Advertising Platter, Long Bridge-“Unity”
Item Number: P228
Item Shape: Platter
Pattern Name: Long Bridge-“Unity”
Dimensions: L 18″, W 13.125″
Date: c. 1800-1810
Maker: Cambrian Pottery
Maker’s Mark: Impressed
Description:
This earthenware platter is printed with the Unity logo over the Long Bridge pattern with butterfly border produced at Swansea. The rim was enameled with ocher. Examples with the Unity logo are considered very rare. The Unity pattern service was commissioned by the “Unity” Pilchard Cellar at Newquay. Jonathan Gray in Welsh Ceramics in Context Part I, pp. 59-60, provides a a short history of “Unity” as one of nine pilchard cellars in Swansea by the end of the 19th century. The oval cartouche showing a pilchard above the word “Unity” was used on two different patterns. This one and the Chinoiserie Palm pattern were used with the Unity logo for that company. The pilchards were caught in large schools by nets and carried onto the shore where they were salted and stacked up in the nearby cellars. The fish oil ran into gulleys and was purchased by the Navy. The fish were then pressed and sealed into barrels for distribution. This was a booming business. The dinnerware with “Unity” logo may have been used for the annual investor’s dinner.
Condition: Very good. Minor wear to the enameled edge.
