Plate (Alphabet plate)

Museum Object Number 2021.0019.004

Object Name

Plate (Alphabet plate)

Title

Japanese [and] Nations of the World

Category

Ceramics

Credit Line/Donor

Gift of Hyman Myers & Sandra Kittner Myers

Creator (Role)

Brownhills Pottery Co. (Maker)

Thomas Nelson & Sons (Design inspiration)

Date of Birth

1872

Date of Death

1896

Place of Origin

Tunstall, Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe

Date

December 14 1883 (1883-1883)

Mark or Signature or Inscription or Label

1. Inscription; Front; Front inscribed in transfer-print "NATIONS OF THE WORLD / JAPANESE."

Subjects

Education

Materials

Earthenware

Techniques

Printed, Molded

Dimensions (inches)

0.75 (H) , 7.25 (Diam)

Dimensions (centimeters)

1.905 (H) , 18.415 (Diam)

Measurement Notes

Measurements as per collector.

Object Description

Web - 10/24/2023

The design inspiration for the scene on this plate is an illustration in Thomas Nelson and Sons "Picture Alphabet of the Nations of the World" (1874). The image for "THE JAPANESE" features a rhyme: "In far Japan, a patient race Is famed for arts of peace; And still their wealth and still their power Through industry increase." Other images in the publication illustrate other "Nations," from Abyssinians and Bedoins to Laplanders and Zealanders." Some of the figures are reproduced as printed ornament on other Brownhills earthenware plates.

Bibliography and Bibliographic Notes

[Electronic] Transferware Collectors Club. Transferware Collectors Club Database of Patterns & Sources. Transferware Collectors Club 03/13/2024 https://www.transferwarecollectorsclub.org/members/database
• Same pattern (with different painted details): Included as "Japanese" (Alternate Name: "Nations of the World"), pattern no. 15594. "The maker is Brownhills Pottery and the Registry diamond indicates a date of December 14,1883. ...There are 24 patterns in this series." Mark with additional "B.P. & Co."
[Book] Shipkowitz, Davida & Shipkowitz, Irving. 2002 The ABC’s of ABC Ware.
• Several plates from series, with design source: pp. 290-92, the source being "The Picture Alphabet of the Nations of the World, In 100 Nineteenth Century Alphabets in English" (1972), originally published in Edinburgh: T. Neslon & Sons 1874
[Book] Shipkowitz, Davida & Shipkowitz, Irving. 2002 The ABC’s of ABC Ware.
• Detail of plate in same pattern and colors: p. 291, fig. T39, referencing figs. T35-T36 re design source. (See above re Alphabet of Nations.))
[Electronic] Thomas Nelson & Sons. Picture Alphabet of Nations of the World. Wayne State University Libraries Digital Collections 09/23/2022 https://digital.library.wayne.edu/item/wayne:Picturea1874b10903409
• Design source: unnumbered page, with (opp. p.) caption: "THE JAPANESE / In far Japan, a patient race / Is famed for arts of peace; / And still their wealth and still their power / Through industry increase."