Posted 12 years ago
dusting
(2 items)
I'm new to Collectors Weekly so forgive my blunders. I haven't been having luck with getting more than one photo to upload in the Show & Tell section, for starters. Well, actually I haven't been able to figure out how to tweak my name on this site, either! So Dusting I remain...
Last summer my father handed me some ugly mugs off of a shelf in his ongoing efforts to thin out my late mother's possessions before he goes. Obviously, my other siblings, nieces, and nephews didn't want them... I actually wasn't all that pleased to have them take up my limited suitcase space and weight allowance either but I took them anyway. As I grew up in my maternal family's multi-generational home, it can be hard to pinpoint just how old some of the things in it were. My great-grandparents bought the place as newly weds! Now the house is gone and only the memories and bits and bobs of the contents remain.
Anyway, one of the ugly mugs was a Royal Doulton Mr. Pickwick. I've linked a site that shows Royal Doulton marks but the one on mine isn't quite the same. My best guess is it is one from 1932 onward. What do you think? It wasn't stamped on very clearly and isn't easy to see all of the details.
http://www.antique-marks.com/doulton-marks.html
Regardless, now that I've got the ugly mugs on my shelf, I find I actually quite enjoy having them and I've enjoyed reading up on the history of them and Toby jugs.
According to the old copy of "Collecting Roya Doulton Character & Toby Jugs", The earliest Mr Pickwick character mug was made in 1938. They come in various sizes. Does it have a D number? If not, it is probably an older one. If you go back to the website where you found the marks, there is a section on Royal Doulton artists. If you can figure out who BR is the value may be higher. The mark was used starting around 1928. Good luck!
Or BF, I guess!
If you look to the left of the Crown, you will see an "A" which apparently denotes a ware that was either meant to be exported or to be placed in a certain kiln in preparation for export. This mark was placed especially on Character Jugs but also on Series wares and tablewares starting in 1939 till 1955. The BF appears to be over the glaze so it could have been added by the owners. "IF YOU WISH", you can try using alcohol or another solvent to see if it comes off. It is up to you!. RER (BOB) LOUMANAL
Thank you Maryh1956 for the backgraound information. I don't see a letter D on it. I've pulled out a magnifying glass to look closer at the markings. Earlier I enlarged it on the computer screen when I took some photos. The sign appears to be BF. It's not a close match to any of the listed artists from my inexperienced eye anyway.
LOUMANAL, thanks for pointing out that the marking next to the crown is an "A" and what that stands for. While I had the magnifying glass out, I looked closer at the BF. It appears to have been added before the glazing and is crackled along with the rest of the bottom.
PhilDavidAlexanderMorris, thanks for confirming that changing my moniker with a new one is best accomplished the sooner the better. For a collectors site name, the first thing that popped into my head was DustyRustyMusty but thought that might already be taken so just put down dusting with the idea that I'd change it when I thought of something better. Maybe I'll see how it goes to sign out and sign in with a new name.
Thanks for the welcome, mustangtony. Glad I stumbled upon this site the other day as it looks like a lot of fun and filled with lots of nice people.
The D would be followed by a series of 4 numbers, but your piece pre-dates this system. Only the most famous artists are published in the book from which that article comes from. Royal Doulton in the UK has a a historian which you could contact for more information, but I don't remember the web address.
Mary1956, thank you so much for taking the time to add another comment on this! Tracking down this information on the history of this cup gives me yet another reason to miss my mother. I'm wondering how she or someone in her family (grandparents, unmarried aunt, parents) came about acquiring this piece. Was it a birthday gift? These seemed to have been a fad at one time and my father gave me some others along with this one but they were generically stamped "Japan" so not quite as interesting from my standpoint as that's where I live now so know those were made for an export market to Western countries.