Flake bottom left corner, very tiny glaze losses
to the rim very slight surface marks perfectly
clean and brilliantly glazed • Style: Classical literary subject 'In Glasgow Tollbooth', a depiction of a
scene from Rob Roy, a novel from the Waverley
series by Sir Walter Scott, most dramatic in
this colour combination of black, greys and
gold. The Waverley novels were written in the early
nineteenth century and dealt with historical
adventure, the lives, loves, wheelings and
dealings of personalities and events in British
and mostly Scottish history. The unique style
caught the public's imagination when they were
published in the early nineteenth century and
were very popular. The Waverley novels are
credited with establishing the form of the
historical novel. Moyr Smith produced a series of 12 tile
designs for Mintons China Works based on the
novels. The tiles were first made as 8" square
designs (pattern number 1607) in 1878 when they
were shown at the Paris Exhibition. Minton's
China Works were one of some 55,000 exhibitors
at the exhibition which had some 16,000,000
visitors. The 6" series is pattern number 1868
therefore probably introduced in 1882. These are amongst the best examples of Moyr
Smith's work on tiles, the detail, engraving and
print quality is oustanding. The design fills
the tile, twice as much for your money compared
to some circular designs! The colour combination
of black, two greys and 'gold' is striking and
both printing and glazing quality are excellent.
The series gets a special mention in the
foreward to the 1885 catalogue: In some patterns the colours are on the
glaze, but in all cases where the Tiles are
exposed to much wear, such as for Hearths,
&c, the Enamelling Colors are UNDER THE
GLAZE, and therefore practically
indistructible. ............... Mr Reynolds, the patentee, who was awarded
a medal of the 1st class at the Paris Ezhibition
of 1855, and also at Vienna in 1873, has had the
management of the process at these Works since
1848, and although other manufacturers have
lately adopted it, mostly in it's simpler form,
it is not too much to say that noine have
produced effects at all equal, for instance, to
the Waverley and other series of monochrome
pictures. Spelling and punctuation as original and it
should be noted that throughout the catalogue
the word monochrome is used erroneously in place
of polychrome. Verso near perfectly
clean, slight clay loss, unmarked diagonal grid
grip patterns.
• Condition:
Excellent
• Price: £145 (approx $228)
• Stock number: 01719
• Technique: Polychrome block print
• Manufacturer: Mintons
• Dimensions: 6" x 6"
• Date: circa 1885
