It is April 2020 and the world is in the middle of a terrible pandemic of a coronavirus known as COVID-19.
But I am still blogging about Spode and will try to do a short post each month.
So, for the month of April what better than to choose
April shape?
This was a fairly short-lived shape design. It was introduced in about 1964 and probably discontinued in the early 1970s or even before that.
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| Plate, Hamilton pattern c1964 |
Hamilton pattern is one of the best known on
April shape. It has pattern number S3379 and was first introduced in 1964. It is on a two-tone earthenware made from the
English Lavender and Imperial (ivory) bodies. The pattern was printed in black and coloured
underglaze in blue and purple.
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| Cup, saucer & plate, Hamilton pattern |
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| Backstamp on plate |
April shape was developed from two other existing shapes:
Gerrard shape
flatware and
Tean shape
hollow ware.
Teasets in
Hamilton pattern were promoted as 'premium gifts' by the UK manufacturer of the washing-up liquid called
Ola. The pattern has registered number 915427 which registered the design with the British Patent Office on 3rd March 1964. It is registered as a design for
Colgate-Palmolive.
(There was also another pattern called
Hamilton in the 1920s which was different from the 1964 version).
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| Barbecue pattern, Tricorn shape, pattern S3244 c1957 |
April shape sometimes replaced the modern looking
Tricorn shape which sold well in the UK but not overseas. This happened, for example, in the more traditional Australian and New Zealand markets. The example shown here is for
Barbecue pattern but on another round shape called
Coupe shape.
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| Barbecue pattern on a round shape (sorry, black & white photo) |
