Another Anniversary

2012 certainly is the year for anniversaries in the UK. The most widely celebrated will of course be the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee followed by the bi-centenary of Charles Dickens’ birth. The famous author and social critic had many connections with Kent and events have taken place in the county to honour his achievements.

Not so for the Tunbridge Ware maker, whose bi-centennial year is also in 2012. We feel sure that even amongst many Tunbridge Ware enthusiasts Robert Russell’s anniversary is likely to go un-noticed. So we, at least, will now give him a mention!

Brackett’s Descriptive Illustrated Hand Guide to Tunbridge Wells of 1863 carried an advert for Robert Russell, describing his work as “Tunbridge Wells Marquetry or Improved Tunbridge Ware” and goes on to describe him as the “sole manufacturer of the above beautiful wood……but of a superior character to Tunbridge Ware”. This advert implies that Russell, whilst wishing to remain under the Tunbridge Ware umbrella, was pushing out the design boundaries and producing work, which was constructed in a different way from the conventional tessellated mosaic used by so many of the 19th century makers.

Robert Russell was a Tunbridge Wells man. He was born there and lived and worked in the town for all his life. It is unclear from whom he learned his skills but he was familiar with all the Tunbridge Ware techniques and produced items of tessellated mosaic and sometimes combined them with his own marquetry designs.

However his best work, for which he is now renowned, and which at the time gained him international recognition and royal patronage, was produced on a machine, which he himself invented and used patterns cut from ox-bone in shapes similar to jigsaw pieces. The success of Russell’s designs was largely due to the veneers he used and his ability to accentuate their beauty by a long and tedious process of polishing.

Our Object of the Month for May is an unusual cribbage board attributed to Robert Russell with a central panel of his jigsaw shapes. His understanding of the beauty of wood is also demonstrated by his choice of what is now often called Pippy Oak* as a background.

* Pippy Oak is a term used to describe the instance of a small cluster of knots, which appear sporadically in the growth of a tree. The feature is highly valued by craftsmen for its decorative nature.

Anniversaries

The dealers at The Edenbridge Galleries are pretty busy just now preparing for their next Open Weekend on the 12th & 13th May when, ahead of the national celebrations, they will be marking the Queen's Diamond Jubilee by holding a series of talks.

They have called their event The Jubilee Years and over the weekend there will be no less than seven talks on specialist subjects. Each talk will cover a topic, which fits into a time frame around a jubilee year. For example Dianne will talk on Tunbridge Ware. Taking the year of 1862 (Queen Victoria's Silver Jubilee Year), she will discuss the work of Edmund Nye and its implications for Thomas Barton.

A full timetable of the talks can be found by visiting www.edenbridgegalleries.com and looking at their Latest News.  We are sure you will find something to interest you there and we look forward to seeing you over the weekend.

We have, by the way, called this Blog post Anniversaries. Not only is  a big royal anniversary coming soon but our Open Weekend marks the fifth birthday of The Edenbridge Galleries. Congratulations to Sue & Lennox Cato.

Linings Up For Identification

Those of you who have attended one of our sessions where we attempt to attribute Tunbridge Ware designs to specific makers will know how problematical it can sometimes be.

 One of the main ways to establish who might have made a particular item is in the choice of decoration and veneers. Makers such as Thomas Barton had a very distinctive style and regularly used easily recognisable borders and designs. Quite apart from the fact that it is labelled, the style of our Object of the Month for April leaves little doubt that it is by Barton. However another clue to the identification of this box (and also of other pieces of Tunbridge Ware) could be in the lining materials used in, and underneath the box.

Just as designs evolved throughout the 19^th century, so the choice of lining materials altered too. Typically in the early part of the 19^th century box linings were plain coloured paper – usually blue, pink or yellow. As the century progressed, patterned papers became popular and it has in the past been very tempting to attribute a particular paper to a single maker, especially when its use is supported by a maker’s label. For example tartan style papers on the base of boxes are often associated with the work of Alfred Talbot in the 1850’s as labelled examples have been found. The difficulty is, other makers used the paper too. Recently an example has been found with an Edmund Nye label!

Our Object of the Month is lined with watered silk and we have noted that this was a fabric favoured by Thomas Barton, whilst other makers frequently chose a very smooth silk without a watermark. An added feature to this box is the quilting, which occurs on some box linings from about the 1870’s. The mass production of sewing machines in the 1850’s following Isaac Singer’s first commercially successful machine, gave the Tunbridge Ware makers the chance to try their hand as machinists.

A Change Of Plan

Just to let you know we have had to change our plans. Following Ivor's recent cardiac surgery, we have decided not to exhibit at The Antiques for Everyone Fair at The NEC, Birmingham in April.

We are pleased to say that Ivor is recovering well and we are now busy preparing for The Edenbridge Galleries Jubilee Years Spring Open Weekend. For information on this event please go to our Events Page.

Just When We Thought We Had Seen It All....

After more than twenty five years of dealing in Tunbridge Ware we rarely expect to come across pieces, which we have never seen before. But this year so far has been quite exceptional and we will be taking several items to The BADA Fair next week, which are new to us. Our Object of the Month for March is one such example.

Tea canisters have a long history and as the forerunners of caddies, were made in a variety of materials including porcelain and silver. Whilst many caddies can be found in Tunbridge Ware our Object of the Month is the first canister we have ever seen. The style of decoration and the views of Eridge & Battle Abbey Gatehouse are late versions of these well known Tunbridge Ware views, which have led us to think that this canister might have been from the workshop of Boyce Brown & Kemp.

As the Tunbridge Ware industry was starting to decline at the beginning of the 20th century, so Boyce, Brown & Kemp were seeking to produce different and sometimes novel items in an attempt to attract a new audience. We know that they included Stanhope viewers in pens and made small boxes of unusual shapes. It is possible that they also attempted to revive the interest in tea containers with this unusual canister. Has anyone seen another one?

To view other unusual items, which we will be taking to The BADA Fair please visit Christmas Lists & Previews.

Saturday Surgery

Just to remind you that we will be holding a Tunbridge Ware Surgery at The Edenbridge Galleries on Saturday 18th February.

Dianne will be at The Galleries between 11am & 3pm and will be happy to answer your questions on Tunbridge Ware. She will be able to help with identification and dating and will advise on condition and restoration. Also if you would like a free valuation of your Tunbridge Ware please bring your pieces to the Gallery.

A Distinctive Look

Most Tunbridge Ware collectors will probably agree that Thomas Barton's work was classy and some would go as far as to say that it was simply the best.

Our Object of the Month for February is an example of the quality he achieved and has the distinctive look, with which he is so often associated. One of the identifying characteristics of Barton's work was his choice of veneers. Unlike many other makers, Barton favoured a dark background for his boxes and coromandel was a frequent choice.

Known by several different names, coromandel is commonly known as Macassar Ebony and comes from South East Asia. In the 18th century the timber was used in England for making expensive furniture and in the early 19th century it became popular as a veneer for quality furniture. Although still costly, coromandel as a veneer was, relatively speaking, a cheaper option.

Veneering was however not a new technique but took its origins from Ancient Egypt, where timber was as rare as precious jewels. Examples of veneering were found in the tomb of Tutenkhamen, which demonstrated an early understanding of the natural beauty of wood.

In England the 18th & 19th centuries saw the very best artisitic use of veneers by the likes of Chippendale, Hepplewhite & Sheraton, who worked extensively in mahogany and satinwood. The use of exotic veneers gained popularity in the 19th century.

In the Victorian period coromandel appeared on smaller items such as boxes, dressing cases, bookends and the like. Possibly the dark colour of the veneer reflected Queen Victoria's mood after the death of Prince Albert and increased its use.

The heartwood of coromandel, with its black and reddish brown stripes, certainly appealed to Thomas Barton. He used it extensively on his Tunbridge Ware and it is often cited as one of the main characteristics of his work.

Interestingly we do not think we have seen coromandel used as a background veneer by Tunbridge Ware makers other than by Barton on his own or during the Nye / Barton 'partnership' period. We should be interested to hear of any pieces in your collections with coromandel background veneers, which do not seem to have come from the Nye / Barton workshop.

Forthcoming Events

Just to remind you to look at our Events Page, where you will find information up to July on fairs and other events in which we will be involved.

Our first event is a Tunbridge Ware Surgery at The Edenbridge Galleries on Saturday 18th February. Hope to see you there!

Are You Missing Out?

Those of you who entered The Edenbridge Galleries recent competition to identify the Tunbridge Ware Mystery Object will probably know that noone managed to guess that it was an unusual coin holder.

We would now like to remind you that The Edenbridge Galleries are now holding a competition each month with the questions featuring either items from the specialist dealers or questions of a more general nature. The December question was a very easy one, the answer to which could have been readily found on the internet. Needless to say there were several correct answers and one lucky winner, who has been sent a £100 voucher to spend at Edenbridge or from the Gallery web site.

If you would like to know about forthcoming competitions and the chance for a £100 voucher please go to www.edenbridgegalleries.com and join their mailing list.

Last Into Bed

Our Object of the Month for the New Year has got us thinking how very lucky we now are. In spite of the modern problems, which we might have, we live in an age with many advantages, which we take so much for granted.

 The very idea that a Go to Bed could have been a necessity in Victorian times now seems almost unimaginable. However the problem of how one managed to get into bed without setting the house alight was a real issue for our ancestors. Hence by the middle of the 19^th century Go to Beds were in popular use.

 Go to Beds were made in a variety of materials such as metal, wood or ivory and were used for match storage, frequently with a rough surface on which the match could be struck. All featured a small hole or finial, into which the match could be placed, rather like a miniature candle.

 Rather than taking a lighted candle close to the bed and risking a fire, it was considered safer to strike a match and place it in the Go to Bed, giving one just enough time to extinguish one’s candle and get into bed by match light before the match itself went out!

 Today we might be forgiven for thinking that Go to Beds probably never really caught on as the whole idea seems fairly impractical if not hazardous but judging by the number of Go to Beds, which can still be found, including Tunbridge Ware examples, this seems not to have been the case.

 Thankfully being last into bed and responsible for putting out the light is no longer an issue. One less thing for us to worry about in 2012!

A Happy New Year To You All!