Reading Maid
In the early 1800s, feeble improvements in England’s ramshackle educational system coupled with an ever-growing supply of affordable reading matter resulted in the explosive growth of the reading public. Children were not the only new readers; many uneducated adults strove to acquire reading skills.
Homes proudly displayed earthenware figures of people absorbed in books and this proclaimed the family as being amongst the educated class.
This figure is 7.3 inches tall. See Schkolne Staffordshire Figures 1780-1840 Volume 1, page 97, figure 25.42.
More Figures of the month
Sir William John Codrington
This is a rare figure of Sir William John Codrington. He was a British army officer who eventually became a general and then Commander in Chief of British forces in the Crimean War.
Tam O’Shanter and Souter Johnny
This is a rare pair of early figures of Tam O’Shanter and Souter Johnny, characters in the Robert Burns play “Tam O’Shanter”, written in 1790.
A pair of giraffes
This is a fine pair of Staffordshire giraffes, seated below palm trees, each approximately 5 ½” tall. These figures are very rare, dating to approximately 1850.
Old Age
This is a fine pair of early Staffordshire figures portraying “Old Age”. They stand about 8 ¾” tall and date to about 1820.
A pair of pointers
This is a rare pair of Staffordshire foxhounds, pointers, or game dogs. Whatever one decides to call them, they are an unusual and very fine pair.
Reverand Edward Meyrick Goulburn
This is a rare Staffordshire figure of the Reverand Edward Goulburn, standing approximately 11 1/2” tall and dating to about 1860.
Membership
We warmly welcome new members – join us for free!
Wherever you are in the world, whether you are an experienced collector, a researcher interested in the folk art of England, or just someone who is intrigued by Staffordshire figures, please join us and get the rest of this year for free! Stay with us next year and pay an annual fee of £45 / $50 per household in January.
