is the name of thepattern (or jug) and J. & M. P. B.& Co.;secondly there is an impressed mark of J. & M. P. BELL & Co. in an arc. Though this latterstarts early it continues for some time. It occurs on the Vintage jug and on the ‘vine’ jug, then theJB in a bell mark seems to take over and becomes the standard impressed mark for parian wareand china for much of the rest of the Pottery’s life. (4.2) (fig.4.1 Ch 4, P16) The ‘tendril’ lug wasregistered in this decade and sherds of both ‘vine’ and ‘tendril’ shapes were found in a deposit ofthis date on the site of the Pottery. Words like IMPERIAL, ROYAL and GRANITE in impressed marks on earthenware usuallydenote a new and improved body, many of which were introduced by different potteries at thistime in an attempt to make earthenware harder and more durable. One undoubtedly early mark Isan impressed small anchor which has been noticed particularly on pieces printed with“Triumphal Car” but is by no means common.


Chapter5

One possibility which has so far not beendiscussed is the production of earthenwaretea services. These were certainly made inlarge quantities by the Glasgow Pottery butinformation on them is sparse for the simplereason that they were used more, and morecarelessly than china tea sets and have conse-quently survived in smaller numbers. Muchinformation about teaware in this decade wasobtained from the dig on the site, when atleast 30 biscuit shapes of cups in china, semi-china and earthenware were found. Most ofthese have never been seen apart from thesherds but an octagonal cup with ‘Broseley’and a round, shallow cup with ‘Apsley Plants’are known, as well as a cup and saucer withGondola (fig. 5.19) in a shape not representedin the wares from the dig.(43)

This seems to cover the repertoire of marks used by the Company at this period. It changedvery little before 1880.

Fig 5.17 Jenny Lind on another jug shape

Jenny Lind mark

Fig 5.18 .Apsley Plants

Fig 5.19 Gondola


Chapter 5In china the Pottery was issuing tea sets with cups, saucers, plates, slop basin and two bread

plates. Sugar basin and cream jug were not normally matched to the tea set, though a few tea setshave been recorded with both and a tea set in Huntly House has a matching tea kettle. It is prob-able that all of these date from a later period. The sugar basin and cream jug formed a set withthe tea pot, often in black basalt, a body which Bell’s is not known to have made. Only 2 shapesof cup have been recorded in collections but many more are known from sherds found on the siteof the Pottery.

No dessert services were found in the 1996excavations so their production, like that of the‘Bells’ Cup’ must be dated to 1860 at theearliest.

In Parian at least four moulded jugs wereissued. The Vintage and the ‘Vine’ shape occuralso in blue dip. The ‘tendril’ and ‘antlerhandle’ shapes are rarer; the former is knownwith a violet background to its mouldings. Aswell as this there must have been a trade inParian ornaments. Paisley Museum has amarked example of a small ornament in theshape of a dolphin (fig. 21) and a small bust ofone of the original Free Church ministers hasbeen reported but in general most of the largepieces made by Bell’s that we know of seemnot to have been marked. This makes attribu-tion difficult in many cases, for example in theunmarked Parian statuette of Dante in thePaisley Museum. The replicas of the WarwickVase which are in the collections of Paisleyand Glasgow Museums are beyond dispute butno others have ever been recorded. They areunmarked. For years the family of John Weirpreserved a figure of Jesus Christ in Parianwhich they believed had been made at theGlasgow Pottery.

As well as this at least four jug shapes inearthenware were made: two hexagonal andtwo octagonal. Besides these jugs the Potterymade the array of goods mentioned in theiroriginal letter.

Fig 5.20 Covered mug (“Marine” transfer)

Fig. 21 Dolphin (parian ware)

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