A look at the design, market and legacy of Victorian pottery

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Majolica Pottery Marks: George Jones


George Jones majolica is one of the most coveted names in majolica. It's very easy to see why this is the case. Majolica made at the George Jones factory is some of the most elegantly designed, whimsical and beautifully crafted majolica ever created. 

The great demand for Jones majolica, and the great prices that the demand brings, have elevated the Jones name to the pantheon of fame and collectibility usually reserved only for great eighteenth century pottery names like Meissen or Josiah Wedgwood. And just like Meissen and Wedgwood, the Jones name is one of the most abused names in pottery. Some of this abuse is intentional, created by people hoping to make a dishonest buck but some of this abuse is simply ignorance based in the irregular manner in which Jones marked its majolica. Of the top three potteries in majolica—Minton, Jones and Wedgwood—Jones was the least consistent in the marking of their wares. The confusion this causes is hard for general pottery dealers and beginner collectors to understand, but it is this confusion we will try to clarify in this post. First a little background.

History

George Jones was born in Nantwich, Cheshire on June 27, 1823. He began as a potter's apprentice in the Minton factory in 1837 and remained there until 1844. From 1844 to 1845 he worked as an agent of Wedgwood & Boyle of Etruria. Dismissed by Wedgwood & Boyle in 1845 he became an itinerant clerk and salesman, the same year he married milliner Frances Jackson, a union that was to eventually produce eight sons and three daughters.  In 1850 Jones opened his own business as a commission agent and earthenware broker, establishing relationships with many of the businesses in the Stoke-on-Trent area. 

In 1856 Jones opened his first pottery showroom and five years later opened his own pottery at Bridge Pottery, one which produced utilitarian cream ware, toilet items and some decorative ware. Participating in the 1862 London Exhibition brought Jones some fame for the quality of his wares and he continued to expand into more decorative and tableware items. In 1864 Jones expanded into a larger facility first called the Trent pottery and later the Crescent Pottery. It was around this time that Jones set up his own majolica works. Unfortunately in 1865 a devastating fire damaged the pottery forcing a curtailing of operations. Jones rebuilt the facility but suffered a second fire the following year. Again, Jones rebuilt and used the opportunity to expand the works.

Beginning in 1866 Jones began potting majolica in direct competition with the two largest majolica manufacturers in Staffordshire, the Minton and Wedgwood factories. In the 1870s Jones' majolica developed a reputation for its quality and soon became a large portion of the company's business.

Jones seemed to know that the key to great majolica was in the basic design of the ware. For this he depended on his designer John Bourne, and on his son, Frank Jones who was trained in pottery design in France. Perhaps this French connection explains the strong Art Nouveau influence on many GJ designs.

George Jones' Trent Pottery at Stoke-On-Trent c. 1865

Francis Jackson Jones

The great beauty of Jones work has rarely found an equal in nineteenth century English pottery being surpassed perhaps only by Minton. Add to that an appreciation for the impeccable craftsmanship that distinguished Minton and Jones majolica and you get a pottery that is spectacular in its beauty and glorious in its execution. The work was described by Llewellynn Jewitt in The Ceramic Art of Great Britain (1878):

The firm also make a large and striking variety of articles in majolica, in which they successfully view with most houses in the trade. In this they make both useful and ornamental articles, most of which are of a high order of art, being well modelled (sic), carefully finished, and of a quality that will bear comparison with most others. Some of the productions exhibited at Paris in 1867 (when they obtained a medal), at London in 1871, and at Vienna in 1873…

The imitation Palissy ware is highly successful. In vases, candelabra, centre and side pieces, flower shells, and numberless other articles, Messrs. Jones have produced many striking and good designs…especially an aquatic centre-piece… in Cupids, shells, dolphins, and coral; a flower-pot, in which the magnolia forms the basis of ornamentation; and an ew^er(sic) abundantly decorated with lizards, snakes, &c.(sic),are bold, good, and highly effective in design.

By 1880 the company was exporting 50% of their product to the United States. In the early 1880's a recession hit the industry hard and majolica sales declined. Most majolica manufacture at the GJ pottery ceased by the late 1880s, approximately twenty years after the first introduction of majolica at the plant. The majolica molds continued in use but were repurposed to create other wares in different bodies.


Engraving from The Ceramic Art of Great Britain

George Jones majolica acanthus garden seat
George Jones majolica apple blossom cheese keeper

George Jones majolica bee skep cheese keeper
George Jones majolica hunt tankard
George Jones majolica finch butter dish

George Jones majolica primrose jardiniere
George Jones majolica marmalade

Marks

Jones marked his majolica wares in a number of several variations of the impressed monogram "GJ". From 1866-1877 he used the simple monogram letters GJ either plain or enclosed in a circle .



A second mark used during this early period is an applied pad in a double gourde shape that is attached to the underside of the greenware before firing. This pad has the "GJ' monogram but also the words "Stoke on Trent" in a semicircle underneath it. Written above this GJ is the piece's shape number code from the company pattern books. This mark was in use until 1878.


A third mark found on Jones majolica is a simple oval shaped mark that kept the "Stoke on Trent" but also added "Stone China" to the impression. This too was used until 1877.


Although he had brought his two elder sons Frank Ralph Jones and George Henry Jones into the pottery business as early as 1866 it was not until 1878 that he also added them to the company name. Two more sons, Charles And Horace eventually also joined the operation, now legally forming a partnership between Jones and his four sons. From this point on the words "and Sons" appeared on the majolica usually enclosed in a crescent moon shape. This quickly resulted in the nickname "crescent" pottery for the George Jones company, a name the company eventually adopted as a trademark.



If these GJ marks were universally impressed into Jones majolica the way Minton's marks were universally applied to their pottery, it would be easy for just about anyone to identify Jones majolica. Unfortunately, Jones was not terribly interested in taking credit for all their products so these marks are usually missing from the underside of the pottery. In fact, it's probably safe to say that less than a half of the company's majolica output is actually marked. This is where the confusion begins in identifying Jones majolica. This is why we need to rely on other characteristics and marks to identify Jones' wares.

One thing that remained consistent about the company was the application of their pattern numbers on the underside of their majolica shapes. As mentioned earlier, these numbers were taken from the company pattern books and were applied by hand on an unglazed area, or "thumbprint" as some call it, on the base of the piece.


The presence of such a mark is often the only way one can identify these wares as virtually all Jones pieces bear such a mark. If one looks up the above number in the surviving pattern books (available in the index of Victoria Bergesen's book Majolica: British, Continental and American wares 1851-1915), 3450 is the number for the Monkey handled tea ware.

George Jones majolica monkey handled tea service

Sure enough this number is on the underside of the matching tea tray.


Another mark seen in the above image is the English Registration mark. If we read the mark it tells us that this design was registered by Jones on June 26, 1875. That's not the date the piece was made, only the day it was registered. English Registration marks are common on Jones majolica but since they were also used by other potteries in Great Britain, its presence alone is not enough to identify a piece as having been manufactured at the Jones plant. Jones began registering patterns specifically intended for majolica in 1869. The last design for majolica was registered in 1882.

Below are a few pages from the registration books with Jones designs.




Other marks one may find on the underside are both capital letters and numbers which were part of Jones' pottery dating system, which was in place from 1862 to 1914. In this system the month was represented by numbers 1-12. The letter system is rather complicated involving large letters and small letters. Even then it isn’t entirely dependable and still relies on some knowledge of the company’s product to date a piece correctly. It was compiled by Robert Cluett in his wonderful book George Jones Ceramics 1862-1951.


Other Identification

A defining characteristic of Jones majolica is the distinctive snakeskin mottled glaze on the underside, very different from the tortoiseshell mottling used on the underside of Wedgwood, the muddled mottling of Forester or speckled mottling on the base of Holdcroft majolica. An example of it can be seen below on the “Pink flowers” dessert plate.

Underside of Jones plate showing the distinctive snakeskin pattern. 
The impressed 9A in the center indicates a production date of either September 1901 or 
September 1875. The absence of the word ENGLAND allows us to reliably date it to 1875.

This mottling isn't always present though or as clearly defined. Some hollowware pieces are glazed on the underside in ivory, pink, turquoise or the color of the obverse, but it is present most of the time and always present on flat ware like plates and platters.


A page of cheese bells from the Jones pattern books

Even though Jones didn't mark much of its majolica, identifying those pieces that don't bear the JG monogram isn't difficult if you know what else to look for. With a little practice, anyone can learn to recognize them at first sight.

George Jones catalog page showing serving pieces
George Jones died on August 18, 1893 at the age of 70. He is buried in Greenbank Cemetery in Bristol. The Trent Pottery continued operations into the 20th century as the Crescent Pottery first under the management partnership of the four sons and later different owners until it closed in 1951.

George Jones majolica is liberally reproduced today. For more on common reproductions go here.

Unidentified man from the Jones family album believed to be George Jones

Greenbank Cemetery, Eastville, Bristol Unitary Authority, Bristol, England

57 comments:

  1. Thanks for this posting! My husband and I were left with a George Jones game pie bowl but until my husband ran across your blog we have no idea about it.
    We are still a bit lost on what some of the identifying marks mean however. Here's an overview picture of the bowl we have: http://www.fenchurch.org/priv_cgi-bin/ids/index.cgi?mode=image&album=/Nikon_D7000/2013/House_Items&image=DSC_0982.JPG

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    1. Very nice piece.
      In the GJ pattern book it's a late entry and is called the Boar's Head Game Pie Dish. It came in several different color grounds but yours has the most desirable color, cobalt. These game dishes originally came with a buff earthenware liner for oven use.
      Your dish was most likely made sometime in the early 1880's.

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  2. Thank you for the very informative article! According to this, I might have just stumbled upon a large George Jones majolica jardiniere in superb condition from the 1860's !?!
    Can you please confirm it from the following pictures? Thank you warmly!
    https://www.dropbox.com/sh/2mnc10w03yhsquu/AABdGjVPQzbdbrEoMdAdJgQpa

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    1. Yes indeed, you appear to have a GJ jardiniere.

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  3. Hi,
    I have an monkey vase, identical with George Jones pieces, but isn`t signed!
    Would you be so kind to have a look on my website - http://aradproart.blogspot.ro/ and tell me your opinion about it!
    Thank you, Alex M

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    1. Hi Alex. Your vase is not GJ. Actually I don't know its age or if it's even majolica. It certainly looks nothing like any Victorian piece I've seen before. If I were to venture a guess on what it is I would say it looks like a late Twentieth Century piece created for the decorative market. Best of luck with it!

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  4. Thank you for your response!
    Best Regards,Alex

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  5. I think I have a George jones heron but the marks arnt very clear could you help

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    1. I assume you're referring to one of the large majolica heron vases. To the best of my knowledge George Jones did not make one of these. Minton, Holdcroft and Massier however did make them. Minton pieces are almost always marked on the underside. They would have the name Minton, a date cypher and possibly marks relating to the English registration. Holdcroft pieces are sometimes marked and sometimes not marked with an JH in a circular mark or the word Holdcroft in a line. Massier pieces usually have a written mark in black on the underside.

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    2. It was about 12 inches tall with a pattern number and another Mark which is hard to make out
      Thanks for your reply

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    3. It sounds like one of the continental heron vases. They are about that size and usually only marked with a pattern number. Of course there is no way to say for sure without seeing it.

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  6. This thing is baffling me. It seems abnormal for a George Jones as most his stuff is nature themed. Can you tell me anything about ithttp://imgur.com/a/392Sq

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    1. The company that made George Jones majolica was a large one that operated for almost 90 years. Although majolica was the pottery that initially put them on the map, it was not the only type of pottery the company manufactured. It made a full line of art pottery, fine china and sanitary wares. The transfer ware in your photograph was, as it was for most manufacturers of pottery, the bread and butter of their operation. It was cheap and easy to produce and made up the majority of their production. It had no relationship to the majolica of their earliest years. In fact the company continued pottery production for 65 years after it ceased making majolica.

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    2. Thanks for the response! Do you know if "mistakes" lower the value? I actually think the painting mistakes are neat. Adds character I guess. This one has a smudge at the top of the pitcher and the painting didn't quite get done within the lines.http://imgur.com/eFCNPoH

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    3. Not really. It's understood that these were all hand decorated and there are bound to be variations from piece to piece. Most transfer work was done by young women and girls who were expected to decorate a certain number of pieces each hour. Quality was secondary to volume.

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  7. I have seen firing holes in feet of jardiniere and the like. Do genuine Victorian objects have firing holes inside feet?

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    1. We have seen it but it isn't that common. It is more commonly seen on larger items. Holes are placed in hollowware pieces to prevent them from exploding when they are fired. The hot air inside the item expands with the heat and will explode a ceramic if there is nowhere for it to escape to. Victorian wares were slip cast in general. Items such as feet, handles, etc. were usually solidly molded separately from the body and attached before firing by a ceramic joiner. That would not necessitate a hole to prevent it from exploding. However there is always the exception to the rule. Large complex molded designs where the foot is too large to be solidly molded and joint cast in two or more separate molds would require a hole.

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  8. I have purchased numerous books on Majolica and though they have lovely color photos, rarely do they show photos of the bottoms which would be equally illuminating. I figured I could learn by viewing expensive items on ebay because they generally have photos of bottoms, but I still have the problem of knowing, "is this piece genuine?' I was looking in one venders store, and along with his expensive majolica pieces labeled George Jones, was this horrible bird on a plate, clearly a funky reproduction, labled George Jones. I contacted them and they remarked, 'we got these from a French family and they said they are all real." Really? What happened to due diligence. It's very hard to find real majolica in antique stores. I'm looking all the time and RARELY come across a piece. Wish there were more photos of correct bottoms out there! Any good book you can recommend on the subject? I appreciate your sharing!

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    1. Our guess that the reason you don't see more photos showing the underside of pieces is because most manufacturers were consistant in the handling the bases of their wares. If you've seen one George Jones plate reverse, you've seen them all. Most books will show at least one example of a company's reverse glaze treatment for reference e.g. snakeskin mottling for George Jones, solid white or tortoishell for Wedgwood, solid yellow or brown sponged for Adams & Bromley, etc.
      In our book on Etruscan Majolica, "Etruscan Majolica: The Definitive Reference to the Majolica of Griffen, Smith & Company," we show the four most common reverse treatments used by the company.
      In cases of unmarked manufacturer's pieces, only the experience of viewing dozens of pieces of similar majolica will give you the type of guidance you are looking for because of the wide variety of companies that made majolica.

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  9. I have a large majolica cake plate set and would like your comments on it. I bought it at a flea market in Paris. There are no markings on the bottom, but its in perfect shape, no chips. It is 'brown bamboo with green leaves and pink flowers. It has a lid about 14 inches tall and about 12 inches wide. I'm trying to figure out how to send you pictures!

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    1. The only cheese dish I can think of with that description is the GJ fence cheese keeper but I'm sure there are others as well. You can take a look at the GJ piece in our post on George Jones cheese domes. The only way to make an accurate identification on your own piece is to have it looked at by a specialist.

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  10. Hi Jimbo. a majolica squirrel nut vase is up for grabs in a local auction, and I am trying to authenticate it. I have an image of the makers mark, just as you describe, with the thumbprint and hand written 1515 1/4 with an 11 underneath. Just wondering if I posted the picture, could you take a look? with thanks, Jennifer

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    1. It doesn't sound like a familiar form but I would certainly be interested in seeing it.

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    2. Sorry Jimbo, I meant to say "nut dish" - it is not a vase. It went for $75 CDN at auction and I only bid up to $50 so did not get it. I didn't bid any higher because the nut was missing from the squirrel's paws, so I thought the value would be somewhat diminished. I do however think it was original, given the markings on the bottom. I am not sure how to post an image on here otherwise I would show you..
      Thanks very much again, Jennifer

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    3. Your decision not to bid higher was the wise one. Whereas damage in majolica is somewhat more acceptable than in other types of pottery, pieces with missing sections are never a good buy.

      There are many image hosting services available on the Internet. Sites such as Photobucket are free and easy to use for the occasional upload.

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  11. Can you help I have a cheese keeper withh a cow on lid the markings are jj could you know of this mark

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    1. The only majolica I am familiar with that is marked JJ is reproduction. The letters JJ are written in script type within a rectangular octagon.

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    2. Hey Jimbo, I have a relative with a dish with a stamp of a "JJ" surrounded by an octagon one the bottom. I'm wondering how you know this is a replica and not a forgotten or smaller pottery crafter.

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    3. Experience really. I’ve been looking at majolica more than 35 years. The “JJ” mark appeared out of nowhere a few years ago. I could tell by examining these pieces that they were contemporary, by the weight, molding and glazing. The octagon is a crude copy of an English registration mark without any of the registration information present. They have since been identified by retailers of decorative accessories as being modern.

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  12. Hi! Thank you for all of this info! I happened to stumble upon some George Jones & Sons dishes in a thrift store and wanted to see if you could date them for me? I have 6 teacups, 2 platters, a deep dish, 6 saucers, 4 medium plates and 4 dinner plates. They are the Primrose pattern with red 8841 on the back, which looks handwritten, and the brown stamp which has GJ & Sons with the crescent moon, Primrose, Ra, No G8515 (or 68515?). Thank you in advance for any assistance! I am just curious if my gut was right in making this purchase. :)

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    1. While George Jones pottery is best known today for its majolica wares made before 1886, the company has a very long history of bone china and porcelain production that lasted until the company closed its doors in 1951. Among the earliest of their patterns registered is "Primrose" which was registered on Feb. 24, 1887. Since your pieces are not signed with the words ENGLAND or MADE IN ENGLAND yours were produced prior to 1891.

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    2. Thank you so much! I paid about $30 for an almost perfect set, minus a very small chip in one of the dessert plates. I just had a gut feeling when I saw the stamps on the back that it was a special find!

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  13. Would you know the dates of the George Jones & Sons "Josephine" pattern

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    1. Specific dinnerware patterns are outside of the scope of this blog. However, I can tell you that patterns with similar embossed decoration were popular in the late 1920s through the late 1930s.

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  14. I have a tureen majolica, it has the rabbit and duck lid it's beautiful! The mark is a crescent moon and a circle with a triangle with no letters at all, is it a reproduction?

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  15. I have a majolica tureen it is the rabbit and the duck lid, it is beautiful but! It's mark is a crescent moon and a circle with a triangle and no letters or #, is it a reproduction? Thank you

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    1. Check my post on Minton Majolica. That post shows the marks found on Minton pieces.

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  16. None of the marks match any of them, I have a book on majolica and it dose not match any of those , so it's probably a reproduction, I bought it at a estate sale 20 years ago and did not pay much, can you tell me how much it's worth being it's a reproduction? Thank you!

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    1. Unfortunately, we don't give values here. Thank you for reading.

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  17. I have what I think is Wedgewood but the marking says 329 do you know what the marking is?

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    1. Wedgwood is usually marked. Any piece marked with a three number code is unlikely to be Wedgwood, but it’s impossible to say for sure without more information.

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    2. Thank you for your help😉 can I send you a picture?

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    3. I don’t have an email address here but if you have a picture hosting account like Photobucket you can send me the picture address.

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  18. I have a fragment of a mark. Just wondering what the date is for it. Can I send an image?

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    1. Send a photo to my email address and please include a photo o the underside. I will do my best to help if I can

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  19. I have only literally discovered this blog minutes ago! Fascinating!

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  20. I have a so-called 'shredded wheat' dish made by George Jones' company.
    But it pre-dates the the invention of shredded wheat by quite a few years!
    I would love to know how old our dish is. The only really readable mark on it is 'ABBEY 1790'....no Made in England, or anything else. However there is an additional crescent shaped mark which may say 'Jones', but not sure. Also there a couple of now indistinguishable marks near to the crescent shape which we are unable to read.
    Any comments would be most welcome

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    1. The George Jones & Sons Abbey pattern began production in 1901.

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  21. Hi, I have a George Jones & sons Very large white Jug with lid. The & sons is in a crescent shape, there are some impressed marks but i can not read them. Can not find any thing remotely similar do you know if they used to make items for taverns and inns Kind regards carol

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    1. George Jones & Sons was in business for over 80 years. They were a full service pottery and as such created a wide variety of wares for a wide variety of uses.

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  22. Sorry meant to say you can email me direct at caroljkeen@hotmail.com

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  23. It also has no England on it. Carol

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  24. Dear Jimbo, please would you help me identify whether my planter is George Minton. It has a thumbprint on the underside with the number 3 painted in brown glaze and an x mark in the clay. The planter is mottled green glaze and is front decorated with a large pink glaze whelk like shell, two different clam shells and bladderack seaweed. These look very realistic shapes and glaze colours over them. The oblong pot has rounded sides decorated with a ring and oak leaves. The inside is pink glaze and the planter stands on four study brown glaze feet.
    Many thanks for your time. Tracey

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    1. Please send photos to the address in my profile. Include an image of the underside. I will help you if I can.

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  25. Would there ever be the George Jones mark without the lettering?

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  26. Hi Jimbo. I thing I have a george jones garden seat....it has a number 6 and the letter A scratched on the base , but I can't find any other Mark's.

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