New Online Research Tool of Interest to Historical Archaeologists

A growing number of professionals involved in cultural resource management archaeology, historical archaeology, and related fields have discovered a valuable online tool to support their efforts in identifying and dating transfer-printed patterns and marks on ceramic sherds discovered in archaeological sites.  The Transferware Collectors Club's (TCC's) Pattern and Source Print Database is the first online research tool of its kind designed to support the identification and study of transfer-printed patterns and the source prints and original Chinese porcelain patterns that inspired them.  The database, soon to approach a landmark 8,000 recorded patterns, has become a valuable research tool for professional archaeologists.  To view examples of the database pattern records on the club's site, go to: http://transferwarecollectorsclub.org/database_preview/index.php

Here's what some TCC archaeologist members are saying about the online database:
"The TCC Pattern Database is a wonderful resource to have at your fingertips. My company routinely excavates nineteenth-century sites, and we frequently recover small ceramic sherds with transferware prints. The TCC database allows me to quickly search for pattern matches using pattern names, maker's marks, and--most importantly--key features of the subjects depicted in the patterns. Once identified, the database provides lots of great information about the age of the pattern, the maker, and other historical tidbits that help us enrich our interpretations of the past. Given the importance of securely dating the archaeological sites, we find the TCC database helps us insure that we are not overlooking important cultural resources."  Jarrod Burks, Director of Archaeological Geophysics, Ohio Valley Archaeology, Inc., and President, Ohio Archaeological Council.

Full membership in the Transferware Collectors Club is $50 per year for US and $60 for International Members.  Full membership can be purchased online at:  http://transferwarecollectorsclub.org<http://transferwarecollectorsclub.org/>

I invite you to take a look at what the Transferware Collectors Club has to offer!

Teresita Majewski, Ph.D., RPA, FSA
Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Statistical Research, Inc.
(520) 721-4309 (office)
(520) 298-7044 (fax)
(520) 907-9677 (cell)
www.sricrm.com<http://www.sricrm.com>