Monday, November 15, 2010

Second Chance Tuesday #8 - Transferware History


Welcome to Second Chance Tuesday where we take a second look ... either an item from your online shop, in your home, or a favorite blog post you'd like to "Re-run."

Today I'm pulling up a blog post from two years ago about the history of transferware.



Transferware has made a comeback in home decorating. The beautiful designs and colors blend well into today's looks and styles. There are many to choose from ... do you have a style or color you like?



Here is a little bit of history on how it was made from Eras of Elegance.com:



"English transferware" refers to ceramics (china, ironstone, etc.) which has been glazed using a specific decorative treatment, and traditionally produced in Staffordshire, England. Popular manufacturers of transferware include Spode, Ridgway, Adams, Clews, Johnson Brothers, and Wedgwood. The transfer printing process was developed by John Sadler and Guy Green of Liverpool in 1756. The process uses copper plates on which a pattern or design is etched. The copper plate is inked and the pattern "transferred" to a special tissue. The inked tissue is then laid onto a bisque-fired ceramic item, which is then glazed and fired again. Initially, patterns were transferred to the ceramic items after glazing, but the ink often wore off. This "underprinting" is characteristic to transferware; if you look closely at a transferware item, you can often see where the transfer design ends. Often these are the areas where the pattern doesn't quite match.



Transfer printing was originally produced in single-color items only, with the favorite hues in blue, red, black, brown, purple and green. Brown tended to be rather a common and inexpensive color, while blue was the most sought after and expensive color. Later, technology developed to allow double or triple color transfers."




The process of transferring the images onto porcelain and china became popular and obviously much cheaper than handpainting each piece so they sold quickly to middle class families. I'm not sure which color I like the best.

Check out our Bella Rosa Antiques website and click under "Vintage China" to find a piece you may like!



Feel free to join SECOND CHANCE TUESDAY by grabbing the SCT logo at the top of this post and by signing up with Mr. Linky below:

6 comments:

Joyce @ Quilted Nest said...

I love transferware. The pink version (just a light version of the red) is really the only collection I have.

dana said...

I'm a fairly new fan of transferware, Jillian. I passed up a set of brown transferware a couple of years ago....and I've kicked myself ever since! It was cheap and in pretty good condition. I have a few pieces of John. Bros. Liberty Blue....and I LOVE the soft reds seen in a variety of designs. I loved reading your history of it!!

Have a great Tues!


L, Dana

MJ said...

Thanks for collecting the history for us! I learned something new this evening!

Patti's Artful Design said...

Hi Jillian....thank you for stopping by and entering my "NOEL" Seashell Letter giveaway! And, thank you for becoming a follower. I will do the same. Just love transferware....brown/white is my favorite!

gail said...

Hi Jillian-sorry I'm late in joining. I love transferware. I have some brown that I use for Thanksgiving, and of course Red and Pink for Christmas.
Yours is beautiful....
gail

Faye said...

Hi Jillian,
Thanks for leaving a comment on my blog so that I found you! I just joined your Second Chance Tuesday but I should have entered my blog name...dah! I'll be sure to join in again next week. Thanks so much and I enjoyed the info on Transferware!
Faye
Wild Rose Vintage