The Primrose Pottery Shop

An important link in the chain of the ramekin story in Melbourne Victoria is that of the Primrose Pottery Shop. It was in business from 1929 through to the mid 1970s. Not to be confused with Primrose, a middle period pattern introduced by Roseville Pottery in 1936, the Primrose Pottery Shop was started at 374 Little Collins Street Melbourne by Edith and Betty Mc Millan in 1929. It is a misnomer to only call it a pottery shop as it also exhibited a range of pottery, ceramics, domestic wares, textile and other artistic works.

It was a centre for artists in Melbourne for a long time. Phyllis Dunn (1915-1999 who helped found the Warrandyte Potters Cottage, once said “The first pottery that I had ever seen was in the Primrose Pottery Shop; it was [Allan] Lowe's, and I would press my nose to the window.” Other people were textile artists John Rodrigues, Michael O'Connell and Ailsa Graham, artist Elizabeth Durack and Stacha Halpern. Stacha was also a potter but moved back to Europe in the early 1960s.

The Primrose Pottery Shop was originally upstairs on the fifth floor above the well-known cafe "The Wattle", at 374 Little Collins Street before moving into the ground floor of a building on the corner of Little Collins and Howie Place, (365-367 Little Collins St) behind what was formerly James McEwan and Sons (McEwans) hardware on Little Collins Street. Edith MacMillan also commissioned items to display for sale in her shop. Some of them were domestic wares the potteries produced for her. She could afford to carry their stock where other stores relied on higher turnover. Being supportive of these crafts people, quality was not a primary concern.

As mentioned above, a number of well-known art potters sold their works through the shop. They also provided an outlet for some of the many struggling post-war European migrant potters. Often it was only Primrose, and surprisingly, the upmarket “Georges” store in Melbourne, that sold their output. Sometimes the larger “Myer” store would also sell them, but usually required a higher volume for their stores. It was a familiar sight to see these couples and their sample cases doing the rounds of the many department stores that then existed throughout the city. That is why it is rare to find any of these makers advertised anywhere.

Frank Rock

Designer	Frank Rock
Maker	Frank Rock
Marks	Signature F Rock intaglio painted to centre of base.
Description	Ramekin bowl with body the shape of a Flounder. Heavy earthenware with harlequin glaze to bowl interior and light brushed pale brown colour on exterior under a clear glaze.
Condition	Good, slight chipping to interior of rim.
Number
Production Date	Early 1950s
Width	140mm
Depth	25mm
Length (with handle)	188mm
Weight	285gm
Volume	200ml
Acquisition	Adelaide Antique Market

Born in Java around 1889, a Dutch possession at the time, Franciscus Theodorus Hendrikus (Frank) Rock was in his early 50s when he came to Australia  during the upheaval of the second world war.  He later became a naturalised British Subject.  Ford tells us that Rock was a retired Dutch ceramic engineer who set up a studio in Balmoral, Sydney in 1950 and continued working there until the late 1950s, making a small range of slipcast functional ware, using brilliant glazes and foliage decoration reminiscent of Javanese art.  Frank lived and worked in Stancliff Flats at 6 Wyargine Street Mosman.  He moved there in 1943 and was actually a Mechanical Engineer.  His home backed onto the beach at Edwards Bay and are now a block of flats overlooking Balmoral Beach on the shore of Sydney Harbour.  An early example of what are now called Home Units, the property originally belonged to retired Doctor Mary Rocke, I don’t know if she was a relative.  The original “Frank Rock” moulds for these fish ramekins were still at the Easton Pottery in Willoughby, Sydney, when Jan Gluck began renting it in 1958. Frank lived in Balmoral. Henrietta Easton had stopped working at 495 Willoughby Road in Willoughby in 1956. Jan produced ramekins with almost identical glazing to Frank, except his had a hole in the tail.  Fish-shaped ramekins must have been one of his most popular lines, given how many are still around. These are 3 cm high, 19.5 cm long and 14 cm wide. Frank Rock died in Mosman in 1959 aged 70 years. 

This comment is partially copied from Australian Pottery Blogs.

Recipes

There have been a couple of people on the net who have been inspired by my blog to cook using their ramekins. This is great to hear because that is what they were made for. To help you along, I have trawled the newspaper archives in Australia to bring you a selection of recipes for ramekins from early to late 20th century. Please try them, there is something for everyone. There are breakfast ideas, even something for the vegetarians. Fish and meat are represented as are deserts, known at the time in Australia as “Sweets.” There is even a recipe for those old singles favourites, fish fingers.