Shorter? England Mini Clown Balloon Horse Jug

by Kirsty
(UK)

Shorter? England Mini Clown Balloon Horse Jug:- Hello, I have a jug that is a mold relief clown training a horse with a green glaze it is only 3 inches tall. The underneath was so worn that it just says orter england in a circle around the base with a faint blue mark that I think says genuine staffordshire in blue. Someone on a forum pointed me to Shorter and sons and I did find a very similar stamp but mine just has SHORTER ENGLAND Impressed if thats what it is??? so I am trying to date and value it so far found zip and certainly not a similar one!

Any help would be gratefully received.

Many thanks.

Kirsty

reply by Peter (admin) below - just scroll down...

HOW I MADE MONEY FROM BITS & BOBS OF OLD CHINA .....more

Reply by Peter (admin)

To:- Shorter? England Mini Clown Balloon Horse Jug

Hi Kirsty

Thanks for sharing your photos. Unfortunately, the original pics are a bit blurry especially the one of the mark which can't be seen at all on screen. The thing with the mark photo is to take a clear close up on 'macro' and then crop..... or otherwise scanning it can produce good result too.

Remember, this is a public forum - published for the benefit of all.

Now back to your mark and little jug. I can't tell from the pic, but if it is Shorter, I would make sure any potential buyers knew the Clarice Cliff connection. The story is part of the legend that was made into a popular BBC Drama series.

Arthur Shorter who founded Shorter & Son (Ltd) was Clarice Cliff's father-in-law and the 'son' in question was Colley Shorter, Clarice Cliff's husband. It was this team who was responsible for the design, make and sales distribution of Clarice Cliff’s "Bizarre" ware. The company was A.J Wilkinson (Arthur Shorter took over the management of the company when Wilkinson died). They were also known as Royal Staffordshire (see My China Makers Guide under 'R' for Royal Staffordshire - Clarice Cliff).


Shorter & Son (Ltd)was founded in 1905, was formerly known as Shorter & Boulton, and I can't find a date when they went out of business or were taken over. Maybe they were just amalgamated into A J Wilkinson when Colley and his brother, Guy, took over that company.

I have found quite a variety of marks used by Shorter none of them sound quite like your description. Goddens encyclopedia mainly lists marks in association with Shorter's Batvia Ware and Sunray Pottery brands, so from that it is hard to tell about your mark. Potteries.org has a good page on Shorter too.

As for valuations, as I keep saying, I can't do more than point you in the right direction with valuation appraisals because value of vintage and antique china is, like anything else, subject to the whims and fancies of fashion. What is 'in' one moment and fetching high prices, is 'out' the next.....and visa versa .

It is actually quite easy to get a feel of the value of your wares yourself just by looking online in the right places. I tell you how on this page:-

Researching the identity and value of antique and vintage fine china.

Hope this helps. Interesting submission, but wish there were better pic to accompany it.

Best regards,

Peter (admin)

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