Majolica Designs from the English Registration Archive

I recently came across a growing Web site that I thought may be of interest to majolica collectors. Since 2008, Great Britain has been digitizing, and making available online, the complete archive of government records open to the public. This includes birth and death records, service records and immigration records, but what should be of interest to majolica collectors is the digitizing of the British design registers of registered designs in Victorian Great Britain. While this is by no means complete, I believe it's about 5% of the entire archive, the records show a fascinating window into many of the majolica designs we know today.

Original English Registration Design book

From 1839 until 1991 the English Registration system acted as a way of protecting original designs from being copied. The system protected manufactured and decorative designs in the form of drawings, paintings, photographs and product samples as part of the Board of Trade, in a Design Registry, to be registered for copyright protection in the National Archive. Thousands of objects were  registered within this system, among them many original majolica designs. I have written about the English Diamond Registration seal and how to decode it here, but in this post we're showing some of the designs submitted by potteries for copyright protection.

Who, for example, knew that one of the most commonly available corn pitcher designs found in the majolica market today, was an 1869 registered design of James Ellis and Son? Originally designed for parian production the design copyright was later purchased by Adams & Bromley with the molds adapted for majolica use.

The Samuel Lear Lily of the Valley pitcher was originally from an 1866 registered design for a parian jug of James Edwards & Son. Purchased after the failure of the company, the pattern was adapted to use in majolica and expanded to cheese bell use as well.

Of course all the major British potters are represented with Minton and Co. showing the largest number of registered designs.

Minton, Hollins & Co. registered this bird tile.

George Jones is represented on the archive as well.

Of course, Wedgwood is as well.

Other companies registered designs later produced in majolica as well.

Here is a design from Brownfield.

If you're interested in checking out the Web site go to: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/default.htm

*This post has been updated since it was first posted