Am I the only person gnashing my teeth about the dirth of fine figures? We addicts need a periodic fix--if not to buy, at least to look. And, as I mentioned on the NEWS page the other day, a leading ceramics dealer recently said to me that now even figures of Jobson and Nell are rare. How true! There is a terrible shortage of figures coming to market, and dealer stock is dwindling. It had to happen. I think the Internet brought about a mass clear-out, so the current dry spell may be the new norm. With that awful thought, let's now give those much-maligned figures of Jobson and Nell a little respect.
Figures of Jobson and Nell can be awful, and the subject hardly oozes charm. There are plenty of mundane examples (as the Internet has, fortunately or unfortunately, taught us)--hence the bad reputation. But to be fair, some Jobson and Nell pairs are simply lovely. This pair in the stock of Andrew Dando is, I think, as good as they get. There's nothing not to like here.
Figures of Jobson and Nell can be awful, and the subject hardly oozes charm. There are plenty of mundane examples (as the Internet has, fortunately or unfortunately, taught us)--hence the bad reputation. But to be fair, some Jobson and Nell pairs are simply lovely. This pair in the stock of Andrew Dando is, I think, as good as they get. There's nothing not to like here.
Below is what I consider the commonest Jobson and Nell pair, but I would not turn my nose up at this couple. I was totally charmed by them when I handled them. They are so well modelled--quite delightful. They are in the Wisbech & Fenland Museum (which is well worth a visit) and are impressed "27" beneath, indicating that they were made by Enoch Wood. As you see, turned to the side, each figure has a small animal beneath the chair, as is typical on nearly all Jobson and Nell models. Is this not a lovely touch?
This pair alongside is in the Potteries Museum. Same pair again? Definitely not! Whereas the first pair (like most pairs) is about 6.5 inches, this pair is over 13 inches. Yes, Jobson and Nell were made in two sizes. The larger size is particularly uncommon--and this is a superb example.
Jobson and Nell figures may not be the most commercially popular items ever, but, alas, at the start of the twentieth century they must have been particularly desirable because they were reproduced in abundance. Reproductions come in both the small and big sizes. They lack the fantastic modeling found in early pairs, and of course the color palette and crazing are usually a dead give away.
Who are Jobson and Nell? Jobson is a lowly cobbler and Nell is his sweet wife. They starred in The Devil to Pay or, The Wives Metamorphos'd, a
ballad farce first performed in 1731. Revivals were popular on the English stage
into the nineteenth century. A performance was staged at Covent Garden as late as 1828, and even children's books drew from the theme and illustrated Jobson and Nell (see below for a page from a book published in 1825).
Who are Jobson and Nell? Jobson is a lowly cobbler and Nell is his sweet wife. They starred in The Devil to Pay or, The Wives Metamorphos'd, a
ballad farce first performed in 1731. Revivals were popular on the English stage
into the nineteenth century. A performance was staged at Covent Garden as late as 1828, and even children's books drew from the theme and illustrated Jobson and Nell (see below for a page from a book published in 1825).
You can see examples of Jobson and Nell from assorted pot banks in my forthcoming publication. Included are a pair marked "HALL" (for Samuel Hall), a pair with bocages, a few pairs with titles, and a pair with a possible connection to Rockingham. At the end of the final volume, a chapter on reproductions shows a later pair of Jobson and Nell figures alongside an early pair. In short, I have tried to do the topic justice. The first volume of my four-volume work will be out later this year, with the other volumes to follow.
