Save the Date: Saturday, October 28th



The program will include a video tour of Michael Sack’s outstanding collection of Indian views on transferware and the source prints they were taken from, another presentation on transferware, the annual business meeting, and details about the 2024 Annual Meeting in Philadelphia.

Planning is well underway for our first in-person Annual Meeting since 2019, to be held in Philadelphia in late April. Loren Zeller and Jaap Otte have been working on a wonderful program that will include a day trip to one of America’s most outstanding decorative arts collections and a series of lectures exploring Philadelphia’s role in the import of British transferware in the 19th century and the important role of the Centennial Celebration of 1876 at Philadelphia in the introduction of the Aesthetic Movement to America, including on transferware. We are, of course, planning to have the traditional transferware sale and raffle! TCC vice-president Terry Majewski is working with an event planner on hotel and other venue details. We will have a detailed announcement about the meeting during the 2023 Virtual Annual Meeting on October 28th.

Michael says, "The ink was hardly dry on India on Transferware at its publication in October 2009 before additional patterns and better images of some objects started showing up. I have been accumulating this new information ever since and now feel that I have enough stored up to issue this supplement." More information.

A new Bulletin is in it's final phase of preparation and will be available soon.

The TCC Bulletin Index -- incorporating listings of articles from the Fall 1999 issue through to the most recent issue. A rich resource! Search Index.

Bulletin editor is seeking contributions for the upcoming bulletin. Contacts: 

Richard Halliday [email protected] or David Hoexter: [email protected]

2023 Vol. XXIV No. 1

A Chinese of Rank

The source print for this pattern comes from Thomas and William Daniell’s

A Picturesque Voyage to India by the Way of China published in London in 1810. The plate showing the pattern is marked Spode. The small jug has another version of the pattern and is unmarked.

These pieces and the source print are from Michael Sack’s extraordinary collection of British transferware focused primarily on views of India and China, displayed with their source prints. Join us for a video tour of this collection during the TCC’s Virtual Annual Meeting on October 28th!

Go to the Puzzle. See past Puzzles of the Month.

Thanks to Scott Hanson for preparing the "Puzzle of the Month."

The Goddess Kali

Judge for yourself the quality of the source print, and what was deleted/added to the transferware engraving. The source print is “Ceremony of Washing the Goddess Cali and the Idol Jagan-Nath”, found in Cyclopedia Londiniensis, 1805; the 5.25 inch high by 11.75 inch diameter bowl is by an unknown maker. More information in the TCC Database of Patterns and Sources; this pattern is named “Goddess Kali”, and is DB entry #4793.

See larger image. See past Photos of the Month.



Thanks to David Hoexter for preparing the "Photo of the Month."

Chief Justice Marshall, Troy



Shown is a 10 inch plate titled “Chief Justice Marshall, Troy.” It was made by Enoch Wood & Sons (1818-1846). The ship was launched in 1825, and it was lost as a result of a gale in Long Island Sound in 1835. The pattern is part of a large series known as the Irregular Shell Border Series. View larger image. See past Patterns of the Month.

Thanks to Judie Siddall for preparing the "Pattern of the Month."

San Francisco Ceramic Circle

October 7, 2023

The Splendid Disarray of Beauty: The Boys, the Tiles, the Joy of Cathedral Oaks –

A Study in Arts and Crafts Community

Richard Mohr, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, University of Illinois Champagne-Urbana

Live at the Gunn Theater and virtual via Zoom.

Connecticut Ceramic Circle

October 16, 2023

Four Centuries of Blue & White: The Frelinghuysen Collection of Chinese and Japanese Export Porcelain with Becky MacGuire.

The talk is sponsored by Ellen Brennan-Galvin.

First made in the heart of China in the 14th century, blue and white porcelain circulated throughout the world, journeying first by land and then by sea and exciting wonder and the desire to possess wherever it went. Its qualities of hardness and fineness, the brilliant contrast of its vibrant blues with its bright white ground and the pleasing proportions of its shapes had no equal. Almost 400 years went by before a material of its quality could be produced anywhere else in the world.

The remarkably comprehensive Frelinghuysen collection of Asian blue and white porcelain, assembled over five decades, speaks of the many ways these wares were traded, collected, lived with and loved over the centuries. It includes magnificent rarities made for the first Europeans to sail to Asia, as well as iconic classics from the age of the great trading companies and wares made for the Islamic world and Japan. The collection’s singular focus on blue and white also led to some much less-studied material, like a fascinating group made for the Thai royal court in the 1880s. A full complement of Japanese export porcelain provides an intriguing counterpoint to the Chinese, while later Chinese pieces reflect the increasing influence of European ceramics factories.

The Frelinghuysen book, Four Centuries of Blue & White, includes 550 pieces from the collection, with contributions by Bill Sargent and Angela Howard alongside the speaker’s text. This talk will be an early preview of the forthcoming publication to be launched in London in late October.

Becky MacGuire retired from Christie’s after a 30-year career as the senior specialist in Chinese export art, where she brought to market the export collections of Benjamin F. Edwards III; Doris & Leo Hodroff; Peter H. B. Frelinghuysen, Jr.; James Sowell and Alvaro Condé and played a key role in larger collection sales that encompassed Asian export art, like those of David Rockefeller and Ann Getty.

A senior vice-president of the firm, Becky was also Director of the New York Exceptional Sale, leading the team that sold decorative arts masterpieces to the Met, Versailles, the Musée d’Orsay and other major institutions.

After graduation from the University of California at Berkeley with honors in art history, Becky completed the program of the Study Centre for the Fine and Decorative Arts at the Victoria and Albert Museum. She was an original appraiser on the American Antiques Roadshow and a founding partner of The Chinese Porcelain Company.

In person on 16th October at 2:00 p.m. (EST)

The CCC invites you to join them in person for this lecture at the newly renovated Bruce Museum, 1 Museum Drive, Greenwich, CT 06830-7157.

and via Zoom on 17th October at 1:00 p.m. (EST). Register for Zoom here.

To check the time in your area, please go to this site.

San Francisco Ceramic Circle

November 12, 2023

Pottery of the Edgefield District, South Carolina

Jason Young, Assistant Professor of History, University of Michigan

Live at the Gunn Theater and virtual via Zoom.

Did Benjamin Franklin invent transferware? by Wendy W. Erich

ON 3RD NOVEMBER 1773 Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) wrote a letter to Peter Perez Burdett, a young engraver then based in Liverpool, thanking him for sending his recently produced specimen of transfer-printed chinaware. Following words of appreciation and encouragement for the china, the elder statesman then makes an astonishing claim that he himself had pursued his idea for transferring pictures to pottery more than twenty years earlier, only to be laughed at by the English pottery trade. The invention of transferware pottery has been subject to academic dispute, but credit was ultimately bestowed on John Brooks as the creator and John Sadler, of Sadler & Green, Liverpool,as the developer of the transfer-printed style that revolutionised the surface decoration of ceramics for the following two hundred years. However, the importance to ceramic history of this 1773 letter written by Franklin has been overlooked. Read this article.

Database Discoveries #11 - Don’t Believe Everything You Read on that Plate by Len Kling

It's a painful thing to have to admit, because we all love our dishes and want to be able to trust them. However, the plain truth is that for almost two centuries, some of them have been deceiving their owners. We read the pattern marks and naturally take it for granted that what is printed there is accurate, but alas, that's not always the case. Perhaps some would think this is not an issue of the greatest importance, for just as a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, so a mismarked pattern is just as pleasing to the eye. Still, lest we forget that Staffordshire potters were not always above a bit of gentle skullduggery, here we look at some examples from the database that are in fact "ringers" inserted into series of views bearing a place name. When marked, it is with the series name, but they aren't identified individually. Read this article.

The Wedgwood Society of NSW

The Wedgwood Society of New South Wales is a collectors group started in 1976 and they are based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. They publish a newsletter for members, The Medallion, and hold meetings, usually every second month, when they hear lectures or discussions about various aspects of Wedgwood and Wedgwood collecting. New members are most welcome. Visit the site.

The Wedgwood Society of Washington DC

The Wedgwood Society of Washington D.C. was formed in 2000 to promote the education and enjoyment of Wedgwood collectors in the mid-Atlantic area. Wedgwood enthusiasts and collectors meet several times a year to share their research in the form of lectures, newsletters and other educational forums. Membership is open to anyone with an interest in Wedgwood. Their meetings are open to the public and they welcome all who appreciate the art and timeless beauty of Wedgwood. Visit the site.

Find more of the informative resources we've compiled here.

There are no auctions listed at the moment.

Please contact us if you are offering or know of an upcoming auction 

with an emphasis on transferware.

There are no new classified ads at the moment.

Please contact us if you are interested in placing a classified ad 

with an emphasis on transferware.

Please contact us if you have recommendations of

newly published transferware books.

A Membership List updated in April 12, 2023 is now available (for members only and only for non-commercial use). Download now. Please review your entry on the list, and notify us of any changes in your contact information.

Has Your Postal Mailing Address Changed?????

If you have moved but are not receiving your quarterly TCC Bulletin, you probably forgot to notify our member chair of your new address (this applies to email address changes also). The bulletin is mailed “bulk” and is not forwarded to new addresses by the USPS. Please notify the member chair directly: [email protected]

Looking for anyone with a passion for the beauty and history of transferware who would like to help record lovely old patterns for a worldwide audience. The Database of Patterns and Sources is maintained by a team of the nicest people you'd ever want to meet. You could be one of them! We're currently looking for editors in Romantic patterns, Literature and Performing Arts, and Tiles, but let us know your interests and we can find a spot for you. Contact Len at [email protected] for more information!

The TCC Bulletin editor seeks submittals to future editions, particularly from first time or occasional authors. We have an extremely knowledgeable member base, yet many of our members seldom or never share their knowledge, at least in printed form. Now is your chance. Bulletin submittals do not need to be extremely technical or lengthy. They just need to be interesting and relate to British transferware! And they need to be accompanied by quality images. We would especially welcome articles from our growing number of archaeologist members.

Don’t fret if you have little experience. We will be pleased to work with you, to formulate your concept and bring your article along. Simply send us your ideas, if that is where you are, or text, even in preliminary form, if you are further along. Please submit in MS Word format, and separately, images in png, pdf or jpeg format. Please do NOT convert to PDF. Don’t worry if this is a problem for you; we’ll work with you to bring your article from preliminary to final, printed, stage, no matter your level of computer and word processes experience. 

Suggested topics: 

1. Your favorite transferware piece, either your own or displayed elsewhere (why is it your favorite?, how did you acquire it?, what is the pattern, maker if known?). 
2. What is your favorite place to view transferware: museum? stately home? Historic or archaeological site?
3. Tell (and show) us your own collection (really good pictures required).
4. New discoveries.
5. Archaeological sites: overall summary of the excavation as relates to transferware; discuss a particular pattern or piece; context/importance of the transferware.
6. In-depth research of a pattern, series, maker.

Contacts: 

 Richard Halliday, TCC Bulletin Editor: [email protected]

 David Hoexter: [email protected]