Amazng news about Wedgwood dealer & author Wolf Mankowitz

This morning brought to my inbox an astonishing bit of news from Great Britain. I have known of Wolf Mankowitz through his Wedgwood connection for many years, read his books and recently made contact with one of his sons - much to my delight. This lovely pre-Fall morning in the mid-west USA brings an amazing bit of news across the international 'email wire' - click the title of this post to learn more about Mr. Mankowitz ~ I for one had NO idea he was a screen writer for James Bond stories, and certainly not the suspicion that he was a Russian spy!! His story appears a bit like a movie script itself -- years after WWII generally unsuspected folks being accused of having been spies...surely some based upon fact, but as surely many not. The greater Wedgwood community never ceases to amaze me! Wedgwood is thought of by the unsuspecting world as so many dainty floral teacups or 'that blue & white stuff'~ it is easy to understand why the subject of Wedgwood has commanded so much of my attention and study during my 62 1/2 years, since the summer after 8th grade- it seems to be a never-ending saga, no matter from what angle one examines it! Be sure to click this post title for the full article.

Darwin's Family Tree Rediscovered

News is bursting on the 'net this morning of a discovery of a 1932 Galton-Darwin-Wedgwood family tree, oddly enough a copy of early Darwin family photos and other information right here in Missouri. The same article appeared on several scientific sites, so I've just copied it for sharing here among the Wedgwood line of Darwin fans:

A poster of the Galton-Darwin-Wedgwood pedigree was prepared by Harry Hamilton Laughlin, Director of the Eugenics Record Office of the Carnegie Institute, and exhibited at the Third International Congress of Eugenics in 1932 at the American Museum of Natural History.

A photograph of this poster has been discovered in the archives of Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri alongside a photograph of a poster of a collection of rare Darwin family photographs, assembled by Leonard Darwin. The original posters have not been located.

Professor Tim Berra FLS, The Ohio State University, has made this information and associated images available to Darwin scholars world-wide in a paper in volume 101, Issue 1, September 2010 of The Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. Professor Berra said 'The newly available pedigree and photographs open a window into the family life of Charles Darwin, the man. He was a husband, brother, father and grandfather, and, along the way, he also had the greatest idea ever had by the human mind.'

The Galton-Darwin-Wedgwood family is descended from the prominent 18th century doctor Erasmus Darwin; Josiah Wedgwood, founder of the pottery firm Josiah Wedgwood and Sons and Samuel John Galton, an arms manufacturer. The family contains at least ten Fellows of the Royal Society, several artists and poets and of course Charles Darwin who laid the foundations of the theory of evolution and transformed the way we think about the natural world and our place in it.

WEDGWOOD - WOOD FAMILY BIBLE UP FOR AUCTION

UNFORTUNATELY THE BIBLE WAS PASSED IN AS NO ONE CAME FORTH WITH THE OPENING BID OF $10,000 - ITS FUTURE IS NOT KNOWN AT THIS TIME!

Next weekend, 8/28, a Wedgwood and Enoch Wood family Bible will be offered at auction in Maine. Click the post title to learn about the auction and see photos of the treasure for sale. What a shame its owner didn't just donate it to the City Museum in Stoke....if anything could ever be considered a National Treasure, this is one. Hopefully the winning bidder will be the Museum or someone whose plans are to donate it. Enoch Wood Sr. and Jr. were pivitol players in the potteries development, and the Bible originally belonged to Thomas Wedgwood...loads of history there! You can GO HERE to read about the Bible in more detail.

Did Ben Franklin invent Transferware?

As I age and read more and more history, and study genealogy, I find more and more questions about Ben Franklin. As an Adams descendant not all I find sheds a postive light on good ol' Ben, however, the Transferware Collectors Club has published an interesting article on the subject of the origins of the transfer printing process. Ben claims to have had the idea first, and approached a reluctant Josiah Wedgwood about the subject. Click on this post title to read the article, and be sure to check out TCC, a virtual treasure trove of information on transfer printed wares. Their annual meetings and newsletters are well worth our consideration. Their website is www.transcollectorsclub.org and I highly recommend it!