Alasdair,

Thanks for your reply and correction/clarification regarding the Great Exhibition & Crystal Palace, that was an omission on my part.  If I recall correctly from a couple of sources, the Great Exhibition had many exhibits that displayed the latest innovations at the time (including lots of ceramics based on "Commissioners for the Great Exhibition of 1851, Official Descriptive and Illustrated Catalogue, Volume 2" by Robert Ellis), but also had sections dedicated to ancient civilizations such as Egypt, Greece, Rome, etc.  I've been able to find a couple of stereoviews taken at the Great Exhibition that show Greek/Roman statues that might have provided the inspiration for the central design found on some of the 1850s classical/romantic patterns of "Sydenham", "Pomona", "Cremona", "Minerva", etc.  Again, this is pure speculation on my part, so if anyone has any documented info I would be very glad to have it come forward.  One suggestion from
 http://oldchinaservice.com/transferware/brownsreds/womenvase.html is that the figures are mother and daughter or perhaps "Vertumnus & Pomona and also Jupiter & Callisto, both mythological cases of a man pretending to be somebody else in order to blindside the woman into loving him."  I have no idea what the figures represent, if anything, but would be very curious to know if anyone has any other information on this.

Also in regards to common design elements, I've noticed in many 1840s and some 1850s patterns that use what appears to be an elm tree (from memory I believe from Petra Williams in describing a pattern) prominently located in or near the foreground.  Patterns such as "Tessino" (registered in 1846), "Siam" registered in 1850 (has elm like and palm like trees on the same pattern), "Lozere", "California" registered in 1849, etc have what appears to be a similar type tree.  What kind of tree is it and what is the significance if any?  A quick internet search suggests that elms were commonly planted as ornamental trees in the mid to late 19th century apparently in Europe, the Mideast, the US, etc.  One reference even suggests that elm trees were enclosed in the Crystal Palace near the main fountain.  The earliest so far that I've seen this is 1844, "Aleppo" by Clementson, Young, Jameson and "Doria" by John Ridgway & Co.  Previous to 1844 the trees
 included in patterns appear to be either spruce or what looks to me like sapling Black Locust (just a guess).  The latest, thus far, is "Dora" registered in 1856 by Edward Challinor, though I'm guessing there are others before 1844 and after 1856.  Why the same (or what appears to be the same) type of tree as opposed to white oak, maple, white pine, spruce (that we find in some patterns that originally came out in 1830s 1840s) that would have different profiles.  I fully realize that these patterns in some cases were manufactured over a span of decades, in some cases over 50-60 years by the same manufacturer or others.  What I'm referring to is the patterns when they originally came out (as best can be determined based on narrow manufacturer operation dates, registry dates, etc).  Any thoughts, comments much appreciated.

Tim




________________________________
 From: Alasdair Brooks <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] 
Sent: Tuesday, March 26, 2013 5:35 AM
Subject: Re: "Sydenham" transferware pattern
 
All,

Excuse the petty pedantry, but it wasn't the Great Exhibition that was moved to Sydenham in 1854, but rather the Crystal Palace that had housed the 1851 Great Exhibition.  The Great Exhibition itself only lasted 6 months.

The reconstructed Crystal Palace (which differed significantly in some architectural features from the Hyde Park original) housed the Crystal Palace schools, and was also used as an exhibition and concert space.

The Crystal Palace Foundation has a detailed history of the Palace, including an outline of the relocation:

http://www.crystalpalacefoundation.org.uk/history/leaving-hyde-park-1851-2

The decision to relocate the Palace to Sydenham (technically to the adjacent Penge Common rather than Sydenham Hill proper) was only taken in 1852, which means the 1851 Brownfield print can't possibly be named in conjunction with the relocation; it's more likely to simply reflect that Sydenham Hill was a wealthy and fashionable Victorian residential district.

The sudden cluster or prints registered in 1853-1854, however, is almost certainly tied to the relocation, as Tim speculates, as the relocation and reconstruction took place from 1852-1854 - which rather contrasts with the 5 months it took to build the (admittedly smaller) Hyde Park original - with the reopening by Queen Victoria taking place in 1854.

Much of the Sydenham area subsequently came to be known as "Crystal Palace" (as it still is today), and the land that the palace (destroyed by fire in the 1930s) was rebuilt on is still known as Crystal Palace Park.  The Crystal Palace soccer team also started out in the park, though they subsequently relocated to a neighbouring London Borough.

Note that there's also an entirely separate series of transfer prints called "Crystal Palace" showing the actual building itself, with at least four manufacturers (with no overlap with Tim's list) producing some variant thereof.  I don't have the data to hand, but I have previously documented at least one occurrence (possibly more) of the latter in Australia.

Finally, on the more general level, while Petra Williams is a handy tool for identification of a specific pattern, her books are problematic for dating and manufacturer identification since she only provided dates for the manufacturer of the individual item in her personal collection rather than trying to identify all of the potential manufacturers of a pattern and their dates.

Alasdair Brooks






------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 25 Mar 2013 10:52:16 -0700
From:    Tim Bennett <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: HISTARCH Digest - 21 Mar 2013 to 22 Mar 2013 (#2013-69)

That would be great and much appreciated.  I've seen that Francis Morley listed a pattern as "Sydenham" (possibly floral) but haven't seen the actual design image (I don't have Williams' in front of me at the moment).  Below is a short list of patterns/shapes named "Sydenham" that I've compiled so far from my own intermittent research and a couple from the TCC database (though I'm guessing that there are likely more):

William Brownfield, floral transferware pattern, registered 1851
T & R Boote, shape, registered 1853
Samuel Alcock & Co., floral transferware pattern, registered 1854
Joseph Clementson, classical/romantic transferware pattern, circa 1854
Anthony Shaw, shape, 1850s
Francis Morley & Co (1845-1858), floral(?) transferware pattern
Belleek, woven basket, 1880s
Wallis Gimson & Co (1884-1890), aesthetic transferware pattern
Burgess & Leigh, floral transferware pattern, registered 1905

Any other patterns/shapes named "Sydenham" would also be helpful to know.  Just a hunch, but there seems to be a possible correlation with the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London, along with its move and reopening at Sydenham Hill in 1854 with the use of the name "Sydenham".  This is purely speculation on my part and have no hard source other than a number of patterns/shapes that were manufactured with the name in the early to mid 1850s.  Coincidence perhaps - any other ideas are certainly welcome.  In looking at many patterns attributed to the 1840s (based on registry dates, manufacturing operation dates, etc) I have yet to find one named "Sydenham" (though not to say there isn't, I just haven't come across any yet).  Further, the classical/romantic pattern seen in Clementson's "Sydenham" as well as other extremely similar designs ("Pomona", "Cararra", "Colonna", "Minerva", "Athena", and a new one "Cremona" revealed recently at the TCC message
board) seems to be a sharp break from the fairly common design (repeated by an number of manufacturers) of a castle in the distance, mountains in the background, a lake/river, and a a tall tree in the foreground (possibly an elm, I believe suggested by Petra Williams) such as "Lozere" by Edward Challinor, though Clementson's "Sydenham" and the similar counterparts still retain some elements of this design.

I'm also looking especially for the "Sydenham" pattern possibly made by J Clementson's successor, Clementson Brothers which would push the production date past 1865 or so.  Any sites with Clementson's classical/romantic "Sydenham" pattern would be very beneficial to know as well.

Thanks again for your help, I definitely appreciate your time.

Tim




________________________________
From: Patricia Samford <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] 
Sent: Monday, March 25, 2013 10:36 AM
Subject: Re: HISTARCH Digest - 21 Mar 2013 to 22 Mar 2013 (#2013-69)

Tim:

I created a database some years back with information on marked printed wares.  I have a listing of Francis Morley and Company (1845-1858) making a pattern entitled Sydenham as well.  It is shown in Petra Williams 1978, page 51.  I am not in the office, so I can't check to see if they actually depict the same scene.  Will be
happy to check later this week if you like.

Patricia Samford
Maryland Archaeological Conservation Lab
Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum
St. Leonard, Maryland 20685