Shelley Library
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| Title | Twentieth Century Ceramics (revised edition) | |||
| Author | Paul Atterbury, Ellen Paul Denker and Maureen Batkin | |||
| Publisher | Octopus Publishing Group Ltd. | |||
| Date | Revised Edition April 2005 | |||
| ISBN | 1845330811 | |||
Book Review
Twentieth Century Ceramics (Revised Edition) - A Review by John Barter.
This book is an ideal reference work for basic information about many ceramic factories. There is a very useful A-Z of British and North American Ceramics Factories and designers taking up the bulk of the 272 pages; most major factories are described. Over three pages, a short introduction describes the ceramic markets of Britain, USA and Canada during the Twentieth Century with a few well chosen photographs. The history of the Shelley Potteries is summarised very well over three pages, with good descriptions of typical ranges. The photographs show from a baby plate from 1916 previously illustrated by Maureen Batkin in Gifts for Good Children vol. 2, Mabel Lucie Attwell’s figure “Our Pets”, Queen Anne trios and coffee ware and a Vogue and Mode trio. In one of the pictures there is a trio by Carlton Ware, a stupid mistake! There is also a photograph of the Shelley Girl advertising figure in a green dress holding her cup in the wrong hand. This picture has been reversed in the process of page layout, another mistake. The Glossary of technical terms at the back of the book, suggestions on where to buy ceramics and good museums to visit are also good. Unfortunately The Shelley Group’s listing in the Collectors’ Club section is very much out of date. It is a shame that these sort of references are not checked before a revision goes to print.
