Vintage
1930’s Susie Cooper Coffee Can Wedding Band Pattern Art Deco
No. 4.
Vintage, Art Deco, from
the 1930’s Susie Cooper Coffee Can, in the Wedding Band pattern 817,
decorated in soft shades of sea greens, pale yellow, dove greys all on a creamy
ground.
An early design by
Susie as an independent, the triangle mark was replaced by the Leaping Deer in
1930.
Marks
to the base:
Leaping deer – SUSIE
COOPER PRODUCTION – CROWN WORKS – BURSLEM – ENGLAND
Hand painted in green –
817- K to can, K to saucer.
Approximate Measurements
Height - Can – 2 1/4 inches (5.7 cm)
Diameter – Saucer 4 ½ inches (11.5 cm)
Condition
Very good condition, crazing as is often found on
Susie’s pottery from this period
Please
refer to the photographs as they form an important part of the description.
Shipping
may be combined where possible.
Susie
Cooper RDI 1902 - 1995
Born in 1902 in the Stansfield area
of Burslem, Stoke on Trent, Susie Cooper's education eventually found her
studying under the influence of Gordon Forsyth, having been awarded a
scholarship at the Burslem School of Art. Intending to pursue a career in
fashion, her application to the Royal College of Art, London was rejected
because she was not currently working in a related industry. Gordon Forsyth
suggested that Susie should work for a local potter, A.E.Gray in order to meet
the college requirements. In 1922 Susie joined A.E.Gray initially to train as a
paintress, however she was soon promoted to resident designer.
Early
Years of Independence
With an increased desire to design
shapes as well as patterns Susie left Gray's to establish the 'Susie Cooper
pottery' in October 1929. With the help of her family and particularly her
brother in law, Susie took two rooms in a building known as the George Street
Pottery, Tunstall. With the help of six paintresses a paint shop and office
were established and then the decoration of pots began.
After three weeks the George Street
Pottery was closed by the owners creditors, so Susie was forced to relocate. It
was March 1930 before They managed to find suitable premises. This time the
chosen site was the Chelsea Works a small pottery in Moorland Road, Burslem.
Chelsea
Works and Crown Works
Keen to resume production, Susie
initially bought in white ware for decorating from various manufacturers,
blacking out their factory marks and adding her own. (Susie Cooper Productions
enclosed in a triangle and rubber-stamped in black.) Demand for Susie Cooper
ware grew steadily and despite taking on extra staff, it became necessary to
find larger premises. Wood & Sons of Burslem could provide Susie with the
best quality white-ware that she required and at a reasonable price. With this
in mind, it was decided that it would be advantageous to move Susie Cooper
Productions to premises adjacent to Wood's factory. This move into her famous
'Crown Works' took place in August 1931.
The bulk of her production during
these early years reflected the tastes of the times, bright floral's, geometric
and modernist designs in bold hand painted colours. The first shapes designed
by Susie as an independent appeared in 1930 with the assistance of Wood &
Sons and around the same time the triangle mark was replaced by the Leaping
Deer version which has become the most commonly associated mark with her work.
This was a time of expansion for
Susie, productivity was high, new shapes were being introduced, lithograph
patterns were developed, heralding a move away from predominately hand painted
wares. In 1932 the Kestrel shape was launched, and a range of studio pieces was
added to her range. 1933 saw developments in crayon decoration and 1935 saw the
introduction of her most famous lithograph pattern, 'Dresden Spray.'
The
War Years
1939 brought the outbreak of the
Second World War and with it constraints on the production of pottery.
Production became almost impossible in May 1942 when a fire swept through Crown
Works destroying Susie's stock of lithographs. The factory was closed as a
result. It was 1945 before the factory re-opened