WINTERTHUR PUBLISHES NEW CERAMICS BOOK

Word is out about a new book from Winterthur of interest to Wedgwood collectors. The title is Success to America; Creamware for the American Market. It is not shipping until end of March, but you may order it now at a considerable discount at the pre-publication price. The ordering process is very simple. Click on this post's title to go directly to the Winterthur order page. Regular price will be $75, now $48.75. Shipping to us in St. Louis is $11.49; don't know if that is a universal shipping price. Just in, we're grateful to one of our readers, Nancy from the WSWDC, who has advised that Amazon (www.amazon.com) has the book at a tad bit lower pre-publication price and free shipping! The book should be an important addition to ceramics collectors' libraries as the authorship is stellar: S. Robert Teitelman, Patricia A. Halfpenny, and Ronald W. Fuchs II, with essays by Wendell D. Garrett and Robin Emmerson. Many of the Wedgwood collectors in USA have met the charming Mr. Emmerson in Liverpool; many know Pat Halfpenny as she is a popular speaker on the Wedgwood circuit and of course Wendell Garrett is well known by anyone who reads The Magazine Antiques.

Winterthur holds the wonderful Campbell Collection of Soup Tureens, bowls and other soup-related items, a collection which holds several Wedgwood examples. To me, the most important holding of Winterthur is its large, beautifully displayed, collection of George Washington's china set emblazoned with the insignia of the Society of the Cincinnati, which George founded. Still a going concern today, the Society is a symbol of the continuity of our blood lines through the ages, no matter from whom we descend. Winterthur sells reproductions of pieces of the Cincinnati service, beautiful work to grace any dining table, china closet or side table. We have a piece in our American Historical China category. When I give my talk about George Washington's China I always tell the story of my visit to the Winterthur Cincinnati collection, while my Wedgwood Int'l Seminar pals were off to find the Wedgwood! I caught up later.....

I'm sure this book will be a wonderful reference to add to a few others on the subject of early American Creamware, certainly some of which was supplied by Wedgwood to the colonies, and to George & Martha at Mount Vernon, which he supported, even though he bore the moniker Potter to the Queen! I'd love to receive a review of this new book for posting on the blog from any of its readers among our own readers.

See the comments for this post, but know that after I added that I found another great article on the subject of Nelson pottery, meaning pottery commemorating Horatio Nelson. On two pages, six black & white photos illustrate the topic of various potteries' issues to commemorate Nelson, to include an example by Wedgwood. Apollo Magazine back issues can be difficult to find, but for the serious creamware collector this one would be worth the effort - look for February 1953.

Buten Museum Collection - Where it is now

Many of us Wedgwood collectors know about the former Buten Museum of Wedgwood, at one time located in the Buten home in Merion, PA. The saga of the collection's movements over the past years is also known to many of us, but here is a great article on its current home, the Birmingham Museum of Art. CLICK ON THE TITLE OF THIS BLOG POST TO CONNECT DIRECTLY TO THE ARTICLE.