Mate Sound the Pump...
  • Home
    • Copper transfer plates
    • Dixon partnerships
    • North Shields Pottery partnerships
    • Seaham Pottery ownerships
    • London impressed mark
    • Fake over-painted items
    • Reproductions
    • References
    • Links
    • Exchange
  • Early plaques (pre-1845)
    • C, C & Co
    • Carr
    • Dawson
    • Dixon, Austin & Co
    • Fell
    • Fell or Carr & Patton?
    • Maling
    • Moore & Co
    • Newbottle
    • Scott
    • Sheriff Hill
    • Staffordshire
    • Turpin
    • Tyneside
    • Wallace
    • Unidentified
    • Relief plaques
  • Religious
    • Prepare to meet thy god – 1
    • Prepare to meet thy god – 2
    • Thou god seest me
    • Praise ye the lord
    • Behold god...
    • For/But man dieth...
    • Rejoice in the lord
    • God is love
    • Other scripture verses
    • John Wesley
    • Adam Clarke
    • Charles Wesley hymns
  • Maritime
    • May peace and plenty
    • Common ships
    • Less common ships
    • Rare ships
    • Maritime verses
    • Mariner's arms/compass
    • Other maritime
  • Miscellaneous
    • Plaques with hand-painted text
    • Poetic verses
    • Emblems and armorials
    • Portraits
    • Cast iron bridge of the Wear
    • Landscapes
    • The Bottle
    • Our Dumb Companions
    • Other pictorial plaques
  • Blog
  • Home
    • Copper transfer plates
    • Dixon partnerships
    • North Shields Pottery partnerships
    • Seaham Pottery ownerships
    • London impressed mark
    • Fake over-painted items
    • Reproductions
    • References
    • Links
    • Exchange
  • Early plaques (pre-1845)
    • C, C & Co
    • Carr
    • Dawson
    • Dixon, Austin & Co
    • Fell
    • Fell or Carr & Patton?
    • Maling
    • Moore & Co
    • Newbottle
    • Scott
    • Sheriff Hill
    • Staffordshire
    • Turpin
    • Tyneside
    • Wallace
    • Unidentified
    • Relief plaques
  • Religious
    • Prepare to meet thy god – 1
    • Prepare to meet thy god – 2
    • Thou god seest me
    • Praise ye the lord
    • Behold god...
    • For/But man dieth...
    • Rejoice in the lord
    • God is love
    • Other scripture verses
    • John Wesley
    • Adam Clarke
    • Charles Wesley hymns
  • Maritime
    • May peace and plenty
    • Common ships
    • Less common ships
    • Rare ships
    • Maritime verses
    • Mariner's arms/compass
    • Other maritime
  • Miscellaneous
    • Plaques with hand-painted text
    • Poetic verses
    • Emblems and armorials
    • Portraits
    • Cast iron bridge of the Wear
    • Landscapes
    • The Bottle
    • Our Dumb Companions
    • Other pictorial plaques
  • Blog
Search by typing & pressing enter

YOUR CART

12/17/2010 0 Comments

The 'Dixon' Wesley

A plaque currently listed on eBay got me thinking.  The circular form, and black and yellow borders, are generally associated with the earlier years of transfer-printed plaque production (1820–1840).  See the plaque dates page for an overview. But the transfer itself is worn and degraded – in this case lacking a nose.  In fact, of the 5 or 6 plaques I've seen of this kind (e.g. below left photo), all of them have been pretty worn looking.

There are several transfers based on the Edridge portrait, with subtle variations. I'm going to stick my neck out and attribute this one to the Dixon & Co partnerships in Sunderland. So what are its defining features?

Unlike the Edridge portrait, the Wesleys on plaques tend to be surrounded by what I can only describe as an 'aura' – a kind of divine force field radiating out from Wesley in prongs. The defining feature of the Dixon transfer (below left) is that to the right of Wesley there are 6 prongs, whereas on other Wesley transfers there are only 5 prongs.  (Note also that the plaque below right has an extra line of script, 'FOUNDER OF THE', in the title.) The Dixon transfer, unlike the others, has a full stop after the word 'Society'.
Small rectangular plaques with three 'feathers' in each corner, like the one below left, are known to exist with the Dixon, Phillips and Co, surrounding anchor, impressed mark. This one is unmarked. The transfer is identical to the one above it, though crisper in definition.  Note the added banner 'THOU GOD SEEST ME'. This feature, which also appears on Clarke plaques, is unique (as far as I know) to Dixon. The below right plaque is a variation of the non-Dixon plaque above it.  It has a 5-pronged aura, but lacks the words 'FOUNDER OF THE' in the title.
Neither of the next two plaques was made by Dixon. They are both of later forms with wide borders. The plaque on the left does, however, have the 'Dixon' Wesley transfer with 6 prongs. The plaque is attributed to John Carr's Low Lights Pottery in North Shields. It seems likely, therefore, that it post dates 1865 when the Garrison Pottery (Dixon & partners) closed. The copper transfer plates were sold to other potteries in that year. The Carr pottery also produced Masonic plaques with the two columns (see emblems and armorials) more usually associated with Dixon. It is likely that Carr had the plates re-engraved to restore clarity. The below right plaque, from an as yet unidentified pottery, appears to have the same transfer as the small plaque above it.
The final two plaques are both Dixon. The left has the Dixon, Phillips and Co, surrounding anchor, impressed mark. My research suggests a date range of 1834–1850 for this mark. The right plaque is later, I suggest 1851–1865, and has the impressed mark Dixon Co.  Plaques exist with and without the 'THOU GOD SEEST ME' banner, for both impressed marks.
By looking at the degradation of the transfer of the circular black and yellow plaque, and comparing it with the plaques above, it should be possible to date it. My guess would be 1840s, or perhaps even 50s, which is later than I'd previously supposed.

 
P.S. 'Dixon' Wesley

As always, the waters are slightly muddied. The above left plaque has a nice crisp 'Dixon' transfer and hand-painted text, and looks early – similar hand-painted text appears on plaques in the 1820s.  I've put it next to the later plaque for comparison.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Stephen Smith lives in London, and is always happy to hear from other collectors. If you have an interesting collection of plaques, and are based in the UK, he will photograph them for you. Free advice given regarding selling and dispersal of a collection, or to those wishing to start one. Just get in touch...

    [email protected] 
     

    Archives

    February 2022
    August 2020
    June 2020
    September 2018
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    October 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    April 2014
    February 2014
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010

    Acknowledgements

    This website is indebted to collectors, dealers and enthusiasts who have shared their knowledge or photos. In particular: Ian Holmes, Stephen Duckworth, Dick Henrywood, Norman Lowe, Keith Lovell, Donald H Ryan, Harold Crowder, Jack and Joyce Cockerill, Myrna Schkolne, Elinor Penna, Ian Sharp, Shauna Gregg at the Sunderland Museum, Keith Bell, Martyn Edgell, and Liz Denton.
Proudly powered by Weebly