Topic: Same design but a different company

[jsg207]

As you can see from my previous posts I'm not the most knowledgeable of pottery owners... here's my question for today... does anyone know if the potters shared their designs or moulds between companies? 

I have two vases that are identical but on the reverse have different marks - one has the impressed Bretby mark and then the other (beige mottled glazed finish is different feel) has an Aldridge stamp on it over what looked to be a smudged Bretby impression

Similarly is design no 433, of which I have five versions. The three on the left hand side are clearly marked Beswick with that beautiful matt finish of intermingled glazes. The other two on the right hand side don't have marks, don't look like Beswick finishes so do I assume they are from another pottery as in the above example?  (the crazy 3-colour handpainted version and the heavy high gloss turquoise finish.)

[Anne]

Thinking aloud here, it could be that different makers used moulds sourced from the same mould-maker.

Some works had their own mould-makers and thus would have unique designs, others would presumably buy them in and create their own range by decorating/glazing etc to their own requirements.

The same appears to have happened in the glass industry, and could also explain why we see the same designs made in pottery and in glass.

[gareth-h]

I know of a few examples of how this can happen:

- when a pottery goes bust the moulds and other equipment are often sold off. Other potteries buy them and use them in their own production.

- more than one pottery might buy the same mould from a third party.

- a potter might make a mould from an existing item. In this case the finished product is usually slightly smaller than the original due to shrinkage when drying.

[ChimpMad]

Alternatively, some factories found it profitable to sell  'blanks', unglazed/undecorated pieces which other companies bought and decorated in their own designs, which is why sometimes you get one companies' backstamp over anothers impressed marks. This is also why you see a lot of utilitarian wares, dinner services, tea sets and the like, which are impressed with 'Made in England' and then sometimes backstamped by the factory that decorated them. Johnson Brothers and Meakin did a lot of blank production, which is why their everyday wares are usually backstamped with the factory name and have the impressed Made in England mark.

[Anne]

That's useful to know, thank you. We had a mystery with two sets of marks on the board recently - an odd combination of Poole and Royal Norfolk.

[antiquerose123]

  Great information 

[ChimpMad]

That's useful to know, thank you. We had a mystery with two sets of marks on the board recently - an odd combination of Poole and Royal Norfolk.

Yes, I saw that one. Royal Norfolk produced (or still produce, not sure if they're still going) mainly souvenir pieces for the Norfolk Broads area, which they did using blanks from other companies. I would assume that the Poole piece was from the higher end of their range.