Spode and Dogs

I saw this beautiful Art Deco greyhound in a private collection whilst in Scotland recently and was allowed to photograph it for use here. It was produced by Spode as part of the new Velamour range introduced in 1932.

Possibly designed by Eric Olsen (more about him on the O page of my Spode ABC), it is cast from a mould for which the original model was so exquisitely modelled that the greyhound's ribs are clearly detailed! Although not particularly famous for the modern style, Spode did Art Deco really well and figures and surface patterns were produced in high quality designs.

Velamour printed backstamp

Impressed K number backstamp

The stylised shapes in Velamour suited this simple creamy white matt glaze. The production of this range was interrupted by the Second World War (1939-1945) when restrictions were placed on pottery companies in terms of their production. After 1947, when Velamour came back into production the greyhound was one of the items which was discontinued. Pieces in the Velamour range were marked with a specific printed backstamp as can be seen in the illustration. If you look carefully you can sometimes find an impressed shape number beginning with a K. The large greyhound has shape number K448 also illustrated.

Catalogue page, 1930s

A small greyhound was produced curled in a sleeping position, which can be seen on the catalogue page, with shape number K449. This one is is also exquisite and fits in the palm of your hand.

Figures in the range were often derived from items which had been produced by the firm in the 19th century. They were using their archive of papers and pots to produce new designs to follow the latest trends. In the case of the Velamour greyhound first mentioned at the top of this blogpost, a pair of greyhounds in life-like style was the inspiration. In the 19th century pair one dog has its paws straight out in front and the other has its paws crossed. They're lovely.

I have seen these undecorated in beautiful Parian ware, which imitates marble, and also in earthenware painted in natural colours.

A page from an old catalogue for Velamour is also shown here, with some of the other attractive Art Deco animals, as well as the two greyhounds bottom right of the page.

A leaflet page from 1963 can be seen under V on my Spode ABC. More about Spode greyhounds can be found by clicking here.

Other dogs were produced in the 19th century for example bloodhounds in Parian ware. Also, in earthenware, painted in natural colours, was an 'Austrian Pug'. I used to have one of these standing in my office at Spode - 'mine' only had 3 legs so didn't go on formal display but I was rather fond of it!

Austrian Pug

Dogs feature in Parian groups too such as the group described as 'Dog, Hen and Chickens'.

Dog, Hen and Chickens

There are several surface patterns which feature dogs including, in the 20th century, patterns O2155 and O2156 of about 1938 with Scottie dogs and spaniels respectively.

Childs Mug c1858 showing cat and dog

Childs Mug c1858 showing dog

Also, in the Spode museum collection, there is a Victorian child's mug of about 1858 in lavender blue clay with a black print of a cat and a dog. Until 2022 I had no photo of a mug in this design. Now thanks to the wonders of Instagram one came up on my feed. I am really grateful to Joseph and Victoria Clark for the photographs of this charming mug below and for letting me publish them here. You can find more of their lovely things on Instagram @onebakerstreet or by clicking the caption in the blue mug photos.

Childs Mug c1858 showing handle

A quirky connection between Spode and dogs is that the artist Sam Spode (1798-1872) specialised in paintings of racehorses and greyhounds. He was the younger son of Samuel Spode in turn the younger son of Josiah Spode I, founder of the Spode company. By coincidence, after working as curator at the Spode museum I went on to work for Art UK - you can see some of the paintings by Sam Spode on their webpages here.

An even quirkier connection between Spode and dogs is if you Google 'Spode greyhound' you will find that not only are there paintings by Sam Spode, or attributed to him, but you will also discover that there are many show greyhounds today including the name Spode!

For information on Sam Spode the artist please go to my Sam Spode page - click/tap here.

More on Dating Spode Pieces in the early 1800s

Backstamps on a plate decorated with Portland Vase pattern

The statistics for these pages show that most people visit to find out about dating pieces of Spode, Copeland & Garrett and Copeland - all names for the same company; and to learn about backstamps (company marks). Since writing this blogpost I have created a dedicated page on the subject - just click/tap How Old Is My Spode

Dating Your Spode Pieces was my first blogpost on the subject and was published on 6 Jan 2011. It has information about dating pieces with examples of Spode backstamps. 

There are hundreds of recorded backstamps for Spode wares in the history of the company so I will add occasional information about different ones. The best book for Spode backstamps is detailed at the end of this blogpost.

The backstamp from a plate decorated in Portland Vase pattern printed in green is at the beginning of this blogpost. It shows a printed mark (in the same green as the pattern is printed in) as well as an impressed mark.

The impressed mark was stamped into the clay by hand when the plate was first made, prior to it being fired when the clay was still malleable. At this period in ceramic manufacture blank, undecorated pieces once fired could be stored for some time before they went on to be decorated. In this particular case there was a company name change between the manufacture of the blank undecorated piece, marked with the Spode name, and the decoration of the piece when it had received its first (biscuit) firing!

This is how to put together the backstamp and pattern information to date the plate. Spode marks in various forms were used up to the change of ownership to Copeland and Garrett in 1833. The Copeland and Garrett partnership dates from 1833 to 1847. The Portland Vase pattern was introduced in about 1832. So the Copeland and Garrett mark must be post 1833 but having the Spode mark too suggests a date at the beginning of the partnership of c1833, rather than later, which also fits with the date of introduction of the pattern.

Another image here shows a Copeland & Garrett backstamp and number 7487. This time it is printed underglaze in a blue-green and dates from c1838 to 1847. The pattern number 7487 is handpainted in red onglaze. This pattern number was first recorded in the pattern books in about 1846 so with the two marks together the piece can be dated to c1846-1847. The other impressed mark like an O is probably a workman's mark and can tell us no more.

Note that dating can rarely be accurate and most dates given will usually be prefixed with the word about or the symbol c.

Backstamps can sometimes be very difficult to decipher as can just be seen in the image above which shows a printed mark on a piece of Copeland and Garrett agate ware.

Generally until well into the 20th century all backstamps were applied by hand whether printed, handpainted, impressed or embossed and human error can creep in. Wrong numbers have been applied the pattern number perhaps in a moment of absentmindedness; the S of Spode can be omitted in error from a printed backstamp giving a maker of PODE!

With impressed marks the angle of the hand tool can be held too acutely and so part of the backstamp is missing. This all adds to the fun of detective work when reading the backstamp on Spode wares. 

Poorly applied transfer printed Spode backstamp

Spode & Copeland Marks and Other Relevant Intelligence by Robert Copeland; published by Studio Vista; 1993, 1997 (2nd edition revised and enlarged); ISBN 0-289-80172-9