It's a great pity that we don't know the names of any of the Poulson painters and gilders as no wage records have survived. There were both plain patterns and richly decorated services.
This impressive spread can be confusing, especially as the earliest pieces were usually marked with only a pattern number...if that. For many years, this frequently led to some of Minton`s finest work being mistakenly attributed to other factories. This still happens today, although less often.

Most of the early patterns were decorated over-glaze with polychrome enamels, ranging across the complete palette. Skilled artists painted landscapes, some in continuous over-all scenes, others in finely detailed reserves.

There were botanically correct floral patterns; sometimes with a single flower, others in tasteful groups. Brilliant exotic birds and foliage covered rich chinoiserie pieces. And deliberate chinese decoration, complete with pseudo-chinese characters written on the bottom.

There were restrained, yet elegant, Regency patterns and a surprising number of patterns, both simple and luxurious, were decorated exclusively in gold. Gilding was used extensively to complement or frame coloured designs; and most patterns have gilded rims and gilt decorated handles.

Overglaze bat printing was done but, to date, only a limited number of prints have turned up, all of them with shells. Most bat-prints are in black, but examples in puce, Pattern No. 723, have survived as well.

A number of watercolours in the pattern books carry the annotation "printed". It appears that the principal decoration was transfer-printed, overglaze, in red, with additional hand-painted decoration in polychrome and gilt. It is not clear why these overglaze-printed patterns were put in the pattern book with fully hand-painted designs. Perhaps it was the additional enameling and gilding that dictated their inclusion.

We know, from inventories in the factory archives, that Minton made blue transfer-printed china; but very few examples have been identified. The illustrated bone china tea bowl has only the pseudo-Sèvres mark.

In addition to their regular patterns, Minton met clients' requests for replacement pieces. This was common practice at the time. A surprising amount of early Minton china carries the Sèvres-type mark, without any pattern number. It is believed that these were all special orders; some as replacements, others were one-off commissions. The illustrated saucer above (the cup is Barr Worcester) has the pseudo-Sèvres mark but most pieces in this service are clearly Worcester.

Lustre

Lustre decoration is another mysterious area in Minton's early years. Lustre "match pots" are mentioned in the 1810 factory inventory, along with ink stands and jars. However, this is the only year in which lustre is mentioned and no surviving lustre-decorated match pots have been identified as Minton. The ones listed in the 1810 inventory could easily have been ‘bought in’ from another factory.

The pattern book design for No. 177, is annotated "Leaves purple lustre", in spite of the leaves being blue in the watercolour. Moreover, a surviving cup and saucer, in this pattern, are definitely painted in purple enamel, not lustre. It's a puzzle!

Nevertheless, two lustre attributions to Minton do have merit. There is a surviving identified Minton teapot, in Norwich Castle Museum, with sprigging and border decoration in silver lustre and another example is in a private collection.

(B) First Period Shapes

We know that Minton made services for breakfast, tea, dinner, and dessert. Inventories list many items, with a wide range of use. However, most surviving examples are from tea services.

A typical tea service was comprised of a teapot and stand, a covered sugar box, a creamer, slop bowl, tea cups, coffee cans or cups, saucers, and two bread and butter dishes (now commonly called `saucer dishes'). If there were 12 tea cups, and 12 coffee cans or cups, there would be only 12 saucers. It was thought unnecessary to buy 24 saucers, since tea and coffee were not taken together. Some early services had tea bowls, instead of handled cups.

There were three main shape sequences for tea wares: Old Oval, New Oval, and London; but there were variations. Many viewers will recognize a distinct parallel between contemporary shapes for silver teapots, creamers and sugar boxes. Bone china was providing a new level of luxury to the growing middle class who could not afford silver. Also, the Napoleonic Wars put pressure on disposable incomes.

It is important to note that some high-number patterns are found on earlier shapes than one would expect. Clients might choose fashionable later decoration, but prefer an older shape. Conversely, one can find the London shape with lower pattern numbers. This underlines the necessity of caution in dating pieces only by pattern number.

The Old Oval teapot has straight, vertical sides, a squared handle, a domed lid, and an eight-sided spout. It also has a dome-shaped strainer inside. An Old Oval fluted teapot in Pattern No. 7 is in the Norwich Castle Museum.

In the New Oval series, Minton & Poulson sold two versions. The teapot on the left comes with the higher-dome lid. The other lid is lower, and the spout usually meets the body lower down. The handle on both may touch the body or stand clear. This may have been deliberate, or it could have resulted from sagging in the kiln. The third picture illustrates the two domes.

The third basic shape, London, also came in two forms. Most surviving examples have this handle on the left. A later, rarely found version had the so-called `true' London handle.

On the right is a rare small teapot, probably for a tête-à-tête, or ‘bachelor’ service. The lid is missing the knop, and it has not been restored since the correct shape is unknown.

The Old Oval teapot stand on the left is the usual shape. The rare fluted stand on the right, in pattern No.18, is smaller than usual, and there must have been a smaller, matching, Old Oval teapot. Early Minton & Poulson services were made in both vertical and spiral fluted shapes.

An Old Oval cream jug, with vertical fluting, and a vertical fluted slop bowl have also been found. Some day, someone will discover a vertical fluted version of the Old Oval sugar box, as there would have been all the usual pieces in such services.

The New Oval teapot stand, on the left, has outward-flaring sides. Since some Spode and Minton shapes and patterns are similar, it is useful to note that the bottom of at least some Spode New Oval teapot stands is ‘combed’, with parallel grooves which follow the oval shape. In the Spode factory museum, there is an unmarked New Oval example with such grooves, identically shaped and decorated as Minton's pattern No.678.

These two factories were keen competitors, and they copied each other. This also demonstrates the difficulty which can arise in differentiating between unmarked Minton and Spode pieces.

The London shape teapot stand, shown on the right in pattern No.470, is slightly larger than the earlier shapes and it has a different contour.

The Old Oval sugar box has high, straight sides, similar to the teapot. It has a domed lid, fixed ring handles, and a smooth flat bottom. Note the words "sugar box", since that is the terminology used in the factory inventories.

The New Oval sugar box is on the right above. Like the New Oval teapots, there were versions with both higher and lower dome lids. As most or all of the higher-dome pieces only carry pattern numbers, or are unmarked, they are not always recognized as Minton.

On the left is a rare variation of the New Oval Shape. On the right is the London shape sugar box.

The Old Oval cream jug is on the left and a fluted version is in the centre. On the right is the New Oval creamer.

The London shape creamer is on the left; next to that is the version with the true London handle.

Minton did make milk jugs, on the right above, but these are not often found. They also made a fairly standard globular jug, in several sizes; and more of these have survived.

One shape for slop bowls seems to dominate for all three shape groups throughout the period, up to 1816. While measurements vary somewhat, most have plain, convex curving sides, and an inset foot rim. There are two sizes of slop bowls in pattern No.678 in the Collection, 6 inches and 6 3/4 inches in diameter, the latter in a London shape service.

The two smaller versions in the centre and on the right are actually open sugar bowls. Listed simply as "sugars" in factory inventories, they are rare and may be mistakenly identified as small slop bowls. The one on the right is 4 5/8 inches in diameter.

As with other New Oval shapes, there were slop bowl variations. The shape on the left, with a single pedestal base, may have accompanied the higher-domed version. It’s difficult to suggest what shapes accompanied the slop bowl in the centre. The slop bowl on the right, probably went with the later, London-shape serving pieces.

Only a few examples of early Minton bone china coffee pots have survived. This one is in the Cumming Collection at the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art.

Although Minton tea bowls have been considered rare, examples range from pattern No.9 to No.473, including a fluted example.

The term "toy teas" appears in the factory inventories, and an example of a toy tea bowl has survived in a private collection, shown beside a bute-shape cup.

When we come to handled cups, there has been a mistaken belief that early Minton had only a standard Bute-shape cup with a ring handle (on the left); and, later, a standard London shape. Nothing could be further from the fact, and some Bute-shape ring handles are larger (second from left).

On the right is a squat, Bute-shape variant made for the Irish market.

There are plain and flattened loop handles. There are loops with one or two kicks; and a squared handle. Spiral moulded cups were made with 24 flutes.

It's not known which pottery first produced the `London' shape, on the left, but it did not appear much before 1813. Since public acceptance was slow in coming, one finds a surprising number of Minton examples, suggesting that Minton was in the forefront of its introduction.

The trio, in the centre, includes the new London coffee cup shape.

Double-handled caudle cups, on a stand, with or without a cover, were made in at least two shapes, i.e. with and without a pedestal base. While the term ‘chocolate’ cup is frequently used to describe this shape, it does not appear in the Minton inventories; "caudle" cups were listed. Interestingly, Minton caudle cups have only been found in two patterns Nos. 539 and 540. Single-handled cups, using this shape, are also listed in the inventories.

Variations in cup shapes complicate the problem of identifying examples which carry only a pattern number, or which are unmarked. The solution is not made easier by a wide range of decorating styles, and differences in potting.

Coffee cans, like cups, have both larger and smaller ring handles. Cans survive in varying sizes; they have either straight or slightly angled sides. The size differences among the three cans on the right could have been deliberate, or caused by differing shrinkage in the kiln.

Some have a loop handle, flattened or plain, with or without a kick, single or double.

One fluted version has what is known as `Hamilton' flute. A spiral-fluted version was also made. Second from left is a can with the London handle.

Mugs, which have survived in relatively few patterns, were produced in varying sizes, from slightly larger than a coffee can, up to large porter mugs. Some have this unusual loop handle, with top and side spurs. Other versions include a square handle or a loop handle with a top thumb rest.

The mug, first and second from right, exemplifies Minton’s decorating skills. The mauve ground is washed on, amazingly evenly, and the gilding is superb.

The mug, second from left, in pattern No.119, may have been commissioned for a period of mourning since black trim replaces the usual gilding.

Unmarked saucers are as difficult to identify as cups and coffee cans; perhaps more so. In the first period, Minton produced several basic saucer shapes. There are both curved sides and straight sides. Measurements differ in depth and diameter; and it is difficult to say how the shapes evolved.

There are considerable differences in the depth and sharpness of the cutting around the footrim. The potting varies from heavy and barely translucent to fine and highly translucent.

The group on the right typifies the problem. All four saucers have the same pattern, No.105, which only Minton produced. Other factories had a similar, but not identical pattern.

The London shape has straighter, wide-angled sides; and there was a version with 32 spiral flutes, to go with fluted cups and cans.

What factory inventories listed as "bread and butters" are now called saucer dishes. The latter term does not appear and it is typical of descriptive names which have been adopted in more recent times. The bread and butter dish shape remained constant throughout the pre-1816 period, although there are differences in potting and translucency.

They were offered in two sizes, and services typically included both. The illustrated matched pair, from the same service, are 7 1/4 and 8 inches in diameter.

Plates were made in several sizes for different services. Most have this plain round shape but there were versions with six or eight lobes in the rim. Soup (or dessert) dishes were part of dinner services.

Serving pieces were produced in a wide variety of shapes. Shown are five examples.

Some comports had a base, others did not. The oval dish on the left came from a huge service in a Scottish castle, whose owner had Chinese and Japanese porcelains. Like other members of the aristocracy, and the new middle class, he bought English china to complement his Asian porcelains which were no longer available. Punch bowls were made in a range of sizes, some quite large.

There were splendid fruit coolers, complete with liners and lids. The domed honey pot is quite rare.

Platters were made in a range of sizes. This one, 18 x 14 inches, is a stunning example, in pattern No.130, of Joseph Poulson's knowledge of clays, potting, and firing. It would have been very difficult to pot and fire such a large piece so early in the development of bone china.

The flat strainer dish (reverse shown), in pattern No.106, known as the `Kylin' pattern, fits onto that platter. These were intended to keep the fish or meat out of the liquid which collected in the dish. The designs of the pierced holes may be indicative of the various factories.

Ink wells were offered in several shapes: three are illustrated. And a vase in pattern No.294 is painted with a beautiful continuous landscape in puce.

These ornamental wares demonstrate Minton’s superb decorating.

A large number of small decorative vases were produced in pattern No.780, including a miniature candlestick (shown with a Canadian one dollar coin).

(C) Marks

The earliest wares usually carry only a pattern number. This may be preceded by N or No , with or without a period after it, in block print, or more often, in script. Such numbers are painted on, over-glaze, in a wide range of colours...usually one used in the design or in gold.

The pseudo-Sèvres mark is invariably painted over-glaze, in blue. It is difficult to say, with any certainty, when Minton began using it but it certainly becomes more common after pattern No.200. Where low pattern numbers have the Sèvres mark, it is probable that these were made later in the period, to a customer's order specifying an earlier pattern. Pieces which have only the Sèvres mark, and an “M”, without any pattern number, were special orders; either replacements, or as unique designs on a one-off basis.

You may find higher-numbered patterns, without any gilding, and without the Sèvres mark. Many of these carry the suffix “X”, usually with a colon between the number and the letter. It is thought that this denotes a `second’ or lower-cost pattern, possibly from the same time-frame as more richly decorated and gilded services which were given the Sèvres mark.

Only two china dealers are named on surviving examples: "DONOVAN" and "J.MIST 82 FLEET ST" (London). This is curious, given the number of major retailers who bought from the partnership, including Minton's brother Arthur in London. A few pieces have turned up with the name “Minton” painted on the bottom. The significance of this is not clear; but they may have been blanks bought by Arthur Minton, and decorated to his order in London; or the name may have been added in London.

James Donovan was known as "the king of china" in Dublin. He had a porcelain and glass business, both wholesale and retail; and he had his own decorating shop. Ireland was an important market for a number of English potters. In addition to finished china, Minton sold blanks to Donovan, whose decorators painted and gilded certain patterns according to Minton's designs. These wares were then marked with the Donovan name as well as with the Minton pattern number. Minton also made special shapes for Donovan.