Apart from some pieces of my wife's jewelry and some paintings that we have acquired over the years I was initially hard put to come up with anything in our possession that falls into the heirloom category suggested this week.
But then we both came up with what we see every day in our oak dresser and kitchen cabinets.
A plaque at the rear reads, "This statue was unveiled by Mr Stuart Lyon, Chairman of Royal Doulton Limited, 11 June 1991. Sir Henry Doulton was the first potter to receive the Albert Medal and to be knighted for his services."
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| Royal Doulton Dinner Set (part) |
I was not allowed to remove them from the dresser or the cabinet.
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| Royal Doulton Meat Dish and Tureen |
How do I know it's Royal Doulton? I must confess to taking a peek at the markings on the bottom. This is what I found.
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| Royal Doulton - Burslem - Mark (Lynn Pattern) |
John Doulton and his partner had established a pottery in Lambert, South London as early as 1815. In 1877 John and his son Henry purchased an interest in Pinder, Bourne & Company at Nile Street, Burslem in Staffordshire. By all accounts they weren't exactly welcomed as Henry observed, "In their view we Southerners know little or nothing about God and nothing at all about potting. It was at Burslem that Royal Doulton had its origin.
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| Sir Henry Doulton |
The back marks on the pottery enable you to determine its age. The first Burslem mark consisted of the central Doulton Burslem floret with the four interlocking 'Ds.' The coronet was added about 1886 to mark the appointment of Henry Doulton as Potter to HRH The Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII)
This mark continued to be used until 1902.. England was added to the mark in 1891.
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| Sir Henry Doulton (1820-1897) (Statue at Burslem Market Place - by Steve Birks - CC BY-SA 2.0) |
The Nile Street factory was closed in 2004 and demolished in 2008, Royal Doulton was taken over by the Waterford Wedgwood Group in 2006.
Now all that remains is to determine where our heirloom goes on our demise!
For other treasured possessions pass over to Sepia-Saturday-187.
