West View of the Cast Iron Bridge
Attributed to Phillips & Co, Sunderland – 1807–1812 or
Dixon, Austin, Phillips and Co –1813–1818
This is a variation of Baker's bridge 11 with a Phillips & C Sunderland printed mark beneath.
Photo Anderson and Garland
The shape of the jug and the darker cream body of both the jug and tankard below suggest they were made by one of the earlier Dixon partnerships, pre-1818. The transfer on the jug pairs with another of the 'Sweet Little Cherub'. The mug is bridge 11 without the maker's mark.
Dixon, Austin & Co, Sunderland Pottery (1818–1839) – plate 1
The lighter coloured creamware jug (first shown below) has a printed mark under the farming transfer for 'Dixon, Austin & Co, Sunderland'. This is bridge 11 on an item similar to the one in Baker.
Dixon, Austin & Co, Sunderland Pottery (1818–1839) – plate 1
The jugs below have Baker's bridge 11 and strong pink lustre decoration. There are no coloured enamels over the transfer. These jugs likely date from the 1820s.
Two transfer plates
The first three pairs of details below show the deterioration of transfer plate 1 over time. The first pair is from the creamware mug (pre 1818). The clouds are clearly defined. The second is from the later (1820s) lighter creamware jug with the broken handle. The third is from the pink lustre farming jug above. Various speckles and scratches show that these items have transfers from the same copper plate.
After 1815, Phillips acquired a second site for his pottery at North Hylton (the first site being the Garrison Pottery in Sunderland). So Dixon, Austin and Co might have had two versions of the transfer for producing similar wares on two sites. An alternative (and perhaps more likely) explanation is that a new plate was engraved around 1830 when the first plate was worn out. Note the formation of the clouds in the details below.
Dixon, Austin & Co, Sunderland Pottery (1818–1839) – plate 2
The jugs below have a slight variation of Baker's bridge 11 transfer, decorated with coloured over-enamels.
Below, a very large jug with a handle to aid pouring.
Dixon, Austin & Co, Sunderland Pottery (1818–1839) – plate 3
The first jug below, dated 1824, has a smaller version of this view with a 'Dixon & Co' printed mark incorporated into the transfer. It is Baker's bridge 41. The second, with a distinctive blue collar and from a similar date, has a portrait of Byron.
Dixon, Austin & Co, Sunderland Pottery (1818–1839) – plate 4
This transfer is very similar to the one above. However, they appear to come from entirely different copper plates. Note the view under the bridge on the 1824 'Mary Silby' jug above (left detail below) has a small building with smoke coming from a chimney. On the later version of the transfer, on the mug below dated 1831 (right detail below), the small building has disappeared. My guess is that the engraver copied the worn plate 3 above when making plate 4, and misinterpreted the details. Note also the roof tiles on the long building behind.
This small mug has two sets of initials and was presumably a gift for a marriage in 1831.
This transfer could be a later imprint of plate 4 above. The buildings under the bridge are now just random marks.
Below are further examples of bridge 41 on jugs with coloured over-enamels. These were likely produced into the 1830s.
Dixon, Austin & Co, Sunderland Pottery (1818–1839) – plate 5
In this version of the transfer, there's a long wavy line of clouds above the bridge. Moore's pottery appear to have copied this version (see below).
Photo Ian Holmes
Moore & Co, Wear Pottery
The view is the same as those above, but with the printed mark 'Moore & Co, Southwick' incorporated into the transfer. This is Baker's bridge 25.
