Hello! This is Lidy from FrenchGardenHouse antiques (you may remember me from Phyllis’ post Meet Antique Dealer Lidy), and I am so excited to share with all of you my passion for antique transferware. Transferware pottery, or earthenware, was made in Europe (and later in the United States) in many colors and a multitude of patterns. Until the mid-1700s, most dishware had to be hand painted, making each plate, bowl, and serving piece quite expensive and completely out of reach for most working-class families. The industrial revolution in England changed all that, and the transfer process meant that pottery patterns could be reproduced repeatedly, and it was much less costly than before.
19th-century Staffordshire Tea Bowl
Transferware wasn’t for the wealthy; it was meant to be sold for a few pence each so that a working-class homemaker would be able to purchase one or perhaps two pieces at a time for her household. To produce each pattern, a master pattern was engraved on copper, glazed with color, and then transferred to thin paper. These sections of paper were then applied one by one to a piece of pottery before the piece was put into the kiln. The older the transferware, the more “misses” you will see where the pattern should join at the seams, as workmen were just starting to develop expertise in working with such an exacting task. Many patterns were so complex it took over a month to engrave the copper master sheet.
1859 Dutch Maastricht Juvenile Pitcher
Soon factories were producing entire tableware sets, most in romantic patterns featuring a man and woman in lush landscapes. The first transfer pieces (and most popular to this day with collectors) were blue, then black. The other colors weren’t produced much before 1828, when brown, purple, green, and red (or pinkish red) became quite popular. Of all the colors of transferware, yellow was the least in favor and therefore the least produced. It is the most rare and the most costly to acquire today.
19th-century oriental pattern plate
Pitcher depicting Napoleon during the Napoleonic War.
Most transfer pieces are marked on the bottom with the maker’s mark and often with a pattern name. Some early pieces are unmarked but are just as valuable. Collecting transferware is a wonderful hobby, as there are always new shapes, patterns, and pieces to discover. Some collectors only collect a certain color, and others love to mix and match colors and patterns with abandon! Prices can range from a lucky find at a flea market for under $100 to thousands at an auction house, depending on rarity, size, and who else wants to add a certain piece to their collection! I am particularly enamored with miniature children’s sets like the one shown below; since these were used by children in play, they just did not survive. To find one that is nearly complete is nothing short of a miracle. Collectors sometimes spend years assembling one little set for their collection.
Charming children’s tea set made in Stoke-on-Trent, England.
Every color of transfer-printed earthenware or pottery is lovely—the green plates shown in a little stack below were made in France. Imagine serving guests a holiday meal on these floral plates!
Antique French plates, made by St. Amand et Hammage.
There is quite a large group of collectors who collect pink transfer pieces. Prices for pink transferware are skyrocketing, even for transferware plates and bowls in pink that are not quite antique.
For my own collection, I’ve had to be quite strict with myself. I only keep pieces in red or pink! I don’t really collect any certain pattern or shape, but I mix and match happily. I have a display of some of my favorite pieces in the French armoire in my kitchen, and while I don’t use it daily, I do love to set the table with it for special occasions. One thing I love about collecting the red color is that it mixes so well with blue and black transferware and looks very elegant when layered with all white- or cream-colored plates for a totally different effect!
Below are a few examples of the range of red and pink transferware patterns in my collection.
Lastly, I want to encourage you, should you have or want to begin a collection of transferware, to use your pieces! I love using the transferware I have for special luncheons or dinners in my home. One of my all-time favorite things to do is to gather a few friends for a holiday, such as Valentine’s Day, and treat them to a lunch or tea at a table set with my mix-and-match pieces.
This table was set for the holidays, again using the same plates and serving pieces. I created a stunning floral centerpiece in one of the teapots using fresh red roses together with asparagus stalks for fun. These pieces have survived for more than 100 years, and they are meant to be used.
The image below is a little fuzzy, but it shows a flower arrangement on my mantel in the living room in a red transferware cup displayed alongside a plate on a Lucite stand. Every piece in a collection of transferware is so decorative it looks wonderful even when displayed all by itself as a work of art—although they truly make a statement when displayed in large groups!
I hope that you have “caught” some of my enthusiasm for transferware so that next time, should you come across a stunning plate, bowl, or teacup, you won’t hesitate to add it to the antiques collections that make your home uniquely yours.
Do you collect antique transferware? I’d love to hear about some of your finds!