Mary (Twink) Gates
Some collectors of place settings may not be aware of the name of the beautiful China/pottery known as transferware when they have come across an intricately patterned piece of China, vase, or planter that has piqued their interest. Mary Gates, a member of Questers Catalina Timewalkers, was one of those people who had such treasures displayed in her own home, hidden in plain sight. It took her friend Michelle to point this out while gazing at her remarkable transferware treasures housed/displayed in her China cabinet.
The Duchess “Winchester” bone China, coffee and tea set, etched in burgundy and gold, was previously used at lunches for business meetings in a worldwide ore trading mining consultant’s office in the Isle of Man where Mary worked as a personal assistant/secretary to the CEO/owner in the 1980s.
Additionally, Mary’s friends, the Warburtons, carefully carried a gift from Cheshire, England, to Tucson for her 50th birthday. It was a modern transferware planter depicting the English countryside, with images of foxes, pheasants, ducks, and thatched cottages. They had purchased the planter from a gentleman potter who originally worked in Stoke, England, at a factory where all porcelain was made.
Mary decided to share her transferware and stories with the 14 members of Questers Catalina Timewalkers who attended the April 18 meeting at her home. Some members brought their own transferware collections of treasures, and interesting stories ensued.
Transfer printing is a method of decorating pottery or other materials using an engraved copper or steel plate from which a monochrome print on paper is taken, which is then transferred by pressing onto the ceramic piece. Pottery decorated using this technique is known as transferware, or transfer ware.
The process was developed in England from the 1750s, and in the 19th century, it became enormously popular, though was relatively rarely used in other major pottery-producing countries. The bulk of production was from the dominant Staffordshire pottery industry. America was a major market for English transfer-printed wares, whose imagery was adapted to the American market. The technique was essential for adding complex decoration, such as the Willow pattern, to pottery.
Transfer printing brought the price of a matching dinner service low enough for large numbers of people to afford rather than those more affluent. Apart from pottery, the technique was used on metal and enamel and sometimes on wood and textiles. It remains used today, although it is mostly superseded by lithography. In the 19th century, methods of transfer printing in color were developed.
Following the business meeting and fun with members sharing their stories, co-hosts Monique Salviejo and Nancy Hysong helped serve a delicious buffet.
Interested in joining the Catalina Timewalkers chapter of Questers? Meetings are held on the third Friday of the month, October through May.
For membership information, email Leni Bowman at gunky1213@gmail.com.
Arizona Questers’ purpose, mission, and vision can be found at www.azquesters.org.
Upcoming events can be viewed at: https://www.azquesters.org/news-and-events: