Wedgwood

Wigston: Magna Books, 1992. Hardbound. VG/VG. Blue glossy color-illustrated boards, with like-dustjacket. 255 pp., some illustrations. From dustjacket: This beautiful and definitive book by one of the foremost living experts on the world-famous pottery of Josiah Wedgwood and his successors has been a treasured authority for lovers of fine pottery from the moment of its first appearance in 1953. This new edition has been produced to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the birth of Josiah Wedgwood, and contains the author's original material together with some necessary minor changes and new information. It shows the rich variety of the Wedgwood patterns and ceramics during 120 years of superb potter's art. The products described range from an exquisite pair of candle vases in dark blue jasper dip, decorated with 'Birth and Dipping of Achilles', to the Chatelaine or fob chain containing an eye glass, seals, and a padlock and key, or the lady's steel comb with three blue and white jasper cameos of about 1786. The 124 illustrations give a fully representative range of the products of the Wedgwood manufactory between 1754 and 1876. Here are also the drawings of the beautiful Creamware Shapes engraved by William Blake, and strange examples of the potter's art such as the Bulb Pot in pale blue solid jasper, c.1785. For the great collectors in the past, Wedgwood began and ended with blue jasper and black basaltes.