Collecting Royal Doulton Antiques

The Royal Doulton company, the history, the products, Doulton marks and artists monograms.

Your online reference for Royal Doulton Ceramics and Doulton Marks.

Royal Doulton started with a factory at Vauxhall Walk, Lambeth, London, as a partnership between John Doulton, Martha Jones, and John Watts.

The Doulton name has built a long and distinguished pedigree that dates back to 1815.

The business originally specialised in manufacturing stoneware and produced decorative bottles and salt glaze sewer pipes.

It was in 1853 that the company took the name Doulton.

John Doulton and his son Henry established themselves as makers of fine English stoneware and though stoneware only allowed for a limited range of colours, they were able to produce a wide variety of items for the luxury market.

During the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901) a revolution occurred in personal sanitation and doulton's lead in domestic and industrial stoneware helped make it Britain's top manufacturer of sanitary ware. It also set the firm as a key player in the field of artistic pottery.

By 1871, Henry Doulton had launched an art wares studio at the Lambeth pottery, and offered work to designers and artists from the local art school. It was a great success and the artists included Arthur, Florence and Hannah Barlow, Frank Butler, Mark Marshall, Eliza Simmance, and George Tinworth.

In 1882, doulton purchased the small factory of Pinder, Bourne & Co, at Nile Street in Burslem, Staffordshire – bringing doulton right to the heart of The Potteries.

Doulton proved increasingly popular. because of the artistic direction of John Slater, who worked with a wide variety of figurines, vases, character jugs, and decorative pieces.

In 1901, the popularity of Doulton products came to the attention of the Royal family and the Burslem factory was granted the Royal Warrant by King Edward VII

The business adopted bold new markings and a new name: Royal Doulton.

Between the wars, Royal Doulton became synonymous with the finest English china. The Doulton name and reputation continued to grow along with its extensive range, which included flambé ware, titanian ware, and bone china.

Over the course of its long history the Doulton company has released popular collections of figures and other ceramics.

The Original Twelve Tinies

In 1940, Royal Doulton decided to produce six tiny character jugs which measured approximately 1 ¼" in height.

After World War II, they decided to continue with this collection and introduced six more.

These jugs have coined the term 'The Original Twelve Tinies' and are highly collectible due to to their short production time. The tinies required expert decorating skills, and the artists had to balance the tiny jugs on the end of their little fingers.

The Twelve Tinies were designed by three of the best known Royal Doulton Designers: Leslie Harradine, Harry Fenton and Charles Noke.

The 'Original Twelve Tinies' are:

Name	D Number	Designer	Dates
Fat Boy	D6142	Leslie Harradine/ Harry Fenton	1940-1960
Mr. Micawber	D6143	Leslie Harradine/ Harry Fenton	1940-1960
Old Charley	D6144	Charles Noke	1940-1960
Paddy	D6145	Harry Fenton	1940-1960
Sairey Gamp	D6146	Leslie Harradine/ Harry Fenton	1940-1960
Sam Weller	D6147	Leslie Harradine/ Harry Fenton	1940-1960
'Arry	D6255	Harry Fenton	1947-1960
'Arriet	D6256	Harry Fenton	1947-1960
Auld Mac	D6257	Harry Fenton	1947-1960
Cardinal	D6258	Charles Noke	1947-1960
John Peel	D6259	Harry Fenton	1947-1960
Mr. Pickwick	D6260	Leslie Harradine/ Harry Fenton	1947-1960

Table: The Original Twelve Tinies

The Royal Doulton - Dickens Character Jugs Collection.

In 1922, Miniature figures of Charles Dickens characters were produced at Royal Doulton’s factory in Burslem until 1983 and there have been variations in ceramic bodies, size and backstamps over the years.

Sixteen miniature bone china Dickens figures were introduced to the HN collection in 1922 and they were based on earlier stoneware models designed by Leslie Harradine.

In 1932 these HN figures were re-numbered as miniatures M41-M56.

In 1939 the collection was rounded off to eighteen models with the introduction of Bumble M76 and Cap’n Cuttle M77. These pre-war figures can be found with the early backstamps ‘Doulton’ or ‘Doulton England’.

In 1949, the series was briefly withdrawn and then re-introduced in a slightly larger size, most obvious is the increased depth of the base and the lack of any identification numbers. Six new characters were added to the collection in that year, making the set up to twenty-four. The Royal Doulton ‘Lion and Crown’ bone china backstamp was in use on all twenty-four figures during this period. When the ‘bone china’ reference is blocked out on the backstamp, this means that the figure was made in English Translucent China, which was first introduced in 1959.

In 1968, the figures increased in size again, (by approximately half an inch) when the clay body was changed from china to earthenware. All twenty-four figures in the collection were produced in earthenware and they were withdrawn between 1981 and 1983. In 1994, a limited edition figure of Charles Dickens himself was commissioned by Pascoe and Company, making a final total of 25 Dickens miniatures to collect: Check Our Royal Doulton Character Jugs for Sale.

The Doulton Dickens Character Jugs Collection includes ...

Name	M Number	Notes	Dates
Alfred Jingle	M52		1922-1981
Artful Dodger	M55		1922-1983
Bill Sykes	M54		1922-1981
Bumble	M76		1939-1982
Buz Fuz	M53		1922-1983
Cap’n Cuttle	M77		1939-1982
David Copperfield	M88		1949-1983
Dick Swiveller	M90		1949-1981
Fagin	M49		1922-1983
Fat Boy	M44		1922-1983
Little Nell	M51		1922-1983
Mr Micawber	M42		1922-1983
Mr Pickwick	M41		1922-1983
Mrs Bardell	M86		1949-1982
Oliver Twist	M89		1949-1983
Pecksniff	M43		1922-1982
Sairey Gamp	M46		1922-1983>
Sam Weller	M48		1922-1981
Scrooge	M87		1949-1982
Stiggins	M50		1922-1981
Tiny Tim	M56		1922-1981
Tony Weller	M47		1922-1981
Trotty Veck	M91		1949-1982
Uriah Heep	M45		1922-1983
Charles Dickens	HN3448	L/E 1500	1994

Table: Royal Doulton Character Jugs

The Royal Doulton Figures of the Year.

In 1991, Royal Doulton released its first Figure of the Year. This collection has become one of the most collectable ever produced.

The Royal Doulton Figures of the Year are:

Year	Name	HN Number	Designer	Size
1991	Amy	HN3316	Peter Gee	8
1992	Mary	HN3375	Nada Pedley	8.5
1993	Patricia	HN3365	Valerie Annand	8.5
1994	Jennifer	HN3447	Peter Gee	7.25
1995	Deborah	HN3644	Nada Pedley	7.5
1996	Belle	HN3703	Valerie Annand	8
1997	Jessica	HN3850	Nada Pedley	8
1998	Rebecca	HN4041	Valerie Annand	9
1999	Lauren	HN3975	Dominic Hughes	9
2000	Rachel	HN3976	Dominic Hughes	8.25
2001	Melissa	HN3977	Dominic Hughes	8.5
2002	Sarah	HN3978	Dominic Hughes	8.25
2003	Elizabeth	HN4426	John Bromley	8.25
2004	Susan	HN4532	John Bromley	9

Table: Royal Doulton figures of the year

The 'HN' stands for Harry Nixon who was the head of the new figure painting department at the Doulton studio, which included just three artists in the early years. View our selection of Royal Doulton Figurines for Sale.

The Royal Doulton Character Jugs of the Year Collection.

In 1991 - The ‘Character Jug of the Year’ collection was launched with the Fortune Teller and each year these large size characters are Royal Doulton’s best selling jugs.

The subjects of the jugs are very varied, from nautical heroes to literary stars, but the one thing they all have in common is top quality modelling with excellent detail. It is a great honour for the artists to have their work chosen as the ‘Jug of the Year’ and Stan Taylor currently holds the record with five awards, closely followed by David Biggs with four.

Occasionally the ‘Jug of the Year’ commemorates specific events, such as the Jesse Owens tribute that was launched to mark the 60th anniversary of his medal winning games, and the Count Dracula jug, which celebrated the centenary of Bram Stoker’s original vampire novel.

For a brief period, between 2001 and 2003, the ‘Character Jug of the Year’ was produced in a limited edition of 1,000, but mostly they are limited to the year of issue.

The Character Jugs of the Year are:

Year	Name	D Number	Designer	Size
1991	The Fortune Teller	D6874	Stanley J. Taylor	7
1992	Winston Churchill	D6907	Stanley J. Taylor	7
1993	Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson	D6932	Stanley J. Taylor	8
1994	Captain Hook	D6947	Martyn Alcock	7.5
1995	Captain Bligh	D6967	Stanley J. Taylor	7
1996	Jesse Owens	D7019	Stanley J. Taylor	7.25
1997	Count Dracula	D7053	David Biggs	8
1998	Lewis Carrol	D7096	David Biggs	7.75
1999	William Shakespeare	D7136	Robert Tabbenor	7
2000	Oscar Wilde	D7146	David Biggs	7
2001	Queen Victoria	D7152	Robert Tabbenor	7
2002	Sir Walter Raleigh	D7169	Robert Tabbenor	7
2003	Queen Elizabeth I	D7180	David Biggs	7.25
2004	Queen Mary I	D7188	Shane Ridge	7.5

Table: Royal Doulton Character Jug of the Year Collection

In 1960, Royal Doulton introduced a new product – English Translucent China.

It was developed over several years by Technical Director Richard Bailey. It effectively removed the high cost of bone china, but still offered fine translucent wares. In short, it had all the right qualities at the right price. It became known as Royal Doulton Fine China and proved an outstanding success.

In 1966, it attained one of the first ever Queen's Awards for Enterprise in the field of Innovation. Today, doultons lambeth ware draws on a rich inheritance. It carefully blends tough, quartz-like compounds with feldspathic Cornish stone for a robust appearance. Modern ceramic technology adds a refined glaze and colour.

In December 2004, Production ceased at the Doulton factory and in March 2005 the Visitor's Centre closed.

In September 2005, The once bustling 15 acre site closed completely. The land was sold to property developers and another fine part of Englands heritage was lost; to make way for modern housing.

After Wedgwood's acquisition of Royal Doulton on 14th Jan 2005, Royal Doulton left its factory in Burslem and established a production facility in Indonesia. As of 2008 the company was still producing fine bone china, fine china and Royal Doulton Lambethware.

Royal Doulton Business Addresses

• Royal Doulton Limited, Minton House, London Road, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 7QD
• Doulton and Co. Inc., 700 Cottontail Lane, Somerset, New Jersey 08873, USA.
• Doulton Canada Inc, 850 Progress Avenue, Scarborough, Ontario M1 H 3C4, Canada
• nv Royal Doulton (Belgium) sa, 25 Europark Noord, Sint Niklaas 2700, Belgium.
• Doulton Tableware Pty, Limited, 17-23 Merriwa Street, Gordon, NSW 2072, Australia.
• Doulton and Co. (S.A.) Pty, Limited, P.O. Box 6254, Johannesburg 2000, South Africa.