Less about me (boring), more about why I'm here

I hope this is appropriate for this site; if so, I look forward to your comments and suggestions.

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.

Thanks...

 

Wow! I've not seen this before. Gorgeous!

 

Greetings, Jim! That is some very pretty pottery - thanks for showing it.

 

WOW!!!!! SIMPLY GORGEOUS!!!! I cannot believe some museum does not want to just grab that up....ALL of it!!!! And so beautifully and directly displayed on the website!!! Nicely done....Kudos!! I only wish I knew how to point you in a direction.....

Oh, And WELCOME to the site Jim!!!!

 

I'd walked by the 'Stanley' display in Sandra's home for years with nary a glance, but after handling it to take the photos, my appreciation has grown with every piece. Parting with it will be a bit of a traumatic experience.

 

Nice pottery, and welcome!

 

Hi Jim and welcome!

I'm sorry to hear of the passing of your friend. I've grappled with what to do with a rather massive collection myself. In my case it's a reference collection that while useful for some applications would not interest everyone or every institution.

Anyway, from a quick look on Ebay the market seems very slow and not very high priced for such pretty stuff. Sometimes I think the interest in factories is local so I'm wondering if there might be a place in the UK that would be interested.

I can't really suggest any place in particular however I wonder if The Northern Ceramics Society might have some thoughts. I've only ordered old newsletters from them but they were very nice and very responsive so it might be somewhere to start.

http://www.northernceramicsociety.org/about/what-we-do/

What a tribute to your friendship.

 

I agree that online markets are disappointing. A couple of reputable auction houses in Canada advise that we seem to be in a period of transition where the current generation doesn't appear to be interested in 'old stuff'. However, the link you have provided looks really interesting; don't know how we missed finding it in our searches. Thank you very much... we'll be delving into it as soon as I hit 'Post' on my reply...

 

Oh my goodness!!!
Stunning pieces and a great story. I hope you're able to keep it together and share in a museum or gallery.
Thank you for sharing with all of us!


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Not surprised at a suggestion from a 'clown'.....they are fantastic artists in their own right!!!! Would love to know what his/her suggestion was!!!! I would imagine a permanent site would be absolutely best for the 'ware'.

 

Actually, the clown part was incidental... after a performance my wife attended, the female performer referenced her British accent. As it turns out, she has connections both in the area the pottery originated and locally at Government House (the official residence of the Queen's representative). People who know people...

 

Welcome, Jim Huziak. Very informative and interesting post!