Early English Porcelain (Decorative Arts Library S.) - Hardcover

A survey of British porcelain factories founded before 1750; their development, their output and the personalities behind them.

Hillier's account of British porcelain manufacture to 1750 is elegant and succinct, devoting a chapter to each of nine important factories: Chelsea, Girl-in-a-Swing, Bow, Limehouse, Pomona, Derby, Longton Hall, Vauxhall arid Lund's Bristol. It is also, full of intriguing detail, social and aesthetic context and incidental information.In addition to offering extensive details of the pieces themselves, Hillier's monograph ranges more widely. He quotes from contempoary, writers and documents, explains the twentieth-century excavation and detective work which led to the rediscovery of some facilities and their output and creates a compelling picture of a decade (the 1740s) in which enterprising young men strove with varying success to secure a portion of the massive profits to be made m china manufacture at this time.The book also features reproductions of the principal factory marks, suggestions for further reading and a list places to visit with relevant holding of porcelain.As with its sister volumes discerning collectors will find the format and the contents of this title in the Decorative Arts Library refreshing and delightful.