LINTHORPE-ART-POTTERY

Selected specimens from collections in the North of England and further afield.

Illustrating the rich diversity of shapes glazes and decorative effects achieved during the years

1879 to 1889 when ordinary clay was transformed into works of art at Middlesbrough on Tees.

The selected items of varying styles include superb flower painted examples by Clara Pringle, Rachel Smith, Annie Umpleby, Sheldon Longbottom, Fred Brown and other renowned Linthorpe artists.

Together with designs by Christopher Dresser including pieces of Pre-Columbian, Celtic, Medieval, African and Far Eastern inspiration and a number of the many un-catalogued pieces, including some unusual hand worked pieces in terracotta.

Also, and a “must have” for any Dresser collection, a Christopher Dresser style silver plated polyhedral teapot number 22770.

Sadly, the Linthorpe Pottery records and stock were dispersed by auction when the Pottery closed and much remains to be discovered about this fascinating enterprise and about the involvement of Christopher Dresser whose stylish and sometimes startling designs undoubtedly influenced the wares produced after his involvement with the Pottery ceased in 1882.

It is obvious that production of several of Dressers designs continued after his association with the Pottery ended and some were run throughout the production years of 1879 to 1889 which is why they are found either with or without his facsimile signature.

Readily found examples include the planter with six double ring handles and the dimpled bottle vases.

Some think that marking of the wares was haphazard or somehow disorganised, when in fact the incredible diversity of shapes and designs and quite large scale production the bulk of which was adequately marked, together with “one offs” and exhibition pieces, should tell us that they had a system and that it worked pretty well.

Unmarked pieces should be treated with caution of course, since the moulds were apparently quite widely dispersed at the closure of the works and copies are not unknown. The dimpled bottle vase number 24 was obviously made in great numbers and is sometimes found with no marks or without the impressed Linthorpe name stamp.

Several pieces outside the range of numbers attributed to Dresser have recently been identified from his surviving notes and sketchbooks and the collector can always look forward to some new surprise or the un-recorded pieces which have a habit of turning up just when you think you have seen it all!

Salad bowl of “flying saucer” shape.

Marks : Linthorpe / Chr. Dresser / HT / 823.

A strong, forward looking, strikingly simple Dresser

design.

The plain glaze is most appropriate for this strong shape.

As to whether Dresser would have approved of his shapes being painted with flowers etc., he was a botanist after all and some of his designs for Minton and others are covered with decoration. Also, scratched and carved decoration is part and parcel of the ancient pottery and some of the crudely carved pieces of the Japanese potters from which he probably drew the inspiration for some of his earliest Linthorpe designs.

It is recorded that one of the first exhibitions of Linthorpe wares took place at Dresser and Holme’s sale room in London in 1879 and comprised samples of plain coloured ware, incised, pierced and relief moulded pots and ware enriched with bold paintings of flowers and birds in enamel colours.

I will show some fine examples of the painted ware and some early pieces with hand carved decoration from the group advertised in the Furniture Gazette in 1880 as “Dr. Dressers designs for Linthorpe”.

The diversity of shapes and designs produced by the Linthorpe Pottery, together with the many decorative techniques and glazes, some of them experimental, which were employed on those shapes and designs, assures a diverse and interesting field for the collector of art pottery and a rich source of inspiration for the student of design and in particular the designs of Dr. Christopher Dresser whose involvement with the Pottery is only sketchily recorded.

The influence of the Pottery manager Henry Tooth should not be forgotten.

Brought in from the Isle of Wight on Dressers recommendation, he is reputed to have developed glaze effects such as the crackle and mottled glazes that are often found on pots which have his impressed HT monogram but not the Chr. Dresser signature.

It is recorded that Tooth was involved with freelance work and his artistic talents and commercial acumen are apparent from his very successful venture, the Bretby Art Pottery.

Tooth’s production of novelties and sentimental figures at Bretby has been criticised but of course, the bottom line for a venture such as Bretby or Linthorpe or any other pottery is the production of wares that the customer wants to buy.

In that respect Tooth was very successful and the later more conventional wares from Linthorpe could well illustrate that the high ideals of Victorian designers and armchair critics, to the exclusion of more commercial wares, might not be sustainable in the long term.

Whatever the reasons behind the closure of Linthorpe, the pottery certainly made its mark throughout the world, thanks in part to the design work of Christopher Dresser whose designs for other mediums such as furniture, wall coverings, glass and metal ware etc., influence our surroundings to the present day.

Working conditions at the Pottery were apparently good, new purpose built workshops and paint rooms having been built by the owner John Harrison on the site of his Sun Brickworks at Linthorpe, Middlesbrough, after the first experimental firings proved to be successful.

The surviving photograph of the womens paint room

showing the light and pleasant conditions and the walls hung with Japanese silks.

Unfortunately, there is no record of the names of the

artists in the picture.

Linthorpe was the first pottery to use gas fired kilns and the interesting and sometimes curious glaze effects that they were able to produce were no doubt assisted by that more controllable system. Some wondrous effects were produced and some stunning exhibition pieces and no doubt a few which did not turn out quite as expected.

The latter category is probably more typical of “Art Pottery” in general but the wares of Linthorpe with their complex glazes can be quite superb when they have turned out as planned.

Increased competition and the death of the Pottery owner John Harrison led to the closure of the works in 1889 and the subsequent disposal at auction of the remaining wares and the modern machinery that Harrison had installed.

A sad end to a brave and innovative venture which during the ten years of production added a new dimension to the world of Art Pottery with wares which others have tried to replicate but have never surpassed.

Most of the shapes shown on these pages can be viewed at the Dorman Museum, Linthorpe Road, Middlesbrough, which houses the premier collection of Linthorpe Art Pottery.

The research by J.R.A. Le Vine, Clive W. Hart, The Dorman Museum and Middlesbrough Council is acknowledged.

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