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What’s Happening in the Transferware Database?

By Connie Rogers

October 1, 2008

As we have met our goal of 3,000 patterns entered in the Database before the annual Convention, I am proud of our team of editors for entering that quantity of patterns in just over two years time. I am also thinking again of how the quality of the pattern entry far surpasses what any of us could have expected. All but one of our category editors will be attending our convention in Williamsburg, and I know the members will want to thank them personally. However, our British editor, Dr. Colin Murray Parkes will be unable to travel from the U.K. For that reason, I want to thank him through this website for his outstanding contribution to the database over the past two years.

Colin is a past president of the Friends of Blue, the organization that was the inspiration for the formation of the TCC. Colin and his wife, Patricia, have collected over 700 different transferware patterns over the years, and have studied them all. As of this date, he has completed the entry of his personal collection of British Theme patterns (as well as entering many other patterns sent to him). In the last few weeks, he has embarked on the journey of entering the rest of the collection – pattern by pattern. All in all, by this date, Colin, himself has entered 425 patterns in the TCC database. The Additional Information he gives for the places and scenes have set a high standard for the rest of the editors as he gives descriptions of history, geography and personalities involved in each entry.

Recently, Colin did extra research on a very rare Musicians Series. He has prepared information regarding the other source names for each entry along with descriptions and type of piece on which each pattern was produced. Two of the patterns in the series can now be found in the database. His research is given in the Additional Information in Musicians i). It is in category Literature and Performing Arts/ Performing Arts.

We certainly do want to thank Colin for the extra effort he is putting forth as he continues to work in the TCC database of patterns. And we wish him success in his ongoing effort to enlist more of the FOB members in the project.

June 6, 2008

With 2460 patterns entered at June 1, the database continues to grow by leaps and bounds. We are closing in on our goal of having an editor for every category in the database. Our newest editor, Rita Robbins, in the Aesthetic Category has passed the 100 pattern entry milestone. Before she volunteered to help us, some patterns had been entered by various other editors, but she came in and got the sub-categories organized and is gradually building up an amazing array of Aesthetic transferware patterns.

Animal and Children Category

Judie Siddall has also entered more than 100 patterns in her Animal Category. She came in last fall with a fresh broom and cleared out the cobwebs in the corners and set up the category with dozens of Source Prints to compliment the pattern information. It is a joy to look through those Series with accurately named animals, including many that were previously unknown. Judie has also added patterns in many other categories since she has a lot of photos in her files, and is knowledgeable about many different areas. Her favorite “other” category seems to be Children’s Subjects. She truly enjoys entering those patterns. I share her interest, and I have entered a good number from Jack and Joyce Cockerill of York, England, who collect many children’s patterns, especially those from the Northeast potteries of the U.K. She and I have decided to serve as co-editors of the Children’s Subjects category.

American and European Themes

Len Kling has provided the database with more photos than any other TCC member, and all categories are represented by his contributions. In the last few months, he has increased his contributions to the database by writing some of the historical and geographic information for many of the American Themes patterns. Just recently he volunteered to be the editor of the European Themes (literal and imaginary) Category. We are pleased to have his further involvement as editor of that important category. He has already moved some non-European patterns out of the category and began his own pattern entry. His first pattern entered is Rome (Tiber) by Spode. Len’s interest in all areas of transferware and interest in places and history should serve him well as editor.

Floral and Botanical, Literature and Miscellaneous- Need Editors!

This leaves us with one BIG category that needs an editor – or editorial team. Floral and Botanical is a big category that already has 232 patterns. Work is needed to get it organized and determine whether or not changes need to be made in the sub-categories. Supervision is the key to having the patterns entered in a cohesive way in each category. Please consider giving us an hour of your time for several days a week to help develop the Floral and Botanical Category in the database!

The other empty categories are smaller: Literature, with 40 patterns covers Aesops Fables, the Bible and such stories as ‘Don Quixote’. It would not be so demanding, and the patterns are truly fascinating. The Arts has only 8 patterns entered. Perhaps this category is not well-defined enough and needs some tender loving care. There is also no one in charge of the Miscellaneous Category (40 patterns). The substance of that category will probably gradually evolve over time as the other categories obtain editors who can help us define the contents of each.

British Themes

In the meantime, while these new editors are proving their value to the database, our more established editors continue to serve. Colin Parkes has enlisted other British collectors to provide more patterns in British Themes, including Arleen and Grahame Tanner who have been collecting transferware for over 45 years. The Tanners have also provided other editors in the database with interesting patterns.

Romantic

DeeDee Dodd has been on sabbatical for the last few months, preparing one house to sell and another to move into as her husband approaches retirement this year. She plans to be back entering Romantic patterns in the near future.

Indian and Oriental

Michael Sack has entered some wonderful Indian and Oriental patterns from recent additions to his collection. He continues to delight us with the naïve hand-colored transfer outline patterns on porcelain by putting in a number of Hilditch patterns.

American Themes

Unfortunately, Wes Palmer has had a fairly quiet few months as he has run out of patterns and has not been receiving many from collectors. It is amazing to think that we have more collectors of American Themes in the TCC than any other category, but the photos are not coming in from the collectors! We have been trying for over a year to arrange to have two large collections photographed with very little success. Finally, there seems to be an agreement on a date this month to get photos from one collector of rare and unusual patterns. That will be a big step forward for the database – and good news for Wes! Please look at your collections and see if all of your patterns are in the database. If not, get photos taken and send them in – we all need to help build up this category.

Managing the Technical End

Loren Zeller holds the database all together with his technical expertise and liaison with the developer. When the system slows down or problems arise of a technical nature, we alert Loren. At times he has the answer, but in other cases he intercedes on our behalf. When one of the editors gets a new idea on an improvement in the system or an added function to enhance what we are doing, it is Loren who has to analyze it and decide whether or not it is feasible before presenting it to the developer along with the question, How much will it cost?

So, there you have it. Our hope for the future is that each category will continue to grow and develop as sources for photos increase, and patterns are monitored and entered by a knowledgeable editor. I will continue to serve as general editor, overseeing pattern entry and helping editors with specific problems as they work. My job also includes adding to the TCC Bibliography, and updating the master list of marks in the database, and making corrections as they are needed. I also monitor the Predominant Features in an effort to improve the way that system serves in the Search function. The bottom line is that I do all I can to see that the information is set up in such a way as to enable members to search for and find the patterns that the editors are entering in this quickly growing research tool.

If you have any questions or wish to volunteer, please contact me con309@cinci.rr.com

April 2008

I want to discuss two aspects of the work being done in the TCC Database by our editors.

1) Quantity of patterns
2) Quality of research and depth of information

Quantity of patterns

Those of you who visit the TCC website regularly will be familiar with the messages to be found under Club News. The message of particular interest here is this one:

As of April 1, 2008, there are 2207 patterns in the database. 100 per month is the goal we are meeting with our current roster of editors. The numbers change monthly.

Quality of research and depth of information

The Database

Wes Palmer, editor of the American Themes category, has added another editor in the category: Len Kling, who helps supply historical perspective and information to the patterns. See American Themes/Highlands Hudson River for an example. Wes has been adding Source Prints to many of the patterns in the category. These have been kindly contributed by Margie J. Williams, author of American Historical English Pink. Some prints are in black and white, but others are in full color. See Water Works Philadelphia – Stevenson as well as the view by Jackson. The source print can be found in both entries.

Rita Robbins is becoming acclimated to the world of computers in general and the database in particular as she has begun adding patterns in the Aesthetic Category.

Colin Parkes, our editor for British Themes got intrigued with the Vermicelli pattern of Don Pottery. There are many small vignettes found in the pattern that are unnamed by any authors, including John Griffin who wrote the definitive book on Don Pottery. Colin has studied the various pieces illustrated in Griffin as well as in Coysh and Henrywood and various FOB Bulletins and has identified 12 different vignettes used in the Vermicelli pattern. Three of these vignettes are illustrated and discussed in British Themes/Rural and Genre. All 12 vignettes are documented in the information given in ‘Vermicelli – Don #1’.

Colin believes that one of the primary strengths in the TCC database is the number of unrecorded patterns that are now entered. This, more than anything else should attract researchers and collectors of transferware to the database.

The Database and beyond

Judie Siddall, our editor for Animal patterns has added many source prints for animals found in “Zoological Sketches” and the “Quadrupeds” Series, in particular. She also enters a lot of floral and children’s patterns in the database. In the current TCC Bulletin (Winter 2008) on page 4, you will read of the New Attribution Judie was able to make of Fruit and Flowers pattern to Davenport. The combination of an importer’s mark, a “hidden” Davenport impressed mark and finding a clearly marked Davenport example of Fruit and Flowers pattern already entered in the database by DeeDee Dodds gave Judie the support she needed to assign this previously unattributed pattern to Davenport. It is clearly a matter of “going the extra mile” for Judie to pull the information together to present her findings in the TCC Bulletin to share with our members.

Michael Sack has entered a number of the Chinoiserie Tea Patterns in the database that were featured in his lecture at the convention in Hartford in October. He will resume that activity later this spring after other commitments are cleared away.

Loren Zeller, our president and co-editor with me of the Chinoiserie category has recently prepared an interesting paper for publication in the Friends of Blue Bulletin from his research on The Chinese Raft pattern, a variation of the pattern and similar pattern: Chinese Raftman and Ruins. All three are entered in the database under Chinoiserie/Pictures with Chinese Influence.

Current Editors of the Database:
Aesthetic Patterns: Rita Robbins
American Themes: Wes Palmer, Len Kling
Animal Patterns: Judie Siddall
British Themes: Colin Parkes
Chinoiserie: Connie Rogers, Loren Zeller
Indian and Oriental: Michael Sack
Romantic Themes: DeeDee Dodd

Unassigned Categories:
The Arts, Children’s Subjects, European Themes, Floral and Botanical

Any questions? Photos to send? Volunteer?

Please contact me anytime: Connie Rogers, General Editor

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