C T Maling inscriptions
According to R C Bell, Christopher Thompson Maling took over the Ouseburn Bridge Pottery in 1853, from his father, Robert Maling. C T Maling opened the Ford Pottery in 1859. So the items on this page were made at Ouseburn Bridge.
There are two styles of inscription on this page, typified by the two plaques below. They are similar, but the work of two different enamellers. Both can be traced to CT Maling, and appear on objects from the 1850s.
Firstly, the distinctively florid italic script also found on Robert Maling items from the late 1840s. The mug below is attributed to C T Maling on the basis of the shared High Level Bridge transfer that appears on the marked bowl below in the Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums collection. The catalogue says the bowl has a triangular impressed mark with the initials CTM. This form of script appears to have been used until c 1856.
Secondly, the jug below has similar script to the right plaque above. It shares the Sailor's Return transfer that appears on bowls with the C T MALING impress. This appears to be a later hand, used on items from 1857.
Inscriptions in date order
After 1856, the inscriptions change and become less florid.
Below, a similar jug to the one above, from the Crimean period, with masonic, maritime and farming emblems.
Food for thought
The jug, left below, is apparently by the the first hand described in the introduction above, and yet has a Farmers' Arms transfer that is firmly attributable to the Newcastle Pottery, Forth Banks. So perhaps the enameller worked there after leaving Ouseburn Bridge, c1856. Or perhaps he jobbed for both potteries. The right jug below has C T Maling transfers, but the script is again slightly different.
