English Pottery (Fitzwilliam Museum Handbooks) [Paperback]

Julia E. Poole (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521475201 | ISBN-13: 978-0521475204 | Publication Date: May 26, 1995

This beautifully illustrated book gives a colorful impression of the vitality and diversity of English pottery made between the late thirteenth and the late twentieth century. It describes the main types of earthenware and stoneware, and discusses the most important technical, stylistic and social influences that shaped their development. The sixty-four pieces of pottery shown in a historical sequence are in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, which houses one of the world's most extensive and varied collections of English pottery.

Product Details

• Paperback: 151 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (May 26, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521475201
• ISBN-13: 978-0521475204
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,653,861 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent reference tool for the novice collector., July 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: English Pottery (Fitzwilliam Museum Handbooks) (Paperback)

I acquired this book solely for its superb illustrations. Each piece is given its own, full-colour page, opposite which is a description, not only of its use to the society which produced it, but of the body, glaze, and decorative technique and style. I found much information therein which had been ignored by longer and heavier books on the subject of English ceramics. Also included with each description is a brief selection of titles which will ease further research. This is a beautiful little book (like all the Firzwilliam Museum Handbooks) which would make a very welcome gift for any ceramic historian or collector.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not what it seems., January 12, 2008

By 

Chris Sullivan (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: English Pottery (Fitzwilliam Museum Handbooks) (Paperback)

First of all for the price I thought it would be better; it's my fault I didn't look too closely and didn't notice that this is a paper back. I also thought that it would show pottery marks and be more than just a book of pictures with some information.

The book is just three eighths of an inch thick and when it arrived I thought it was the supplement.

The pictures are accompanied by the history of the type of item in the picture; for example item number 3 on page 16 is 'flagon;' underneath it says 'probably Derbyshire or Staffordshire 1630-60.' Then it says 'Dark red stained earthenware covered with glossy black, iron stained lead glaze. Height 29.4cm. Glaisher Catalogue 23-1928.'

On the opposite page there are a couple of paragraphs on the history of homely pottery known as Midlands Yelloware and Midlands Blackware and then at the bottom of the paragraphs recommendations for further reading - and that's it on every page.

As I said not what I was expecting; there are some wonderful photographs, one per item and there are sixty four of them, but I am not likely to come across any of these items unless I am watching the Antiques Road Show or visiting a museum.

The introduction gives a fairly interesting brief history of English Pottery and there is a glossary of terms where you can learn that `grog' is ground up fired clay and that `earthenware' is Opaque, porous pottery fired at temperatures between 450 and 1100ºc.

But it is a museum book and not really for the antique collector.