Dawson inscriptions pre-1830
Dawson appears to have made a wide variety of pottery in the pre-1830 period, and much of it is undated, which makes it difficult to order chronologically. I have tried to group items below according to various characteristics of decoration. The groups are linked by some common factors. There are two very different frog forms that appear to have been used by Dawson. The first two images below are of frog 1, with long legs, joined to the mug with a scratching technique (sgraffito). The third image below is of the smaller, more compact, frog 2, with short legs.
Another feature running through some of the groups on this page is a long-shaped, red and yellow/green bloom framing the verse (see below). I'm not suggesting that these devices are unique to Dawson, but I haven't seen anything similar on firmly attributable North Hylton pottery. NB the Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums catalogue attributes the first mug below (which doesn't have a frog) to North Hylton. But to my mind, it seems to better fit with Dawson-attributed items on this page. The centre mug has the Dawson 1 frog and the right mug has the Dawson 2 frog, shown above, respectively.
Another common feature on some of these items is a daisy, usually pink, in the centre above the inscription. The images below relate to the items above, respectively.
I'll be the first to admit that it is possible that more than one pottery was using these decorative devices. As more items emerge, it might be possible to tease out a subgroup that is attributable to a different pottery.
It is rare for items of this early period to be marked, but in the case of Dawson's, we have the fabulous jug below dated 1801 in the Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums collection.
Perhaps the most unifying feature of items on this page is the way the pink roses are painted. Often they are surrounded by hints of blue enamel. The bottom left detail is from a mug, with an inscription for Mary Ann Coates, 1815, and printed marks 'Dawson & Co' and 'Low Ford'. The second, from a mug inscribed 'Love and Live Happy' is shown in the fine script group below. The third is from the simplified flowers group below.
Red rose group
The mug below, from the Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums collection, is again attributed in their catalogue to North Hylton, most likely on the basis of the similarity of the red roses to items produced at that pottery in the mid 1820s (see Baker p 19). However, in my view, it sits more easily amongst the inscriptions on this page than those at North Hylton. Note the similarity of the text to the 'Lowford' jug above, with the lower case 't' shaped like a number 4. Also, the long red and yellow blooms framing the verse.
This mug, also from the Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums collection, has a large vertical, red and yellow bloom on either side of the verse. The lower case 't' is similar to the mug above. The flowers have small black crosses in the centre (also seen on Phillips-attributed items).
This mug again has the large red and yellow bloom each side of the verse (see bottom centre).
Although the text is different on this (later?) item, it does show that the Low Ford pottery, and not just North Hylton, was decorating items with red roses. This mug has the Dawson frog 1. The lower case 'a', shown in the last detail, has a distinctive long arm reaching over the body. This appears on many of the items shown below in other groups.
The red roses still, however, need more work. The top row of roses below (from the Henderson, Watson and Malt and Venom mugs), which I've attributed to Dawson, are placed above a row of, later, North Hylton roses for comparison. The issue is that the way of painting these flowers was so formulaic, that an attribution based on similarity of flowers alone, is built on weak ground.
Pink rose group
The inscriptions on the mugs below are similar to the Sarah Henderson mug above. The roses are now painted pink. However, the first, again, is attributed in the Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums catalogue to North Hylton. I have included it here because it seems to fit better with the items on this page. The dotted border around the rim of the first mug is similar to that found on bowls I've attributed to Phillips. The green and red motif on either side of the inscription on the first mug is similar to those in the 'red rose' group above.
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As with the Sarah Henderson mug in the red rose group above, the names on these mugs are separated by a large dot, surrounded by a halo of smaller dots. Note that these two mugs also have a pink daisy above the inscription. |
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The next few mugs have the Dawson 'frog 1', also found on items in the 'red rose' group and 'bridge 20' groups. This one also has the pink daisy above the motto, and four of the long red and yellow blooms described above (compare their positioning with those on the back of the Sarah Henderson mug above).
This mug has a Napoleonic verse (pre 1815). Like the Hodgson mug above there are small crosses in the centre of the flowers.
Bridge 22 group
The unmarked mug below is from the Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums collection, and has a bridge transfer attributed to Dawson. The rose motif is a simplified version of those found on some of the items above.
Although the inscription on this jug, dated 1819, is dissimilar to others on this page, it has the same bridge 22 transfer as the mug above. By 1819, the bridge 22 transfer had become degraded. There is also evidence of re-engraving over time. Therefore, the items like the mug above, with simplified flowers, were likely made sometime well before that date.
Below, a mug of similar form to those below, but with an inscription that matches the 1819 jug above.
Photo Gorringes Auctioneers
Simplified flowers group
This mug is unmarked, but the flowers and text are again similar to the mugs above. For the reasons set out in the bridge 22 section above, my guess is these items were made before 1810.
A similar mug to the one above, again unmarked, with a hand-painted ship.
Frog 2
This mug, with a different Dawson frog, has a daisy motif similar to the Coats mug in the fine script group below.
A similar mug with the Dawson 'frog 2'. I have included it here, rather than in the red rose group, because the text is a better match with the mug above.
Fine script group
Two early ovoid creamware jugs. The inscription above, comes from the jug below. Note that the oval shapes to the far left and right of the bridge transfer's title are blank. They would later be engraved 'J Dawson & Co' and 'Low Ford Pottery'. The above right jug has flower decoration in coloured enamels similar to the four mugs above.
The mug below is included here because of the similarity of the flower enamelling to the jug above, and the lettering on the jug below. The Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums collection catalogue again tentatively suggests North Hylton attribution, but it seems to fit better with the items on this page,
The mugs below have a similar double-headed rose motif to the one above. Also, compare the ampersand with the Joseph and Ann Hall jug below.
Photo Norman Lowe
JOSEPH HALL and ANN WATSON were married 24 December 1806 at Hamsterley By Bishop Auckland and in the 1841 census were living at Monks Field, St Andrew Auckland where Joseph’s occupation was given as farmer.
The jug has a printed mark beneath the title 'Dawson & Co Low Ford'.
Although this mug is unmarked, the pattern, showing the pyramid of Caius Cestius (see Baker plate 34), and this form of square handle (also see the mug below), are both known to have been used by Dawson. Interestingly, the inscription for 1815 is printed in the same hand as the jug above (centre detail above).
Although I am unclear of the date of the jug below with a Dawson bridge transfer (in the Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums collection), I have included it here, again, because of the similarity of the 'J' in the inscription.
Although I am unclear of the date of the jug below with a Dawson bridge transfer (in the Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums collection), I have included it here, again, because of the similarity of the 'J' in the inscription.
The mug, with an inscription for 1815, has printed marks 'Dawson & Co' and 'Low Ford'.
Bridge 20 group
These items have a variation of Baker's (Sunderland Pottery) bridge number 20.
The jug below is attributed to Dawson in the Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums catalogue. I have e-mailed the museum to find out whether it has a Dawson printed mark. Norman Lowe has identified a George Crothall married to Elizabeth in 1796 at London St Benet Paul's Wharf, which fits with the 'view of the cast iron bridge to be erected over the River Thames'. However, parliament passed the Bill for the Southwark Bridge to be built in 1811, and the bridge wasn't opened until 1819. So the jug was likely made sometime between those dates.
The first creamware mug below has an inscription Thomas Thompson. The 'a', in particular, is quite unusual and matches the items above. The mug below has text very neatly trimmed off the bottom of the transfer. Norman Lowe has tracked down a Thomas Thompson born 13/7/1820 to Thomas Thompson (snr) and Mary Wardell, so this could be a Christening present made in 1820. Interestingly, Thomas Thompson (jnr) by 1841 is recorded as living in the same house as William Barker, believed to be the son of Edward Barker, an engraver who received payments from Scott's Southwick Pottery between 1796 and 1800. For 40 years Edward Barker was foreman at Scott's Pottery, dying in first quarter 1841. The second mug has the inscription 'In love and unity we support each other'.
Pratt colours
This mug, from the Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums collection, is attributed to Dawson in their catalogue. The text is more crudely painted than on the items above. I have included it here because the enamels have a similar earthy palette to the plate below.
The plate below from the Victoria and Albert Museum Collection has a 'DAWSON & CO' in a semi-circle surrounding the numeral '4' impressed mark.
I have a Van Speyk plate with a very similar impress to the plate below, so again it was likely made c1830.
