Royal Doulton & Royal Doulton Series Ware

Royal Doulton has been manufacturing fashionable and high-quality bone china and pottery in its present guise since receiving Royal warrant from King Edward VII in 1901. Its extensive range includes everything from sanitary ware right through to Exhibition Studio works, fine bone china figurines and dinnerware.

My prime passion with Royal Doulton is for their series ware, the creation of the renowned Charles J. Noke; it is Series Ware in which we specialize. Generally I deal in the production branded Royal Doulton. However as Series Ware first appeared in 1899 and the Royal Doulton brand was introduced in 1902  from time to time I carry the odd item that is branded Doulton Burslem.

The Noke Influence on Royal Doulton

Charles Noke was first employed by Doulton in 1889, prior to the company changing its name from Doulton to Royal Doulton, and as far as we relate to Royal Doulton, his influence must be considered as seminal. Series Ware was his great vision; and it is characterized by a large range of shapes decorated with many series of different scenes. It is interesting to note that Royal Doulton series drawn by Noke often carry a facsimile of his signature, these items sell for a premium.

 

Noke oversaw a skilled team of artists; amongst those who worked on the series ware are William Grace, Harry Allen, Walter Nunn, Arthur Eaton, Charles Crombie, George Holdcroft, Charles Simpson, Stanley Woodman, Cecil Noke, Harry Tittensor, Leonard Langley and Victor Venner.

Noke was also a model maker and many of Royal Doulton’s most famous figurines where designed by him. Other modal designers who worked under Noke where Leslie Harradine, Mark Marshall, Harry Simeon, George Timworth  Mary Nicoll, Peggy Davis, Raoh Schorr and Fredrick Daws.

Noke was also instrumental in the development of specialized glazes; of particular note are the Flambé glaze, Sung glaze, Chang glaze, Chinese Jade Glaze and the Titanium Glaze. Fredrick Moore worked with Noke on some of this work and it is not uncommon to find high end piece of Flambé, Sung and Chang hand signed by both Moore and Noke 

  
History of Royal Doulton

The company known today as Royal Doulton has a rich history 80 years prior to the name it is best known by, Royal Doulton, which it took on in 1902 after King Edward the VII granted the company the Royal Warrant, a special privilege entitled and granted only by Royalty. Prior to this time in the period from 1853 to 1902 it was known as Doulton, and prior to this Doulton & Watts.

Doulton had become one of the most popular brands of stoneware and ceramics in Britain in the late 19th century, primarily as a result of the artistic direction of John Slater, and the prolific works of Leslie Harradine, their legacy is a variety of figurines, vases, character jugs, and decorative pieces.

The Barlow family is also pivotal in history of Doulton. Hannah Barlow and her brother Arthur Barlow joined the Doulton team in the early 1870’s. Hannah and Arthur pioneered Doultons use of the sgraffito technique. Arthur died in 1879, but Hannah worked on at Doulton until her retirement in 1913. Hannah’s sister Florence was employed by Doulton from 1873 until 1909, she is known for her work with the pate sur pate technique.  

Royal Doulton on Nicholnack

I always have Series Ware up for offer, it is my bread and butter, just take a quick look in my Royal Doulton sales gallery. Keep an eye on the Nicholnack Fact Files which can be found at the head of every page.

I use Louise Irvine’s descriptions and scene numbering in both my sales pages and my fact files. The only time I have created scenes names are when I have an unknown scene that she has not already named. Also please keep in mind that there are very many series that I don’t carry or carry seldom these are listed under other.