Collecting Shelley Pottery

Rating:
Summary: For the Shelley Collectors......
Review: Given their popularity and relative longevity in the market place, it is remarkable that this recent issue is not of just a small handful of books devoted exclusively to the productions of the Wileman & Co. Pottery - the Staffordshire factory which brought us two household names of the 20th century ceramics. Wileman & Co. had two successful periods of production: first as the Foley China Works (the period from 1896 when one Percy Shelly took control of the factory and employed a number of talented Art potters, painters and modellers) and then as the Shelly Factory (the inter-War years marked by the birth of a new backstamp which saw the factory embrace a number of new styles and media). The history of the Shelly factory lines are as much a history of fashion and taste prevalent in the first half of the 20th century. This book charts in detail Wileman & Co., as it rode the tides of economic fortune and misfortune with a series of varied factory lines. Lavishly illustrated are Intarsio, Urbato and Pastello designs produced under the aegis of a talented new Art Director Frederick Rhead at the turn of the century; the diversification into the lucrative business of crested china. - a market made popular by W.H. Goss - the introduction of wares by the well-known children's book illustrator Mabel Lucie-Atwell and the production of a series of wares which (as much as any factory in the UK) embraced the new design known as the At Deco. The format of the book is very much what one has come to expect from these publishers: various sections of the book deal with backstamps, restoration and fakes and - seemingly a must for all collectable ceramics publications - each of the many colour plates a price guide to the object illustrated.

Rating:
Summary: Great book for Shelley new collector's
Review: This book is a rare find! It is hard to find books on porcelain collectibles and this is an excellent one. It has beautiful color pictures, an excellent history and a value guide that is right on! I collect cups and saucers and the Shelley's are amoung my favorites. This book shows the various styles and patterns that Shelley made and is a very informative reference book.

Rating:
Summary: Great book for Shelley new collector's
Review: This book is a rare find! It is hard to find books on porcelain collectibles and this is an excellent one. It has beautiful color pictures, an excellent history and a value guide that is right on! I collect cups and saucers and the Shelley's are amoung my favorites. This book shows the various styles and patterns that Shelley made and is a very informative reference book.