Imperfect Printed Enamel Surfaces: Interpreting Marks of Eighteenth-Century Midland Craftsmanship

Grayson, John (2020) Imperfect Printed Enamel Surfaces: Interpreting Marks of Eighteenth-Century Midland Craftsmanship. Midland History, 45 (2). pp. 190-207. ISSN 1756-381X

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Abstract

Eighteenth-century ceramic and enamelware manufacturers recognised that printing provided a means of applying identical decoration to three-dimensional surfaces thereby speeding up production. The process, transfer printing, used a flexible paper carrier to ‘transfer’ wet ink from a flat engraved copper plate to the irregular surface of an object. Whilst the ceramics industry is writ large within the grand narrative of eighteenth-century
transfer printing, the methods used by the enamelling trade are little known.
Using craftsmanship-framed analysis of printed enamel boxes in Wolverhampton Art Gallery, this article will consider their printed surfaces in order to understand the technical and tacit skills developed by Midland eighteenth-century printers and decorators. Analysis of these artefacts provides, for the first time, a more comprehensive understanding of the modes of making the prints, their application, and the problems encountered.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: ** From Crossref via Jisc Publications Router ** History: ppub 03-05-2020; issued 03-05-2020; epub 27-06-2020.
Identification Number: 10.1080/0047729x.2020.1767974
Dates:
Date
Event
20 April 2020
Accepted
27 June 2020
Published
Uncontrolled Keywords: Birmingham, craft, enamel, eighteenth-century, manufacturing, South Staffordshire, transfer-printing
Subjects: CAH24 - media, journalism and communications > CAH24-01 - media, journalism and communications > CAH24-01-01 - information services
Divisions: Faculty of Arts, Design and Media > College of Digital Arts
SWORD Depositor: JISC PubRouter
Depositing User: JISC PubRouter
Date Deposited: 22 Jul 2020 08:53
Last Modified: 11 Jun 2024 12:18
URI: https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/9531

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