A porcelain collector loves a good mystery. And lucky for collectors of British porcelain - there is an endless supply of mysteries! It is believed that in the Staffordshire Potteries there were about 300 ceramic factories in the early 19th Century, such was the industrial boom of those days. With Liverpool nearby and an extensive network of canals to bring in coal and clay and take out finished porcelain (and yes, it's much safer on a boat than in a coach over bumpy and mudd

If you think your home is full when your family visits for a Sunday walk and a dinner, think about King Louis Philippe, who reigned over France between 1830 and 1848. In the end he was forced to flee to London due to the popular resistance that would result in the 1848 Revolution. But before that time, he spent many good days at the Fontainebleau palace outside Paris, relaxing for the weekend, entertaining friends and going on big hunting parties in the surrounding woods. The

It's going to be Valentine's Day... so this week we need to do something beautiful and romantic... Let's look at some roses! One of the famous painters at the Derby factory was called Moses Webster. He was a fine young man who was trained in the style of the famous William Billingsley at Nantgarw. He then worked at the Worcester factory for a few years (between 1821 and 1825), and then went on to Derby, where he worked until his death in 1870. You can see his work on this gor

The Minton factory was responsible for a huge uplift in the quality of British porcelain during the mid to late 19th Century. They achieved much of this by poaching some of the best scientists and artists from the famous French Sèvres factory, which enabled them to keep coming up with new materials and production processes. This was the time of majolica, parian porcelain, the pâte-sur-pâte technique, and today we are looking at acid gilding. Compared with how gilding had been