The wares Alasadair describes (if I'm interpreting him correctly) are not
really blue-painted - they are moulded white bodies (I won't vouch for
porcelain vs any other type of paste) with applied designs highlighted in a
mauve-blue underglaze, and are usually tea and tablewares.  What they
resemble most of all is the decorative icing on wedding cakes... Here too
(Australia) they seem to be mid-late 19th century, 1850s-1890s.  They
really are ubiquitous, and show up on practically every site of that date.
 
Re marketing differences, you're absolutely correct Mark.  As Antonia Malan
pointed out in a thread a while ago, marketing in the US was quite
different to the situation in the British Empire, where white-wares
especially are less common.
 
Susan Lawrence
 
>Just an off the cuff reply, but porcelain in ca. 1830-1860 contexts here in
>the Midwest region of the U.S. is a relatively rare phenomenon, at least in
>my experience.  Way less than 1% ...  Frankly, your definition of
>blue-sprigged soft-paste porcelain does not ring any bells for me.  The only
>blue-painted wares I'm routinely familiar with are the pre-1830 floral
>earthenwares.  If somebody can cite an accessible illustration of what you're
>describing, that would be helpful.
>
>However, I would add a second thought.  Despite the dominance of the British
>ceramic industry throughout the Western and Western-dominated world during
>the nineteenth century, I think that you are going to find some distinct
>marketing differences throughout the affected area.  Sorry, I don't have my
>library in front of me, but I have noted over the years that Canadian
>descriptions (in the archaeological literature) of mid-nineteenth century
>transferprints appear quite different from the contemporary transferprints
>that are ubiquitous in my region, i.e., different manufacturing centers with
>a distinctively different looking product.
>
>Any body else ...
>
>Mark C. Branstner
>Great Lakes Research Associates, Inc.
 
Dr Susan Lawrence
Department of Archaeology
La Trobe University
Bundoora, Victoria
Australia 3083
 
ph 03 9479 1790
fax 03 9479 1881