Cheese stand, probably for a round of hard cheese, agate ware, Copeland & Garrett, 1833-1847 |
I have a love of food history and, as well as enjoying the results of cooking old recipes, it helps to understand the use and identification of 'mystery' objects made by Spode throughout its long history. So here are my thoughts and a few images to get the taste buds working.
Spode made different items for serving and storing cheese for 200 years or so. They varied in design, shape, style and size depending on, for example, the type of cheese, the style of dining in fashion, a customer's wealth and status, and the date of manufacture.
This agate ware cheese stand made between 1833 and 1847 was also produced with a magnificent domed cover to match.
Catalogue
page, Copeland, c1867-1881 (left); cheese
stand & cover,
agate ware, (right), with replacement knob, Copeland & Garrett, 1833-1847
|
Cheese stand with glass dome, c1830 |
Cheese cradle, Rome pattern, for a wheel of hard cheese, Spode, c1816 |
'Stilton, a town famous for cheese, which is call'd our English Parmesan, is brought to table with the mites, or maggots round it, so thick, that they bring a spoon with them for you to eat the mites with, as you do the cheese.'
I like to try old recipes but this is one style of presentation I have not replicated.
Stilton cheese pan, Italian pattern, Spode, c1820 |
Underside of base of Hygienic cheese dish |
Back to cheese... as the 19th century moved on Spode continued to produce cheese dishes in different shapes and sizes. Gradually cheese dishes began to get smaller. On my post Spode and Italian pattern there is a catalogue page from c1900 which includes a shape known as the Hygienic cheese dish. The cover and base have small holes to allow air flow (hopefully no maggot flow!)
The 'Nett Price List of Earthenware' of 1913 lists 18 different shapes of cheese dish plus a Cheese Platter and Cover. You can see the relevant page and also an entry for a piece of dairy ware which should read Cream Stean... not Steam! A detailed post on wares for the dairy is in the future but you can see a cream stean on my post Spode and Cats.
Italian pattern was introduced in the Regency period in about 1816 and probably Spode's most successful pattern ever. It was never out of production. Many leaflets, booklets and brochures were produced for this pattern and for researchers these really help to see the many hundreds of shapes the company was producing at different dates.
The Hygienic shape continued to feature in catalogues in the 1930s. Look for item 22 on the page from a 1932 booklet.
The Wholesale Price List for Italian pattern in 1930 includes, under the heading of Cheese Dishes Various, entries for shapes described as: Camembert, Doric tall cover, Doric squat cover, Hygienic Wedge shape (2 sizes), Hygienic Gadroon edge (2 sizes) and St Ives shape. I have not seen images of some of these shapes listed and wonder what sort of classical elegance a Doric cheese dish might have had.
In 1932 a leaflet for Italian pattern includes a shape, without illustration, listed as St Ivel. Is this the same shape as St Ives? St Ives is a town in Cornwall, UK; St Ivel was a now-nostalgic and famous brand of 'lactic cheese spread'. Perhaps one is a misprint or perhaps the St Ives name evolved into St Ivel to work with the brand?
Further into the 20th century cheese dishes continued to be produced in a more simple modern style. They were produced with patterns such as Italian, Tower, Camilla and Primula as well as Christmas Tree. Spode's cheese dishes were mainly produced on earthenware. They are known in the agate ware as already seen and in stoneware with sprigged decoration as well as occasionally on the more expensive bone china including, in 2000, on a miniature cheese wedge in the Treasures range.
Robert Copeland details some cheese dishes in his beautifully researched little book Ceramic Bygones & Other Unusual Domestic Pottery. Other potters are included in this book but it features many wares from the Spode factory.
The 'Nett Price List of Earthenware' of 1913 lists 18 different shapes of cheese dish plus a Cheese Platter and Cover. You can see the relevant page and also an entry for a piece of dairy ware which should read Cream Stean... not Steam! A detailed post on wares for the dairy is in the future but you can see a cream stean on my post Spode and Cats.
Catalogue page, W. T Copeland & Sons, 1913 |
The Hygienic shape continued to feature in catalogues in the 1930s. Look for item 22 on the page from a 1932 booklet.
'Blue Italian' booklet, c1932 |
Spode's Italian Wholesale Price List, 1930 |
A miniature cheese wedge, bone china, Spode Ltd, 2000 |
Further into the 20th century cheese dishes continued to be produced in a more simple modern style. They were produced with patterns such as Italian, Tower, Camilla and Primula as well as Christmas Tree. Spode's cheese dishes were mainly produced on earthenware. They are known in the agate ware as already seen and in stoneware with sprigged decoration as well as occasionally on the more expensive bone china including, in 2000, on a miniature cheese wedge in the Treasures range.
Robert Copeland details some cheese dishes in his beautifully researched little book Ceramic Bygones & Other Unusual Domestic Pottery. Other potters are included in this book but it features many wares from the Spode factory.
The other perfect book for cheese lovers and pottery lovers alike is Cheese Dishes: A Guide to Cheese Dishes from 1750-1940 by Audrey M. Dudson. A member of the famous Dudson family of potters, her renowned research and knowledge is encapsulated in this comprehensive and beautifully illustrated guide to the subject. You can explore both the current Dudson pottery and the excellent Dudson Museum (which is in a bottle oven!) by clicking here.
For a view of an excellent range of cheese dish images visit Spode Exhibition Online - find the India pattern one and then type cheese into the search box for more....
There are many more types and shapes of cheese dishes from Spode in all types of pottery bodies and designs so this is just a taster.