THAT PESKY EXTRA E

In filing and generally trying to clean up my office today I was putting some old china catalogues in a binder when I noticed a nice 8.5" x 11" color brochure mailed to me in 1983 from Robin Importers, Inc. 510 Madison Ave., NY NY.... They must have used a mailing list from a Wedgwood "club" to which I belonged. There are lovely color photos of various china and Queen's Ware patterns, with the pattern name printed below ... Adams-Lancaster, Mikasa-Silk Flowers, WedgEwood-Flying Cloud, WedgEwood-Potpourii [sic] ... so much for shiny color catalogues being of any better quality than something lesser! The moral is probably to not ignore smaller companies who can spell but maybe have less "slick" promotional material!!

LATEST WEDGWOOD 250th PRESS RELEASE

PLEASE CLICK THE TITLE OF THIS BLOG POST TO GO DIRECTLY TO THE LATEST WEDGWOOD 250th CELEBRATION AND EXHIBITION NEWS or find it from HERE . We are adding a lovely set of EASTERN FLOWERS Queen's Ware today which was made in that magic year 1947 and discontinued in the early 1960s. This particular set is in such mint condition we might think it was a reproduction if we didn't know its source! Over the years Josiah Wedgwood & Sons produced many patterns with an oriental motif and this is a lovely example of that genre - timeless and elegant, as at home on today's tables as those post-war patterns were when they were brand new and all the rage!

WHAT'S NEW AT ALEXIS ANTIQUES THIS WEEK

Recently I was in suburban Chicago and came back with some lovely china from a lovely 92 year old lady leaving her home of 59 years, a home FILLED with historic memorabilia, china, glass, Wedgwood, French china, you name it, she has it! A retired teacher, she had many interests which are beautifully reflected in her collections. In the coming days we will have her beautiful set of 1960s era "Eastern Flowers" Queens Ware displayed on our website - it seems I may even have an original Wedgwood ad for this pattern which will likely be added in for a buyer who might enjoy having it. There is some old Brownfields china which looks very much like it was designed by famed Wedgwood and Minton designer Thomas Allen. We also have a great historic plate showing a different scene of Fort Ticonderoga than what we already have in stock, and a spectacular polychrome, mint condition "Jenny Lind" plate. For those of you who love the brown Aesthetic transferware of the late 1800s, you'll find a large, two handled floor urn/vase too. It would be gorgeous with dried fall flowers, sunflowers, feathers, or whatever your imagination can conjure up! So stay tuned and visit the website this week for some new "sights".

WEDGWOOD IN THE NEWS

For those of you who might belong to the Wedgwood International Seminar and couldn't go this year, or those of you just interested in what the WIS is all about, we have linked to an article in the UK Sentinel of 11 June 2009 which tells about the WIS members and their tour this year to the Potteries in UK. Pictured are active Wedgwoodians Bob Reichner from Illinois, Mike Smith from California, Ellis Rubin from PA and Anne Forschler-Tarrasch, curator at the Birmingham Museum of Art in Alabama, all personally known to me; I hated to miss this year, but daughters graduating from Medical School just don't grow on trees, but they DO keep one in New England, not merry Olde England! Click on the title of this blog post to go right to the Sentinel article.

Also the July issue of The Magazine Antiques is out and you will see an interesting and unusual bough pot c1810 in the ad of Mr. & Mrs. Jerome Blum on page 24. This is not a common shape at all so you might wish to check it out. Those who went to the WIS meeting in Kansas City last year will want to see page 68 for an article about the Nelson-Atkins Museum there which has recently undergone some renovation.

WEDGWOOD SERENDIPITY

Sometimes we Wedgwoodians glory in the fun of finding Wedgwood even when we are trying not to! This week I was visiting the Marietta, Ohio Campus Martius Museum and the closeby area called Stanleyville, both homes of one of my Revolutionary War ancestors Thomas Stanley and his wife Mixenda Dix Nott Stanley. I've wanted to be there for ages, and finally able to get there on the way home from my recent New England trek. During the guided tour of Gen. Rufus Putnam's preserved home I was busily looking around the late 1700s kitchen and paying rapt attention to the wooden trencher, iron pots and tilt top table owned by Persis Putnam. In the next room, the parlor, sat an antique table with 2 dinner plates and a lovely tureen with underplate. I recognized it immediately but waited until our tour guide paused for questions and I asked if he would lift a plate; he allowed me to do so and of course there was the impressed word WEDGWOOD just as I knew there would be. What they have is 3 pieces of the early feather edge pattern, ca. the mid 1800s - too late to have been in the house when Mrs. Putnam was hostess, but apparently donated by someone later on. I spoke to the small tour group about the china and laughed at the thought of one of my pal's having once told a group I could 'smell' Wedgwood! In the main part of the museum building itself, I found glass cases with other items owned by the original family and descendants in the area...to include a lovely Widow Finial black basalt teapot. If you have read our New and Featured Items frames, you have seen the story of Thomas and Mixenda who migrated from Farmington, CT and settled at Campus Martius. Their daughter, my 4great grandmother Nancy Anna Stanley, was born in one of the blockhouses on 1 Jan 1791, the day before the Indian attacks became more serious and organized. I drove to Marietta from Farmington, CT where I photo'd the graves of Thomas' father and grandfather. Be sure to see our Campus Martius commemorative items by Wedgwood in stock now. And as you read on, you'll see the news of the lovely new Wedgwood book by Tricia Foley. Check page 30 to see the pattern I found at Campus Martius. Illustrated in the book is the soup tureen, the Museum in Ohio has a gorgeous oval covered vegetable dish with underplate, in gorgeous condition and a treat to see since it is a pretty rare pattern to find; there is some at Williamsburg if memory serves.

BACK HOME AGAIN - SO MUCH NEWS

After 5 weeks away, I'm back home and trying to ship orders, unpack, remember where I keep things at home, and glad to be off the road for awhile. There is mail totally covering the dining room table to include, among the stacks, interesting Wedgwood news. First, the receipt of a book we ordered some time ago before it was available, from Amazon.com. Designed & written by Tricia Foley, a former President of Wedgwood USA, and others, it's full of gorgeous table top photos and other scenes of china, Queen's Ware, jasper and black basalt. You will find many things in the book which are in our inventory. Check out page 40, a great illustration of the "Adam" pattern, named after the brothers of architectural fame, but mis-marked on many pieces as "Adams" - we have 3 pieces of that in stock. Page 67 also illustrates items we have in stock as does the Table of Contents page. The book is a treasure trove of ideas for using your Wedgwood collection to compliment your home decor, your meals and your collectible shelves. You'll see scenes from Lord Wedgwood's beautiful home as well, not to be missed. Martha Stewart and Vera Wang designs are also presented. This book is a catalog, a learning tool and a great coffee table book! Find it for less than cover price at Amazon.Com ISBN is 978-0-307-45184-2. You will notice a definite predominance of white and cream patterns, check out our inventory for lots of white and cream, but in particular we have a place setting of the timeless pattern "Wedgwood White" seen on the Title Page of the book, see it here. Additionally you will see on page 150 the timeless Queen's Ware pattern "Edme". Over the years I've written often about this pattern, one of Wedgwood's longest running patterns, in fact I believe that right now it is probably the longest running pattern currently in production. We have a good deal in stock but I'll let you know that the older "Edme" is a creamier color, not as white as the newer pattern seen on page 151. Personally I love mixing stark white and creams, but others might not. Beware as you buy the older patterns to mix with newer ones. Be sure to check our Queen's Ware inventory for undecorated and decorated "Edme" pattern pieces!

Also in our mail is the newest issue of the great newsletter published by The Wedgwood Society of Washington, DC. Loaded with photos this issue, more than normal it seems, it also sports a great, detailed, account of the recent Wedgwood International Seminar in England and more news about the Wedgwood 250th Anniversary Exhibition coming from October to February at the DAR Museum in Washington, DC. Check out our website LINKS to find information on all of these subjects - membership information for WSWDC and WIS, press release for the Wedgwood 250th and much more!