Featured Royal Stanley Ware (Jacobean) Collection

My wife and I are the official keepers, on behalf of the estate of a friend, of what we believe to be the largest collection of Royal Stanley Jacobean Pottery in existence. Royal Stanley pottery originated in Stoke-on-Trent in the UK in the early twentieth century, with the last pieces made in 1929. Two hundred and thirty-something pieces currently co-reside in our house on the prairies of Saskatchewan, Canada.

Our friend was an educator by profession and antique, glass and pottery collector on the side. Unlike the other collectibles, the 'Stanley' was never intended to be sold; the idea was to make the collection a source of information on a little known clay ware which was just beginning to be appreciated. Toward that end, we began photographing the pieces for a dedicated web site (RoyalStanleyWare.gallery). Unfortunately, our friend passed away suddenly, shortly after the initial site went on line.

After her passing, the antiques and glass were dispersed in estate sales, but the Royal Stanley was held back.

We believe the value of the Stanley is the collection rather than the individual pieces, so rather than sell it off piecemeal on eBay etal, we have been contacting museums, galleries and art institutions, trying to come up with the possible options to breaking the collection up. Our best suggestions have not been from the Gardiner Museum in Toronto or the Victoria and Albert in London, but from individual dealers and collectors. One of the best came from a clown (a real one).

This is why we've come here. We have a collection that we would prefer to preserve, and are looking for ideas from others who may have some insight into dealing with collections of their own.

We hope you can take a few minutes to browse through the web site; any comments and all suggestions will be welcomed.

 

Thank you for posting, thats some lovely stuff. I confess I dont recall being aware of it before,always learning on here.

 

Tour the collection......with a published high res brochure ....then if you can't find a buyer to take it all , give it to a respected auction house so everyone has a crack at their favorite piece.

 

It's known as poor man's Moorcroft, which is not to denigrate it in any way. Like H&K stuff, I like it immensely.

 

There must be museums in Sask/Man/Alta. Maybe even a library system might take it on. I wonder if there's a center with a Medalta collection. Not that they are related, but, if such a place exists, at least they would have some ceramics interest and expertise.

I'm pretty sure there are museums in the Potteries district in England. One of them might be interested. Where was Royal Stanley Ware made? If there's a tourism center there, it might be somewhere to start.

Just don't discount the smaller museums. They are more likely to take pride in such a collection. Even if a large museum took it on, only a representative sample might make it to display. The rest would vanish into the research collections.

And please continue developing the site. It will be an attractive and useful resource. (Make sure you have a section on marks and all the variants.)

 

What a fabulous collection! I've only come across a couple of pieces here on the West Coast, beautiful stuff
Good on you for trying to find a home for all of it, hopefully a museum will be interested!

 

I think this is the best advice. somewhere near where it was made would be the logical place where interest would be the greatest. This could be a university art museum or local historical society museum. I don't know how large the collection is but the odds of finding some place that will display it all is probably going to be slim unless funds are also provided for maintenance.

It may turn out that the best compromise would be to donate a representative sample to one or more museums and disperse the rest. The on-line museum could be maintained as a definitive source for information. It may also best serve your friend's interests if small collections end up in various museums, as more people will become acquainted with the wares and increase interest. An obscure large collection in an equally obscure museum might be more of a curiosity than a resource for widespread learning.

 

"H&K" ?

 

Thank you for all your comments and suggestions. The 'Stanley' originated in Longton, one of the six towns that made up The Potteries of Stoke-on-Trent. That is particularly where we're trying to establish some contacts.

 

Hollinshead & Kirkham, Tunstall, U.K.

 

Thanks....

 

Thank you for posting this, Jim Huziak. This can be a very instructive site, and this thread has helped to continue that tradition.

 

This whole process certainly has been instructive to me. I'm struggling to avoid adding 'Pottery & Antiques Aficionado' to my too extensive list of interests.