Royal weddings, military campaigns, the sinking of the Titanic and the exploits of the Beatles are just some of the events commemorated by potters.

Items made as souvenirs of events have an immediate appeal that sets them apart from other fields of antiques. Pieces as varied as storage jars and complete dinner services have been decorated with pictures, mottoes and dates, and many can still be picked up cheaply. It is a collecting area where the subject matter is of greatest importance.

Royal Souvenir

The monarchy and royal occasions are ever- popular subjects, and Britain has produced more royal commemorative souvenirs than any other country in Europe. Among the oldest are the blue and white delftware chargers made at Lambeth and Bristol from the 17th and early 18th centuries and decorated with naive portraits of Charles II, Queen Anne, George I and other monarchs. The pieces were hand-painted and made in small numbers, and are rare today. They sell at auction for several thousand pounds. But with the Industrial Revolution came transfer printing, and souvenirs could be produced cheaply and quickly by the million. Pieces made to celebrate Victoria’s accession to the throne in 1837, and her coronation a year later, are now quite rare, but objects made for her jubilees of 1887 and 1897 are common. When Edward VII was crowned in 1902, Royal Doulton alone made a million commemorative beakers, and thousands must still survive. Even items made for the coronation of Edward VIII (which never took place) are far more common than most people realise, because hundreds of thousands had already been made when he abdicated.

Antique Collection

The cost of each item will vary according to rarity. An 1838 coronation mug can fetch £500, while one made to celebrate Victoria’s golden jubilee is worth only about £30 because there are so many.

All the major manufacturers, including Royal Doulton, Wedgwood, Crown Derby, Minton, Spode, Coalport and Royal Worcester, have produced royal souvenirs, hut the majority were made by lesser-known potters, and may be unmarked. Even so, the simple flatback royal figures and groups produced in the Staffordshire potteries during the 185os and 6os are very collectable today, and may fetch prices of around £250.

The quality of royal souvenirs can vary greatly, as can their value. Many cheaply produced Victorian mugs are decorated with appalling representations of the queen — bad enough to earn them the nickname `uglies’ — and these are worth little. But there are also well-designed rarities, including busts and figures of Queen Victoria’s many children and the 20th-century coronation mugs designed by Dame Laura Knight and Eric Ravilious. These pieces are keenly sought after by collectors.

Military and Political Items

Military commemoratives concentrate to a large extent on great leaders such as Admiral Lord Nelson and the Duke of Wellington and their campaigns. Political commemoratives usually mark elections, key events and ultimately the death of leading political figures such as Sir Robert Peel, Benjamin Disraeli and William Gladstone.

Lord Grey’s Reform Bill of 183 2 was the first political event to be marked by potters on a national scale, but less well-known events and personalities have also been remembered, including the Chartist reform movement of the 1830s and 40s. Wares made to commemorate strikes are now very collectable. The tradition was kept alive by potters recording the 1984 miners’ strike, and these could well become popular with collectors in the future.

Some of the earliest military souvenirs relate to the Napoleonic Wars of 1792-1815, although most of the objects were actually made in the 1830s or later. More contemporary pieces were produced during the Crimean War (1853-6), mainly because it was the first to be reported in detail at the time, and the 1880-1 and 1899-1902 South African campaigns. Many items were made during and after the First World War, but the 1939-45 war saw far fewer, mainly because of restrictions imposed on the manufacture of decorative pottery.

Rarer pieces commemorate the lesser campaigns of the 19th century, figures including the Russian Communist leader Joseph Stalin, and events such as the Berlin Airlift of 1948-9. Items like these can fetch up to £500, although it is worth remembering that wares actually made at the time of an event will always be worth more than those made afterwards, or for anniversaries.

Celebrating Discoveries

Advances in science and engineering during the 19th century were regularly commemorated in pottery. Souvenir pieces with transfer designs of Rowland Burdon’s iron bridge at Sunderland, Brunel’s Thames tunnel at Wapping and his Clifton suspension bridge at Bristol, the Manchester Ship Canal and other important achievements of the Victorian era can still be found for around £ 1 00.

Railways and shipping also were the subjects of commemorative wares, and the most desirable of these are decorated with specific locations or identifiable locomotives or liners. Those celebrating the opening of a particular railway or the launching or maiden voyage of a great liner, such as the Titanic, are always sought after, and can fetch up to £750.

Important events and personalities in the worlds of travel (including space travel), exploration, medicine and the social sciences have all been celebrated, as was the 1851 Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace.

Miscellaneous Items

Other collectable pieces commemorate the opening of public buildings such as churches, town halls, shops and hotels; eminent figures in the worlds of theatre, literature and popular entertainment; and religious leaders. Notable collectables include busts and statues of the Nonconformist preachers of the Victorian era, such as the Americans Dwight Lyman Moody and Ira David Sankey, or the founder of Primitive Methodism, William Clowes. Another good area of collecting is pop memorabilia — the Beatles and Elvis Presley being the most in demand.

Important sporting events have also been widely commemorated, in cricket especially but also in football, racing, golf and boxing. Anything relating to the early years of motor sport and aviation is much in demand and will sell for upwards of £ 100 at auction.

A final category is personal commemoratives. A large range of one-off wares was made to celebrate marriages, births, christenings and anniversaries. Potters in Britain have produced these highly individual pieces since the 17th century or earlier, and where they can be traced back to their original owners, they are especially valuable.

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)
Commemorative Wares Collectibles