My new book, Crown Lynn collector's handbook, will be launched at the Women's Bookshop, 105 Ponsonby Rd, Auckland... and if you love Crown Lynn, you are invited!
The launch is from 6pm on Tuesday 2 July. I will be there to introduce my book and to sign copies if you wish. Carole from the Women's Bookshop has asked me to put this event on my blog - Crown Lynn enthusiasts are absolutely welcome.
So here's your invitation: If you wish to attend can you please email reception@penguin.co.nz or phone 09 442 7400 before Monday 24 June.
I am very pleased with the way this book has turned out - it's all about the products and the backstamps - completely focused on what to look for when you are searching for Crown Lynn.
It is published by Penguin NZ and has a recommended retail price of $35. It will be in the shops from around 28 June. This is the cover:
And this is a sneak preview of a randomly selected page - pg 63:
I have summarised all the info I can find for each backstamp, and have given a date and measurements for the examples I have chosen to photograph. This is the entry for Aero British:
And this for Kelston Ferrostone:
The book has 168 pages and is a size you can easily slip into your bag to take with you on op shop hunts. I have listed about 300 products and every backstamp I am aware of. There are nearly 200 backstamps in the domestic ware section alone - and more under other headings such as nurseryware. I have done sections on:
- Identifying Crown Lynn
- Domestic ware
- Vitrified hotel ware
- Commemorative and promotional ware
- Nursery ware
- Early products
- Vases
- Hand potted and hand painted ware
- Maori themed souvenir ware
- Animal figurines
- Technical porcelain
- Other factories (ie Titian, Mayon, Luke Adams, Royal Grafton)
- Odds and ends
There is also a chapter which examines some of the debates about Crown Lynn - eg the 'Metropolitan Ware' vases which are often attributed to Crown Lynn but were in fact made by Orzel, and also the disputed ginger jars. I have also included a brief history of Crown Lynn, a timeline and a glossary of terms. The book is fully referenced with end notes.
It is illustrated with colour photos on every page. The photos are mainly of my collection and were taken by my partner George - a marathon project as you can imagine.
This book would not have been possible without the assistance and enthusiasm of a myriad of Crown Lynn ex-staffers, and collectors from throughout NZ who have given me information and lent me examples to be photographed... to them all I am forever grateful. I have also gone back through the interviews I did for my first book, and also the Crown Lynn papers at the Auckland Museum and the Waitakere library.
I hope to see you at the launch - all the best till then. Don't forget to RSVP if you want to come. reception@penguin.co.nz
ValM
