Mystery Maker Marked B Smith

All of the ramekins I have seen from Lane have had paper stickers attached to the base. These have an incised signature " B Smith" and the number 78, most likely the year of manufacture, nor are there any cracks, chips or crazing. They have a modernist retro shape inspired by the European potters who had moved into post-war Melbourne and a deep reddish brown high gloss glaze. They measure 4.5" wide x 5.75" long. It is likely that Smith either worked at LK&W or took over the pattern after LK&W ceased production. Any information would be appreciated.

Lane, Kemp, Willis Potteries Pty Ltd were established at 109 Highbury Road Burwood Victoria in 1936 and produced a variety of pottery until the late 1960s. They also had premises at 329 Warrigal Road Burwood. The ramekins they produced appear to have been of one pattern. Some had a black exterior and harlequin interior. The external glaze on these is a high gloss, covering the entire ramekin. Originally, the LK&W ramekins had an unglazed foot. They are square with rounded corners and the handles seem to resemble those of Cotton (UK).

Charles Wilton

Designer	Charles Wilton
Maker	Charles Wilton
Marks	Incised “C Wilton” to base
Description	Echoing ancient South American bowls, these heavy hand thrown Terra Cotta bowls have hollow conical handles. Matt brown glaze with lighter drip glaze patches to the sides.
Condition	Very good. No chips cracking or crazing
Number
Production Date	Late 1970s, early 1980s
Width	120ml
Depth	70ml
Length (with handle)	150ml
Weight	365gm 13 oz
Volume	500ml
Acquisition	Camberwell Sunday Market

Charles Wilton was born in Glasgow Scotland on 4^th August1916. After migrating to Melbourne Australia, he studied ceramics at the Melbourne Technical College, now the RMIT and began working with Eric Juckert at his studio in Caulfield. Eric had recently started this studio after working nearby with Una Dearbon, who had been making homewares for Melbourne department stores. Charles worked with Eric for about four years before moving to the then outer suburb of Croydon in 1940. He joined the Australian Air Force in 1942 and served as a corporal in the No 2 radio unit, eventually being discharged from a hospitals unit in 1946. He returned to Croydon but moved to Warrandyte the following year. He was a founding member of the Potters Cottage, this being a co-operative founded in 1958 for the purpose of making and selling handmade Australian pottery. These potters produced studio pottery intended to blend the old with the modern. The five founding members from 1958 were Reg Preston, Phyl Dunn, Arthur Halpern, Gus McLaren and Charles Wilton with three additional members joining in 1961. These were Sylvia Halpern, Elsa Ardern and Kate Janeba with the final member, Peter Laycock joining in 1969. Charles was a prolific producer of all types and colours of earthenware, stoneware and ceramics and he was a master of all forms from the naïve to very refined pieces.He moved to Phillip Island in the early 1970s and continued producing a variety of small ceramics until he retired in 1992. Charles died in 2001.

Jedda

Designer
Maker	Jedda Pottery
Marks	“F” underglaze on one with “.” On all. The maker's name, "Jedda" is no longer visible, but would have originally been a paper stamp adhered to the base.
Description	Off white slipware with faux aboriginal motifs in earthy brown background with black and white line drawings to inside of bowl. Closed ended cylindrical handle, upturned slightly on the outer end.
Number
Production Date	Around 1960
Width	110mm
Depth	45mm
Length (with handle)	150mm
Weight	150gm 5.1/4 oz
Volume	250ml
Acquisition	“The Collector” auctions Murrumbeena

Beautiful set of 6 well made studio pottery ramekins, made in Australia, circa 1960s, by Jedda. On the Monday 3^rd January 1954 the world premier of the film “Jedda” took place in Darwin, Northern Territory. Released by Columbia, it was Australia’s first colour film. While the film got huge publicity, Jedda pottery did not. Arriving in Sydney after the film, Jedda pottery was set up to cash in on the success of the film. Established in Sydney’s Neutral Bay in 1955, it was one of the numerous works that did not last past the 1960s, which was longer than many.

They have superb faux Aboriginal motif designs in an earthy brown setting with stylized animal and human figures. They are in excellent condition, with age related crazing but no chips or cracks. One has a bee sting chip to the base. These fake aboriginal designs were popular on a range of homewares and tourist items in the sixties and are experiencing a revival lately. Aboriginal motifs were popular in Australia during the fifties and sixties. These patterns were the closest most Australians came to anything to do with the indigenous culture. Just what the Aboriginal people think of these unauthorized uses of their cultural images has been well reported over the past few years.

Some people think that these designs were painted by Daisy Merton. I do not. She certainly decorated much of their output but these are neither her colour or style.

Bendigo Pottery

Designer	G Boyd / Ray Cook / Bendigo Pottery
Maker	Bendigo Pottery
Marks	No Marks
Description	Mould formed ramekin with deep green (Cottage Green was a Ray Cook colour)exterior and interior. Larger foot than Boyd and Cook ramekins.
Number
Production Date	1972
Width	102mm
Depth	47mm
Length (with handle)	127mm
Weight	225 gm
Volume	250 ml
Acquisition	Oakleigh Sunday Market 27th June 2010.
Rameking Reference Number	BEN 001

This ramekin, although unmarked was made by Bendigo Pottery in the early 1970s. They had bought out Ray Cook (Raynham) in 1971 and acquired this pattern that Ray had purchased from Guy Boyd in 1965. The shape and interior have the typical speckled pattern of the later Boyd and Raynham ramekins combined with the typical dark green exterior of the Bendigo Pottery ramekins of the 1970s. It appears that this is the pattern most copied by some Japanese makers.

Bendigo Pottery is Australia's oldest working pottery, with its large, distinctive beehive kilns, is located on the Midland Highway 6 km north of the city at Epsom. The pottery, which was established in 1858, is now open to the public. The Bendigo Pottery was started by George Duncan Guthrie, a Scot who was an apprentice potter by the age of 12. He travelled to Australia in 1849 and while visiting his father who was living in Bendigo, he noticed the fine white clay of the district. Returning in 1858 he founded his first pottery on Bendigo Creek at Epsom. 'Here is the stuff to make pots with!' he cried as he stumbled upon a clay deposit perfectly suited to the production of ceramics.

Guthrie transformed this lucky find into a business that grew to rival the great Staffordshire potteries of nineteenth century England. However, the lack of transport infrastructure restricted distribution and Guthrie sold the pottery to return to prospecting. When a rail line to Melbourne was established, he bought the land at Epsom and reopened his business, selling unglazed terracotta pots and salt-glazed stoneware such as bottles and jars.

George sold on the business in 1882, but continued to work there until 1883 when he retired. The business declined after his departure and he returned as managing director. By 1888 11 kilns were in operation and the site employed 130 people (30 just for cutting wood for fuel). George died in 1909. By 1903 Bendigo Pottery had expanded well beyond its humble beginnings and was filling a large number of orders across Australia. The success of the enterprise had much to do with Guthrie's fastidious management style and his enthusiasm for all aspects of the business.

The fortunes of the Pottery varied in subsequent years. On the down side there was a destructive fire in 1900, a flood in 1928 (which caused two hot kilns to explode), the Great Depression of the 1930s and another fire in 1941. Toby jugs decorated with war figures during World War I, and the demand for mugs, bowls, dishes and bottles for troops in World War II helped keep the business afloat.

Langley Ware became the most popular range produced by the pottery. Launched in 1915, and continued well into the 1930s, these brown-coloured items were widely used in homes and cafes throughout Australia. Examples of Langley ware were exhibited at the 1925 British Empire Exhibition in Wembley, London. They received a bronze medal and certificate of merit.

As the economy improved after the Great Depression, Bendigo Pottery returned to the production of fundamentally decorative items with a range of 'art pottery' known as Waverley ware. The line reflected Art Deco fashions and was characterized by brightly coloured glazes. Such items were thrown or created by 'slip casting', a mode of production that suited Art Deco motifs with their emphasis on curves, lines and angles.

By 1949 the fortunes of Bendigo Pottery were in decline. The business struggled to survive as cheap ceramics from overseas flooded the market and competition from plastics meant many products became obsolete. Bill Derham began his association with Bendigo Pottery in 1968, and under his leadership the business was soon flourishing again. Derham's plan for expansion, which included an ambitious publicity and marketing campaign, led to renewed interest in the pottery and its products. The conveyor that moves the pottery around the Bendigo Pottery today is reputed to have come from the old Diana Pottery after it closed in yhe mid 1970s.

Bill Derham led a revival in the company’s fortunes in the 1970s and the pottery has since regained its reputation for excellence and innovation. It became a tourism complex in 1971. Today domestic pottery is made in the historic kilns, which are fired on wood and coal. The site offers a total tourist experience with free clay play for kids, a potter's workshop, lessons in creating a clay pot on a wheel, an Interpretive Museum (including a theatrette inside a restored kiln), a sales gallery and cafe. The four-acre complex includes five rare and historic bottle kilns from 1868, an 1880s two-storey brick stable block, striking beehive kilns, rectangular kilns, related red-brick chimney stacks and a timber crane jib.

The 1970s revival continues today under the direction of Rod and Sally Thomson. In recent times Bendigo Pottery has launched an interpretive museum and website. The business has been operating for 150 years, a milestone that cements its reputation as one of Australia's most distinctive and dynamic potteries. The National Museum acquired the Bendigo Pottery collection from Bill and Jeanette Derham. In 2008 the Museum developed and hosted a display in its Hall to mark Bendigo Pottery's 150th anniversary.

These hand made ramekins were made by David Crothers, a potter at Bendigo.  He worked there from April 1973 until January 1974.  No further information about him is available.  At the time, this style of colonial revival pottery was popular, becoming more chunky as the 80s hove into view.

Terra Ceramics (Terrama)

Designer	Bernhard Fiegel
Maker	Terra Ceramics / Terama
Marks	Incided TC to base
Description	Teardrop shape bowl and handle
Number
Production Date
Width	135mm	5 3/8”
Depth	38mm	1 ½”
Length (with handle)	164mm	6 ½”
Weight	210gm	7 ½ 0z
Volume	325ml	11.44 fl oz
Acquisition

Bernhard Fiegel was born in Germany on the 1^st January 1919. He arrived in Darwin by air, 8^th November 1939 as a stateless person. Moving to Paddington, Sydney, where he enlisted for service in Australia during World War 2. Teaching pottery at Ingleburn” in the Australian Convalescent Depot he worked with Guy Boyd, after Boyd had worked as a cartographer with John Perceval. Feigel was a Dutch-trained potter and Jewish immigrant whose family had fled Germany at the beginning of WW2. In 1946, following his discharge, he set up a ceramics business in Ashfield, Sydney, later moving to Greenacre. He produced a variety of ceramic wares using the brands “Terama” and Terra Ceramics”. He continued production until the early 1980s. These teardrop shape ramekins are an example of the elegant simplicity of his later work.

In 1981 Bernhard died, but twelve months earlier he had started negotiations with Trugrit Manufacturing Ltd to have his product made in NZ under licence. A new company "Terra Ceramics NZ" was formed using the same raw materials and clay body. They then shipped all of their moulds and other machinery over to Aukland in containers. This new company was run by Mr Ernie Copper, a qualified Ceramist. The new company was located at 18 Copsey Place ,Rosebank Rd, Avondale, Auckland. H.Hemara, now the elder statesman of New Zealand pottery was working there when the crates containing the moulds were opened in New Zealand. Moulds for Terra were later produced at the Henderson pottery. Initially, the company used the same stickers but later changed them to read Terra Ceramics, New Zealand. Hemara is still making pottery along with his son Paul. So is Terra Ceramics New Zealand.

Diana Prawn Ramekins and Platter

Designer	Diana Pottery Pty Ltd; Marrickville, New South Wales
Maker	Diana Pottery Pty Ltd; Marrickville, New South Wales; 1941 - 1966
Marks	Stamped, black ink to base “Diana Guaranteed Ovenproof”
Description	Platter and Ramekins decorated with prawns as handles are earthenware, slip-cast, and is a table setting for seafood. The platter is flat with a wide fluted band around the edge, with two central depressions resembling scallop shells for holding dips etc. There are two large prawns in relief on the edge of the dish as handles and these are painted in red and brown against a white glazed background. The set of four ramekins each have circular bowls with low rounded sides and are matt white glazed, each has a handle in the form of a prawn in relief on one side and may originally have been painted in red and brown. So far, I only have one with painted handles. Any paint on the handles of the set has long gone, although I believe that these were never painted. Small plates in harlequin colours with a similar prawn handle are also around.
Number	No number.
Production Date
Width	118mm 4.1/4”
Depth	45mm 1.3/4”
Length (with handle)	127mm 5.1/8”
Weight	Tray 800gm 17.8 oz Ramekin 250gm 8.9.oz
Volume	Ramekin 250ml 8.8 fl oz
Acquisition	Ramekins, Willow Court Antiques, New Norfolk Tasmania. Tray, Smith Family store Oakleigh, Victoria

Eric Cornwell Lowe was born in Melbourne in 1901 at East Brunswick, Victoria.  At the time, a number of potteries operated in the area, but Eric’s father (Arthur Horace Lindsay Lowe, 1868-1938) was a Salesman and later an Agent.  His mother was Amy Beatrice Catterall (b1871).  Eric moved to Sydney and married Vera Louisa Christopher in 1932, they do not appear to have had children.   Arthur and Amy moved up in the world, moving from Brunswick to Moonee Ponds, then to Caulfield, an affluent Melbourne suburb.

Young Eric was quite entrepreneurial in his late teens as he began importing cut glass and crockery from Germany and Czechoslovakia.  Timing was not on his side as this began in 1939.  This company was called “Eric C Lowe Pty Ltd.”   “Maunufacturers of Utility and Fancy Earthenware”.

The shareholders of this company were;

·        Eric C Lowe

·        Mrs Vera Louise Lowe

·        John Christopher

·        Winston McKenley Christopher

·        Brian Winter LeQueene

·        Josephine Mary Permewan (Victoria)

·        Ralph Rankin  (Victoria)

Directors of the company were

·        E.C.Lowe

·        V.L.Lowe

·        J.Christopher

·        W.M.Christopher

·         

The business was incorporated in New South Wales on the 11^th of July 1939, having previously been carried on by Eric as a sole trader, and was given 401 ordinary and 2665 preference shares when incorporated. 

Eric had a large amount of stock on hand and could not sell it due to the stigma now attached to German goods.  So, during the Second World War (1941) Eric and Vera got Government contracts to produce ceramic wares (cream ware cups and mugs and pots and jugs) for the armed forces. Eric did not join up as many of his contemporaries did.  Many industries supplying the armed forces were “protected industries” and many of their employees were exempt from military service.  Most potteries at that time were geared for the war effort and the demand from Australian and American troops was enormous. 

Seen after the company incorporated, in 1941, Eric began making art pottery.  This did not last long as wartime restrictions meant that this was prohibited in May 1942.  They began making teapots, jugs, cups and mugs around May 1942.  During wartime, price control measures meant that Eric had to submit financial returns to the Commonwealth government.  This fixed the price that Eric could charge for the output. Thankfully, these records still exist.  These give detailed accounts of all the itemised accounting for the business. 

These are notable for showing that Fowler, Bakewell and Mashman were making similar items for the services.  Still, this did not stop the business from making a profit of 39.3% in 1940/41 and 26.0% in 1941/42.  Profits gradually dropped and the next year they only made about 13%.  In 1943/44, the profit was down to 10.7%.  The next year produced a deficit of £411.  Late in 1944, Eric had to repay 25 of his workers back pay because of a Womens Employment Board decision that he had underpaid them.  These were all women as most men had by then enlisted. 

Although born in Victoria, his pottery was started at 122-126 Marrickville Road, Marrickville, Sydney and it continued there until the early 1970s, when cheap copies and imports caused a drastic decline in sales and its eventual closure.  The giant Fowler works were already established there works in the area because of the clay found in the area, and later, Studio Anna commenced nearby.  They also purchased kaolin from the Pottery Clay Works for £3.15/- per ton.

In November 1945, a fire started by a lime kiln spread to the works and quickly destroyed much of the factory. Fire is an occupational hazard in potteries and brick works but nevertheless it was a devastating blow.  The works had been extensively refurbished the previous year.  Contracts from the Services were drying up and production had to revert to peace time items.  When the war finished, Arthur began had rebuilt and began making domestic pottery for the homes of the families of returned services people.  This included a large range of slip cast vases in a variety of gloss and matte colours, sizes and shapes, or sprayed to create a speckled texture,

Their output included such products as ceramic horse-head book ends, several other animal figures, (a pair of greyhounds was a popular product) tableware, utility and kitchenware. Over 200 different shapes were produced during their lifetime.  Some products were sold using the name “Hollywood.”  By the early 1950s the company had more than 70 employees and were producing a large range of hand painted articles which included "Waltzing Matilda" musical mugs and jugs, and produced bright "gumnut" pots with pale green and brown glazes.

The musical mugs and jugs played when lifted, but the movements were expensive and difficult to obtain, being imported from Switzerland, so many mugs and jugs that should have had movements were sold without at reduced prices. In the 1960s Diana diversified their range further into decorated oven and kitchenware, hand painted with maple, poinsettia, cornflower, blackberry, wattle and flannel flower designs.  In the 1960's, a variety of small slip cast vases hand decorated in gold were made for a gift shop in the Imperial Arcade Sydney which were marketed under the name 'Imperial'.  Although these are not ramekins, I have some of them.

After the Second World War there had been a massive increase in the number of potteries around Australia. Commercial, studio and backyard potteries were being established in the suburbs of most major cities and by 1955 there were over 12,000 people working in the quarrying and manufacture of clay related industries.  This also included brickworks.  After the war, Eric had changed production to domestic pottery and throughout the 1950s, Diana was the largest and most prolific pottery in New South Wales, producing hundreds of different products and designs, many hand painted. Native wildflowers were a popular motif.

Among them, as mentioned, the Flannel Flower, an iconic Sydney plant used in imagery and art since colonial times.  Sometimes known as the Sydney Flannel Flower, it is usually known as the Flannel Flower and was chosen to be the New South Wales floral emblem for the Centenary of Federation (1901-2001).  It is found in the sandstone national parks in the greater Sydney area and can be sometimes found in spectacular drifts.  The flowers are about 50mm in diameter and appear in Spring.  The stunning Pink Flannel Flower is rarely seen as it only appears in the summer following a bushfire.

Soon after the end of the Second World War, Eric began advertising for more staff and soon had a thriving business making home-wares for the thousands of ex-servicemen starting their families.  His pottery even had a staff canteen, far more advanced than many of the other one or two person companies operating on a shoestring budget.  In the mid 1960s, they (Diana Pottery (Vic) Pty Ltd) had a shop in Melbourne at 343 Little Collins Street. 

The potteries around Australia employed thousands of people, many given their start in Australia following migration from Europe after the second word war.  Eric Jungvirt who started Studio Anna was one who started with Eric at Diana.  I think it fair to say that you would have had a piece of Diana pottery in yours or your parents home at some stage, probably a ramekin, a mixing bowl or a vase. At their peak, Diana employed around 70 people but this had declined to around 30 by 1970.  They continued on for a few more years calling their output “Dana”. 

In Australia, the Whitlam Government had cut tariffs without warning by 25 percent in 1973.  1974 saw an increase in imports of 30 percent.  By mid-1974, Australia was in an economic slump with unemployment rising significantly.  Short-term credit rates rose to extremely high levels and this caused prices to spike sharply, and according to Government figures, inflation topped 13 percent for over a year between 1973 and 1974.  On top of these problems, wage parity was legislated for female workers meant an increase in wages costs.It was in this climate that Diana fell on hard times and ceased production.  Eric was by then in his early 50s.

Much of the Dana ceramics were copies of the later “Nefertiti” ramekins, with a rough textured (Avocado) exterior and a brown glazed lip and interior. They also produced wares using the names Hollywood, Imperial and just plain Australian.  Check out the Diana website for lots more.   Also, a potter at Bendigo Pottery told me that the conveyor that moves the pottery around the Bendigo Pottery today was said to have come from the old Diana Pottery after it closed in 1974.  The entire Marrickville site consisting of the Fowler, Diana and Studio Anna potteries was demolished and subdivided in 1982.  Eric died in Sydney NSW on the 10^th February 1977 age 76.  Vera lived on for many years.

Picton Hopkins

Designer	Picton Hopkins and Sons Pty Ltd
Maker	Picton Hopkins and Sons Pty Ltd
Marks	Incised “Picton Hopkins” under glaze to base
Description	Mould pressed wide mouth tapering with straight sides to narrow base. Black plain gloss glaze to exterior with harlequin glazes to interiors.
Condition	Good condition for age with some age related crazing to interior. Stirrup marks are pronounced.
Number
Production Date	1950s
Width	110mm
Depth	57mm
Length (with handle)	147mm
Weight	195gm
Volume	235ml
Acquisition	Chapel Street Bazaar, Prahran, Victoria
Picton Hopkins and Sons Pty Ltd is one of Victoria's oldest continuously operating family businesses, having starting in 1857. It was established by the four Picton brothers from Wales who were craftsmen in the masonry and plaster trades handed down to them from their Father and Grandfather, which they in turn handed down to their grandsons. Hopkins was plasterer Isaac Hopkins who arrived in Victoria in 1858. Later, in 1882-83 Isaac became mayor of the suburb of Williamstown. They began working in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond at 130 Church Street but the business is now located at 138 Bell Street Preston, Melbourne, with branches at several regional cities around Victoria as well as clients nationally. The fifth generation of the Picton family still works the business today. During the early 1940's like many other pottery companies, they began producing a range of tableware and decorative pottery items including these ramekins. Some of their pottery was decorated with pseudo-aboriginal designs, polka dots and other features. Pottery production seems to have stopped by the mid 1950's. Picton Hopkins now specialize in the manufacture of plaster products and architectural moulding. The plaster-work ceiling of well known Melbourne restaurant Grossi Florentino was created by Picton Hopkins and can still be seen in the mural room. The University of Melbourne, School of Architecture once had the “Picton Hopkins Prize”.