This record of the company history reveals a couple important bits of information. First, it supports that the Taylor Tunnicliff & Company was in the business of making "specialized pottery articles" during the late 1800's. Secondly, it points to a different spelling of the company name - "Tunnicliff" versus "Tunnicliff". If this is the same company that provided Clarke his fairy lamp bases, the proper identification of the company should be Taylor Tunnicliff & Co.
There are supporting official documents (UK Registered Designs) that confirm this spelling of the company name. In addition, there are contemporary advertisements that show the proper name as Taylor Tunnicliff & Co. That said, there are are also several other accredited references that contend the spelling is "Tunnicliff" including the "Encyclopaedia of British Pottery and Porcelain Marks" by Geoffrey Godden. It was this reference, according to Bob and Pat Ruf, that was adopted in the preparation of their book "Fairy Lamps".
In Godden's reference he records:
"Taylor, Tunnicliff" and "Taylor, Tunnicliff & Co. (LTD.)", various addresses, Hanley. Staffordshire Potteries. 1868 - . Earthenwares and China. From about 1898 only utilitarian objects have been produced. Distinguishing details of several printed marks of differing design: name of the individual pattern is often included, c. 1868-80.
This reference also includes several variations of the Taylor Tunnicliff & Company trademark. Surprisingly, what has come to be known as the "Kings Crown" is not among them. It is somewhat perplexing that a common trademark on fairy lamp bases is not recorded in the Godden encyclopaedia.
While we have a wealth of information, for the purposes of this article, however, I will continue with the spelling to which we have become accustomed. However, an original design application indicating the proper company name as Taylor Tunnicliff(e) and Company is pretty convincing evidence that a "spelling change" may be in order.
Additional information provided by Club member, Louis, indicates that Wedgwood took over Taylor Tunnicliff & Company in 1898 and continued to make decorative pottery to the end of 1899. The company then switched to making electrical insulators only, hence new company, Taylor Tunnicliff & Co. Ltd.
Samuel Clarke licensed the Taylor Tunnicliff & Company to manufacture pottery bases for his fairy lamps. These bases, unlike some other bases used for fairy lamps, were specifically designed for fairy lamps and bore the Clarke name along with the Taylor Tunnicliff trademark. Almost all the fairy lamp bases had Taylor Tunnicliff model numbers assigned to them. In addition, some registered designs were recorded by Clarke and a few had UK patents associated with them.
This following table identifies the Taylor Tunnicliff pottery bases that have been documented. This documentation could not have been accomplished without the work previously done by Bob and Pat Ruf in the preparation of their book Fairy Lamps - Elegance in Candle Lighting. Additionally, several members of the Fairy Lamp Club made contributions to this documentation by providing additional photos from their person collections. I am grateful for the support everyone has provided.
If you have additional models or variants of known models, please drop me a note at jimsapp7@msn.com. With everyone's help, we can document all of these fine products.
Before you begin reviewing the collection, I think an explanation of some of the details would be helpful.
It is important to understand that there is no evidence that the Taylor Tunnicliff & Company manufactured any fairy lamp shades. They manufactured only the bases to support the shades. The pottery bases were made in two sizes, Fairy and Pyramid. There is no evidence that they made any Wee-size bases. Without exception, the known bases bear the Clarke name and almost all bear the Taylor Tunnicliff trademark and associated model number. A few bases bear a British registered design number or patent number. The registered designs, however, were recorded by Clarke, not by Taylor Tunnicliff & Company.
Based on unverified descriptions, at least seven different Taylor Tunnicliff trademarks have been found on their fairy lamp bases. Two configurations are the same but printed in two colors, black and blue. In addition, anomalies have been discovered that include one with the word "PATENT" scratched out, and one with a slightly different crown design. In some cases, the same model of fairy lamp base has been found with different Taylor Tunnicliff trademarks. While the documentation of the various trademarks is interesting, the exact time period each trademark design was used or other significance remains a mystery.
The most common, shown on the right, is printed in blue and contains the initials "TTC" within a circle under a crown. A similar style of trademark is identified in Koala's New Dictionary of Marks - Pottery and Porcelain, 1850 to Present as:
Taylor, Tunnicliff & Company
Hanley, Staffordshire, England
Earthenware, porcelain, printed
ca. 1875-1898 (1868 - 1964+)The Koval example of the trademark, however, is significantly different that what is found on most fairy lamp bases. The crown shown in the trademark, referred to as the "Queen's Crown", is a more common Taylor Tunnicliff trademark found on other pottery products. This version of the trademark, however, is rarely found on fairy lamp bases. The crown illustrated on the Taylor Tunnicliff fairy lamp bases is a very rare version known as the "King's Crown" and includes a dentil design above the crown.
There is no additional information mentioned regarding the other variants of the trademark. The other Taylor Tunnicliff trademarks employ the word "PATENT" and some include the letter "S" below the trademark. Certainly, these modifications to the trademark have some significance but only more detailed documentation from the company archives will shed any light on it.
With few exceptions, the Taylor Tunnicliff trademark is stamped in blue ink on fairy lamp bases. There are, however, some fairy lamp bases (without model numbers) with the trademark stamped in black ink. Club member, Louis, reports: "When the company was reformed under the name "Taylor Tunnicliff (Eastwood) Ltd; in 1901" they continued the series of pattern numbers, but with black back stamps. While the exact date of the color change is unknown, Louis speculates that the black color may have been out of respect for Queen Victoria who passed away January 22nd, 1901 at the age of 81. This practiced continued until World War I when operations ended."
Almost all of the Taylor Tunnicliff fairy lamp bases bear a hand-written design number. It is located somewhere on the bottom of the pottery base and not necessarily near the Taylor Tunnicliff trademark as shown above. The number is usually written in a reddish color and may include the suffix "A" signifying a pryamid-size. The "A" suffix, however, is not always present on some pyramid bases. Clarke, on the other hand, used "1/2" or ".5" to signify a pyramid size in his model numbers. The Taylor Tunnicliff model number appears to be associated with the decoration and not the shape of the base. There appears to be no correlation between Taylor Tunnicliff's model numbers and Clarke's model numbers.
A few Taylor Tunnicliff fairy lamp bases also include what I consider "maker's marks". They may be a simple line with a series of dots associated with the hand-written model number and a number (most often a "5") or other unidentified symbol pressed into the clay. While there is no real documentation as to what these marks are, I consider them to be potters marks and decorators marks. In the tabular documentation below, I will make note of these marks in case any significance can be learned from them. However, much of the documentation associated with these marks is not available.
Many documented Taylor Tunnicliff bases were produced in both "fairy" and "pyramid" sizes. The designs were similar in each size but the decoration and "hand-tooled" features were slightly different to accommodate the change in scale.
These examples are Taylor Tunnicliff model numbers 1443A (pyramid-size) and 1443 (fairy-size). They are illustrated true to scale in order to appreciate the difference in size. The actual difference in size will vary somewhat depending on the style of the base. The decoration, while similar, is quite different to accommodate the scale. In addition, the potter has modified the rim of the base slightly. Perhaps intentionally or perhaps simply a use of "artistic license." I suspect nothing was left to the whim of the potter and the change in design is intentional. It is also interesting to note, that the design called for both pressed and hand-tooled shapes to be joined together to form the base. Clearly, the production of this ware was no trivial process and involved several artisans and craftsmen.
All known Taylor Tunnicliff pottery fairy lamp bases are identified as being for use with Clarke's fairy lamps. These two examples show how the pyramid and fairy sizes are marked. It is also interesting to note that the pottery base includes the ridges in the lamp cup consistent with Clarke's patented design, a design he fiercely protected.
As with so many other examples of Clarke's fairy lamps, those bases manufactured by Taylor Tunnicliff were documented in color advertisements. The example below is from a supplement to the Pottery Gazette, August 1888. It is characteristic of Clarke's marketing skills while promoting his new line of fairy lamps. It is interesting to note that Clarke gave no credit to those who manufactured his products. In this case, neither Thomas Webb or Taylor Tunnicliff received any credit for their fine work.
The Graphic May 19, 1888While many of the advertisements of Taylor Tunnicliff bases show Burmese shades, it is not necessary that a Burmese shade be included with the base to be complete. As with so many of Clarke's designs, it was the decision of the final consumer to determine which shade to purchase with the base. The Clarke model numbers shown above reflect the design of the base, not the base and shade combination. With that in mind, I have purposely turned the shade portion of the following images to a "grey scale" so as not to detract from the purpose of this documentation. That is the:
Taylor Tunnicliff & Company's
production of pottery bases for Samuel Clarke's fairy lamps.
