Thursday of last week was a big day in my life: I signed off on the proofs of Vol. 4 of my four-volume work, Staffordshire Figures 1780-1840 AND on the proof of Holding the Past: the William Herbert and Nancy Hunt Collection of Early English Pottery Figures.
While Staffordshire Figures 1780-1840 is the 'manual' and photographic record every collector must have, Holding the Past is the book everyone will want. This book pays the ultimate tribute to Staffordshire's extraordinary figure potters. Unlike my other books, it showcases Pratt, color-glazed, and enamel-painted figures--the whole gamut of figure production in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The photographs are large and glorious. The figures--some of which are unique-- are discussed in their historical context, and there is a wealth of relevant infomation for collectors. Below is the dust jacket and book description. Copies will be available in February. The price is $125, but a savvy collector tells me that Amazon currently has a pre-order price of $87. Off the top of my head, there are about 400 pages!
While Staffordshire Figures 1780-1840 is the 'manual' and photographic record every collector must have, Holding the Past is the book everyone will want. This book pays the ultimate tribute to Staffordshire's extraordinary figure potters. Unlike my other books, it showcases Pratt, color-glazed, and enamel-painted figures--the whole gamut of figure production in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The photographs are large and glorious. The figures--some of which are unique-- are discussed in their historical context, and there is a wealth of relevant infomation for collectors. Below is the dust jacket and book description. Copies will be available in February. The price is $125, but a savvy collector tells me that Amazon currently has a pre-order price of $87. Off the top of my head, there are about 400 pages!
From the catalog description:
The 547 pottery figures from the Hunt Collection illustrated in this book were made in Britain prior to 1840. Fashioned in an era before photography, these figures afford engaging three-dimensional glimpses of the people and happenings of those times. They are also important artifacts that hold the story of the past within their clay bodies. Britain then was the premier global force, and this small island nation influenced events that shaped our modern world. Exploring the figures within their historical context deepens our understanding of the social and political trajectories that forged national identities, that molded current beliefs, and that continue to determine our path to the future.
The 547 pottery figures from the Hunt Collection illustrated in this book were made in Britain prior to 1840. Fashioned in an era before photography, these figures afford engaging three-dimensional glimpses of the people and happenings of those times. They are also important artifacts that hold the story of the past within their clay bodies. Britain then was the premier global force, and this small island nation influenced events that shaped our modern world. Exploring the figures within their historical context deepens our understanding of the social and political trajectories that forged national identities, that molded current beliefs, and that continue to determine our path to the future.
