Chair Identification

Q: I am looking for information on this chair. I recently inherited it from my mother. I used your identification guide, but I’m not clear if I am interpreting it correctly. What can you tell me from this mark?

A: This is an English registry mark. It was used on metal, wood, glass, and ceramics from 1842 to 1883 to indicate the design had been registered at the British patent office. The number in the circle at the top is the type of material (wood), the number below is the day of the month (24). The number on the left is the parcel number (5), the letter P is the year (1877), and the letter K is the month (November). It indicates the design was registered at the British patent office on November 24, 1877. You can find more information about English registry marks and tables for interpreting them are on our website, Kovels.com. The chair may have been part of a set of dining table chairs.

chair with english registry mark

Dresden with English Marks

Q: I bought two blue and white porcelain pieces at an estate sale. They’re marked on the bottom and inside the lids. I’m confused because there appear to be markings that are English and that also say Dresden. What can you tell me about them?

A: The marks on your porcelain include the pattern name, “Dresden,” and the English design registry mark, but not a maker’s mark. The English registry mark indicates the pattern was registered in 1871. The design is often called “Blue Onion,” a pattern that originated in China. It was made in Germany by Meissen in the 1700s, and was copied by many other potteries in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Without a maker’s mark we can’t be sure who made your dishes, but we found similar Dresden pieces marked with an English registry mark and the letters “B.W. & Co.,” indicating the pattern was made by Bates Walker & Co., in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England. It operated as Bates, Elliot & Co. from 1870 to 1875, when the design was registered. It became Bates Walker & Co. in 1875 and continued to make the pattern. To learn how to read an English registry mark, go to our “Look for your mark” section on Kovels.com.

dresden blue onion pattern porcelain piece with lid

Daisy F.W.G. Platter

Q:  I inherited an antique platter from my mother, who got it from a neighbor in the 1940s. She was from England, and this belonged to her mother. I’d like to know who the maker is. The platter is marked “Daisy, RdNo124128,” and “EWG” or “FWG” & “C” or “O.” Anything you tell me would […]

Antique Pottery & Porcelain Marks Identification Guide

Every collector knows that the quickest way to identify a piece of pottery or porcelain is to identify the mark, but sometimes it’s unreliable because marks are often forged and changed. This is a listing of the better-known marks and backstamps and enough information so that you can learn more about your porcelains. Research and experience will tell you if the color, texture, weight, design, or general “feel” of the piece is right. This will help you identify the mark.

Antique marks are listed according to their shapes. Some marks are made up of letters listed in alphabetical order. Some marks look like a circle, square, bird or animal shape, etc.

There are many problems with company names. Obviously, the original name of a German company was in German. When translated, several possible forms could have been used. In some cases, it is an comfortable translation. If the initials in the mark were directly connected to the foreign name, it may have a more awkward translation. In a few cases it is the foreign title.

Reading the mark’s date is relatively simple. “1895–1900” means the mark may have been used during those years. If it is a date such as “1895+,” it is not known how long after 1895 the mark was in use. “ca.1895” suggests a general time period. The date could have been used at any time during the years on either side of 1895.

The factory dates are more difficult. Most of the time they are from the first year that any predecessor company worked until the last year any successor company worked, provided that the name or management was continuous. Two companies frequently merged into one and the mark was used for the new company so it is dated back to the oldest company with a direct relationship to the mark. For example, the mythical company of “Ralph Ltd.” was founded in 1820. This company bought “Terry and Son,” a company started in 1840. If the new firm took the name “Great Pottery, Inc.,” it would then be listed as dating from 1820. If “Terry and Son” had bought “Ralph Ltd.,” the new company would be dated from 1840. The information was often sketchy and sometimes conflicting. The successor company, if it is still in business, is listed at the bottom of the mark caption.

There is some confusion in any reference containing Delft marks. The Delft factories had a special way of registering their marks, and the factory names which were registered are often misspelled. Here each factory name is written in Dutch and then translated into English, so you will be able to find these names in other sources. Because each writer spells these names a little differently and each century saw a change in the actual way the Dutch language was written, each name is in its modern-day Dutch spelling. Often, for the Delft factory, a person’s name may be listed instead of a factory name. This is usually an artist or the factory owner and is important for further research.

The marks were chosen primarily so this listing would be useful to the average collector. The majority of marks date after 1850. Some are current marks. (It may be disappointing, but it is important to know you do not own an antique). Most of the marks listed are from the United States, England, Germany, and France. Some factories are represented by many marks because each one gives dating information. Some firms have only a single mark that was in use for many years.

There are two marks that need separate explanations; the Sevres mark and the English Registry mark. Both are in charts listed in our identification help section.

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