INVENTORY REDUCTION SALE - BONE CHINA & QUEENSWARE

We need to downsize our space, so we're having a great sale!  50% off a long list of Queens Ware / Queensware patterns and 25% off all our bone china inventory.

Go to www.alexisantiques.com and click the link on the front page - place an order and we'll send an invoice for half off the Queensware, plus shipping.  Bone china item prices are already showing at 25% off their original amount. Any questions, just drop us an email or give us a call.

Thanks for shopping with Alexis Antiques, Alexis Antiques Annex and CollegePlates.com

Wedgwood's CORNUCOPIA bone china pattern

Alexis Antiques has two lovely pieces in this popular and elegant bone china pattern.  This was the late Lord  Wedgwood's china pattern, used by Lady Wedgwood and him in their beautiful US home and a favorite of many others around the world.  Click HERE to see the pieces we have currently in stock. 

Wild Strawberry doing a new duty with Lord Wedgwood

From Wedgwood's Facebook Page today:

Lord Wedgwood enjoying a speciality cocktail in a Wedgwood Wild Strawberry teacup at the Britweek Red Carpet Launch Party! — in Los Angeles, CA.  GO HERE to see what we have in stock in this gorgeous, ever-popular pattern!

WEDGWOOD EXHIBT IN MASSACHUSETTS - A MUST SEE

Our friends Ron Frazier and Dan O'Keefe of the Wedgwood Society of Boston are busy publicizing Wedgwood ceramics in the greater Boston, MA area.  Click here for information on Ron's exhibit at the Thayer Public Library in Braintree - an exhibit lasting from now thru February.  Featured in the exhibit will be outstanding examples of Wedgwood production from the company's inception in the mid 1700s up through 21st century wares.  The items in Dan's book will be on display "in the flesh" as we like to say, so make a trek over to Braintree and immerse yourself in a great visual feast of Wedgwood, and a day of learning too we're sure!  Likely there will be brochures available with information about the Wedgwood Society of Boston, if not be sure to ask someone, they all know Ron!

Here is one of the items to be seen in the exhibit, a beautiful scallop shell plate in Pearlware from a lucious dessert set made in the 1870s ~ we have two in stock,  CLICK HERE to see them.

Alexis Antiques on Facebook - Finally

We have finally published a Facebook page for Alexis Antiques & Alexis Antiques Annex!  Just type in Alexis Antiques and you'll find us!  We'll be posting new items in stock, news, views and maybe video tapes so check us out!  But don't forget our blog!

London Evening News Features Portland Vase restored with Wedgwood's help

Most of us Wedgwoodians know the story of the Portland Vase, if one doesn't there are PLENTY of books on the subject both informative and beautiful.  Our good friend Lord Anthony Pulford of Glencoe, Scotland recently gifted me with a wonderful book published in 1951 entitled "London is Stranger Than Fiction".  This is a book of the cartoons and stories written by Peter Jackson which appeared in The London Evening News every Wednesday for several years.  The stories are interesting historical facts, funny happenings and trivia questions - such as "Where in London can you see a mosaic of Greta Garbo?"  We spotted one very fun fact that we don't think we knew before about the Portland Vase.  See the panel below (Click the picture for a larger version so you can read it.) from the issue of 9 March 1949.  And from Lord Pulford comes this tidbit that I didn't know about, "Oddly enough, when the latest restoration of the Portland Vase was carried out, they found an envelope in the glass case containing the bits that the original restorer couldn't find a place for."  That's pretty scary!  Oh and by the way Greta may be seen on the floor of the entrance to the National Gallery.  For all London lovers, this book would be a treasure, look for it at your favorite used book seller, antiques shop or book fair! 

WEDGWOOD DOES THANKSGIVING

Being a descendant of two Mayflower passengers, Thanksgiving is always an important day at our house.  I began hearing from friends weeks ago that Christmas items were already in the stores.  Halloween of course gets lots of "press", and lots of floor space in the retail stores.  Have you ever thought about the fact that retail-wize we go straight from Halloween to Christmas?  Unless Christmas came first to begin with?  We at Alexis Antiques never forget Thanksgiving and hope you won't either.  If you click this post title you will see a spectacular Pearlware plate which would be smashing as a decoration for the home this time of year, OR as a serving piece for some of your Thanksgiving victuals.  More wonderful Thanksgiving merchandise will appear if one CLICKS HERE, and HERE is a nice print from a 1917 issue of Ladies Home Journal magazine which is colorful and a very traditional look at our vision of that first Thanksgiving.  Let us know if we can help you with any aspect of your browsing or purchasing process.  Many of our items are by Wedgwood, but you will see some by others - and there is even a beer ad to be found with a great Mayflower theme!  Remember water was bad in those days, beer was healthier and the pilgrims took LOTS of it on their journey so it's appropriate for the beer barons to use beer as a theme for advertising at this time of year!

May your blessings be many and your thanks be for much good in your lives.

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS LORD WEDGWOOD TODAY?

Our friend Lord Wedgwood's travels can be so very interesting, we love "following" him around the world.  This week he is still in Sydney, Australia, where he has been for awhile, on an extended trip promoting the company's Wedgwood and Bentley line of prestige wares.  We are pleased to bring you a YOUTube interview with RescuTV at the Langholm Hotel in Sydney.  Here you can see the always colorful Lord Wedgwood talking about gifting Wedgwood and about collecting it too.  He describes the story of how so many Wedgwood collectors, yours truly included, first came down with the Wedgwood disease, finding just one piece of Wedgwood, usually a small blue jasper piece, and falling in love.  Sometimes these encounters last the rest of a lifetime, and as one wanders the world of Wedgwood collecting, one will discover MANY of these stories.  It is interesting that he uses that example because I have heard several collectors say it to him, as have I.  Enjoy a bit over 6 minutes listening to Lord Wedgwood's lovely lilting British accent as he talks about his favorite subject and his interviewer's equally lovely Aussie accent!  

And please don't forget our website www.alexisantiques.com for your upcoming Christmas shopping!  We'll be shipping right up to the very last day possible to get your gift selections to your lucky recipients. With over 2,000 line items of Wedgwood, antiques, and Wedgwood-related items, we're sure to have something for everyone on your shopping list...and if all else fails, a gift-certificate comes to mind!

 We have some of these Nativity figures by Coalport in stock, item # wwx602.

CLARICE CLIFF AT THE WEDGWOOD MUSEUM & ALEXIS ANTIQUES

 I spotted this announcement on my Facebook page this morning and thought I'd share it.  I was also reminded of a wonderful Clarice Cliff set we have for sale on our website at present, fall colors and all!

 CLICK HERE to see a great bone china limited edition set designed by Clarice.  And you can go here to see a definitive book on Clarice and her work and here to see a bone or salad plate by Clarice with a completely different look! 

The Wedgwood Museum

Clarice Cliff lovers will not want to miss our second 'Simply Clarice' event to be held at the museum on Saturday 29th September.

For bookings and further details please visit www.simplyclarice.com or call 07774 623 770 for further information.

Simply Clarice

Saturday, September 29 at 10:00am in UTC+01 at The Wedgwood Museum

WEDGWOOD BLUE by Ketelbey

If you are a regular reader of our blog you may remember that we posted a link to this song in the past, but we've just heard a beautiful rendition of it played on an organ and available on YouTube by clicking the title of this post. I think this is my favorite of all the versions I've heard. You can go here to find the sheet music so you can make your own version come alive! Enjoy!

MINTON ARCHIVE TO JOIN WEDGWOOD MUSEUM HOLDINGS

FINALLY, some good news on the Wedgwood Museum Trust fiasco. It appears that fundraising will begin to pay the Wedgwood Museum's part of the Pension Fund shortfall thus ending the long battle to secure the future of the Wedgwood Museum holdings! This is the first really good result that has been announced in quite some time. Coincidental to this problem at Barlaston has been the dilemma over what to do with the Minton Archive which became homeless in the demise of the Minton factory. That historic and valuable collection will be housed in some fashion with the Wedgwood archives at the Wedgwood Museum in Barlaston, Stoke-on-Trent. It appears changes to the Museum will be made to accommodate these additional archives and it seems likely we will now be following the progress of that step in the procedure. What a long road through a lot of British muck this has been but now a glimmer of hope has emerged! Let us all now give our support to those who will be working hard to make this latest plan realize success! Josiah may now relax in his repose and perhaps rest in some new-found peace!  One can visit our website and see several Minton Archival Prints by a well-known British publisher.  Click the link above  (Minton Archive) for our favorite, a print with a raised gold emblem which replicates how the cup looks in 'the flesh'.  And if you click the link Minton Archival Prints you will see others we have for sale currently.

Presidents' Day will be here soon

It's long been our habit to make a Featured Item Frame on our website for American History Month and Presidents' Day in February. If you click the title of this post you'll see three nice Presidential China plates we have in stock. If you go to the Browse Inventory box on our site, and type in Lincoln, Kennedy, or Eisenhower you will find items pertaining to those men produced by Josiah Wedgwood & Sons as well, and don't miss the Featured Item Frame on the beautiful set of George and Martha Washington portrait plates produced in 1932 for the Daughters of the American Revolution, they are gorgeous!

WEDGWOOD FOR CHRISTMAS

CHRISTMAS IS NEARLY HERE BUT THERE IS PLENTY OF TIME TO SHOP WITH ALEXIS ANTIQUES. WE SHIP RIGHT UP TO THE LAST MOMENT SO IF YOU WANT TO PAY OVERNIGHT SHIPPING, WE CAN SHIP AS LATE AS FRIDAY AFTERNOON FOR SATURDAY ARRIVAL. WE'VE ADDED A FEW NEW ITEMS FOR CHRISTMAS, SO CLICK THE TITLE OF THIS POST AND SEE WHAT WE HAVE THAT MIGHT PLEASE YOUR GIFT RECIPIENTS.
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO OUR MANY CUSTOMERS AND VISITORS, WE HOPE YOUR HOLIDAYS ARE WARM AND BRIGHT!

Wedgwood Interest Photography

Some time back I corresponded a bit with Gered Mankowitz, the son of Wolf Mankowitz of Wedgwood fame. Wolf was a dealer of Wedgwood and an author. Many of us collectors have his books in our libraries. Gered is a very famous photographer and well known for his work with The Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix. In working at my desk just now, I have the TV show Pawn Stars on for noise; nothing else I like better was airing! Amazingly, someone took a framed black & white photo of Jimi Hendrix in to sell and the son bought it for $2,000 as a Father's Day gift for his dad. It was signed by Gered and numbered #4 of 25 prints made. It would probably have sold for more at an auction, but the seller was happy. By the way, the Wedgwood retail shop in London named Gered was named after Gered as I recall his telling me. For more information about this famous photographer, just Google Gered Mankowitz. You can also click here to see the Wedgwood Queensware mug with the front of the Gered store in Piccadilly, a great place to shop for Wedgwood in the not-so-long-ago-past plus it's a great looking mug!

ROYALTY COMMEMORATIVES ENJOY POPULARITY

As a person involved in many things British, I am frequently asked about Royalty Souvenir items, especially, obviously, ceramics. If you check out our other blog posts, you will see some articles about the current flurry of new Royal Wedding commemoratives. There are many collectors around the world, especially in the Commonwealth countries, for all things Royal. We normally say that any time there is a change in the Royal Family, interest in royalty souvenir china spikes up. The current Royal Wedding craze is no different. We therefore are highlighting some of our royal items in inventory, and will be bringing out more in the next day or so. The thimble pictured here came out in 1983, when Diana was pregnant with Prince Harry. It is styled Charles & Diana Royal Birth Thimble. Additionally we have a great plate featuring the Duke of Windsor as Edward 8th, his face shown from the right side. This plate is well executed, with thick enamel paint, but most importantly not only rare because much of the Edward VIIIth items were broken and discarded, but because The Duke disliked his own right side profile thus seldom allowed items with these images. We also have available a Keith Murray Queensware tankard featuring The Duke of Windsor as King and a very nice tricolour jasper Trojan upright rope-handled jug featuring Prince Charles & Lady Diana at the time of their marriage. Also from the era of Charles & Diana's wedding, 30 years ago now, we have a Richard Guyatt design Queensware plate featuring Diana, Charles and the Prince of Wales feathers. Click the links for a good selection of royalty commemorative items. And watch those royal happenings to see the upswing in availability and popularity of Royal Commemorative ceramics, a great time for collectors!

ALEXIS ANTIQUES BRANCHES OUT PAST WEDGWOOD

Alexis Antiques has been in the business of selling Wedgwood and related products for 16 years now. Our websites have always been geared toward our Wedgwood products with a few historical china items added in. It has become difficult to add in merchandise that isn't Wedgwood, so we created a new store within a store we might call it, naming it Alexis Antiques Annex. We're pointing this out at this time because we are preparing to add quite a bit of merchandise to the Annex. We have some lovely dinnerware, beautiful collectible tea cups, and other vintage and antique items we want to bring to the marketplace. Additionally we have a great stock of genealogy books listed for sale. Click the title of this post to go the Alexis Antiques Annex segment of Alexis Antiques website. There won't be any Wedgwood in the Annex, but lots of great "stuff" new to the internet and our site. Enjoy and be sure to let us know if you have any questions! We'll be adding new items frequently in the coming weeks to both Alexis Antiques and Alexis Antiques Annex, and there is always something new at www.collegeplates.com too!

WEDGWOOD FROG SERVICE TREAT

The Wedgwood Queen's Ware dinner and dessert service for Catherine the Great of Russia is a popular subject of study for many Wedgwood collectors around the world. From one of our Wedgwood friends comes this wonderful photo of the
Chesme Chapel, thanks so much Kay for sharing this lovely image! Click this blog post title to see a couple of Frog Service items we have in stock at present.

PRESS ONCE AGAIN ABUZZ WITH WEDGWOOD MUSEUM MESS

Tonight's press is full of new articles about the folly the British Government is trying to foment against the award winning, historically critical Wedgwood Museum. Click this post title for another well-written article by Tristram Hunt, MP for Stoke Central. He is excellent at articulating the situation and the ramifications of an incorrect decision. Go to http://www.savewedgwood.org/ to make yur voice heard on the subject!

(1/27/80) Here is a quote from the UK Telegraph on the Museum situation: "Threat to Wedgwood

SIR – I am fully aware of the Wedgwood Museum’s unfortunate situation (report, January 22) and recognise the implications for the people of Stoke-on-Trent, the Wedgwood family and part of the nation’s heritage.

My department has given full assistance to the museum, including grants of over £275,000 and ongoing expert advice. I have also written to the new owners of the Wedgwood company to stress the national importance of the museum’s collection.

Like all concerned, I must now await the outcome of the court case to establish whether the museum may be liable to pay Wedgwood’s pension debt. If the courts decide against the museum, I will do all I can to bring the cultural sector together to attempt to secure the collection for the nation."

Ed Vaizey MP (Con)
Culture Minister, London SW1

MEETING THIS WEEK REGARDING WEDGWOOD MUSEUM

From our friends in UK:

Dear All,

Thank you for your continued support.

I am writing to let you know that Hon. Dr Tristram Hunt (MP for Stoke Central), will be meeting Rt. Hon. Ed Vaizey Minister at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport this week to discuss the situation with the Wedgwood Museum.

Mr Vaizey has received many letters now from supporters but the more that he receives the more pressure will be applied - so please write to him and the Pensions Minister Steve Webb if you haven’t yet done so.

Full contact details, together with document and e-mail templates are available at: www.savewedgwood.org

Best wishes, The "Save the Wedgwood Museum" Campaign Team

INVENTORY REDUCTION SALE

WE HAVE RECENTLY MOVED ALL OF OUR MERCHANDISE AND WE FIND THE NEW SPACE NOT QUITE AS BIG AS WE PREVIOUSLY ENJOYED. TO MAKE OUR SPACE MORE CONDUCIVE TO GOOD BUSINESS, WE ARE REDUCING INVENTORY - ALL ITEMS IN OUR BONE CHINA CATEGORY (ITEMS WITH PRODUCT #S IN THE 600 SERIES) ARE 25% OFF. PLEASE SEND US ANY INQUIRIES THROUGH WEB COMMENTS, OR SIMPLY PUT ITEMS IN YOUR CART AND ASK A QUESTION, OR PLACE AN ORDER, THE PRICES YOU NOW SEE IN THIS CATEGORY ARE ALREADY REDUCED 25%. IF YOU MIX AND MATCH CATEGORIES THE REDUCED PRICES WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY REFLECTED.
THANKS FOR VISITING! CLICK THE TITLE OF THIS POST TO GO DIRECTLY TO OUR BONE CHINA CATEGORY.