Hardcover
2012 · England
by Gray, Jonathan
England: Jonathan Gray, 2012. One of 750 copies. Hardcover. NF/NF (lower corners bumped; o/w fine). Grey paper/boards. Gilt lettering. Grey/royal blue glossy dj with color image and blue lettering. 377 pp. with more than 250 color plates, numbered by chapter. In 1808, James Christie II was employed to sell the remaining stock of the Cambrian Company, the London Warehouse of the Swansea Pottery located at 64 Fleet Street. The auction sales, between February and April 1808, comprised around 14,000 pieces in over 1,000 lots, similar in scale to the Wedgwood & Bentley disposals in 1781. Much of the finest pottery made in Swansea was included in these 1808 sales - pieces decorated with Nelson, the Welsh Bard, Birds and Butterflies etc. However, letters in Philadelphia prove that the Warehouse, established just eighteen months before in the middle of 1806, was opened to showcase Lewis Weston Dillwyn's lustre. Despite the clear artistic success, the auction sales point to a commercial failure. Notwithstanding Nelson's victory at Trafalgar in 1805, the global economy remained depressed, with trade disrupted given the actions of the British, French and Americans, culminating in Jefferson's Embargo Act of 1807. This book provides a fascinating time capsule of taste and style in the two years of ceramic production between 1806 - 1808. It will appeal to all those with an interest in Welsh ceramic history, British pottery and porcelain and world history between 1775 and 1815. The book is split into nine chapters, as follows: The Cambrian Pottery before 1806, The Cambrian Company, The Political and Economic Environment, The Christie's Sales of 1808 - The Useful wares, The Christie's Sales of 1808 - Ornamental wares and items for the Conservatory, The Christie's Sales of 1808 - Decoration Marks, Haynes, Dillwyn & Co.'s Experimental Porcelain 1806-1807, Conclusion. Christie's 1808 sale catalogues are reprinted in full, including buyers and prices achieved. (from The Cambrian Company web site).
(Inventory #: 154008)