When first I was a foremast man... – Sunderland
Attributed to the Garrison Pottery
An eel pot or butter dish from the 1840s.
Garrison Pottery
This is the more familiar rendering of the verse with variations produced by several Sunderland potteries. The Dixon version has one row of marks on the sails of the ship.
This transfer appears on a large pedestal bowl, which although unmarked, is of a form and decoration typical of the Garrison Pottery, c1860.
Moore's Pottery
The printed mark is from the bridge transfer on the other side of the jug. The Moore version has two rows of marks on the lower sails of the ship.
The transfer as it appears on two bowls from the 1840s. The first with one of The Bottle series transfers, and the second with a rare transfer titled The Author's Earnest Cry. Both bowls have a Moore & Co impressed mark.
Scott's Pottery
The Scott version has one row of marks on the sails of the ship. The jug below from c1850 with typical Scott flowers around the collar. Note the small vertical scratch that appears above the left-most leaf in the third detail. It also appears on the orange lustre bowl below.
The transfer is less clear on the mug below, but appears to be from the same transfer plate.
Although the bowl below is unmarked, other examples with this orange green and red border, with a double transfer, have been recorded with the Scott impress.
Ball's Deptford Pottery
A plate with a degraded transfer and faded lustre typical of Ball's Deptford Pottery around the turn of the 20th century. The transfer comes from the same copper plate as the Scott bowl above.
Photo eBay
Attributed to Seaham Pottery
The mug below, from the Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums collection, is attributed in their catalogue to Seaham.
When first I was a foremast man... – Tyneside
Attributed to Carr & Patton, Low Lights, North Shields
Attributed to Robert Maling, Ouseburn Pottery, Newcastle
Below are three jugs with a fine imprint of the transfer.
A heavier imprint of the transfer from the same copper plate as above.
Below, the verse paired with rare Nelson and Britain's Pride transfers. The red squiggle decoration is found on items with the Life Boat and Grace Darling rescue, so can be dated to c1838, over 30 years after Nelson's death.
Redhead, Wilson & Co, Forth Banks, Newcastle Pottery – 1833–1838
The distinctive banded decoration on the items below is peculiar to Newcastle Pottery from the 1830s.
