Doulton Figurines

In 1815 John Doulton bought a share in small pottery in Lambeth, London. Within ten years the company, called Doulton and Watts, had grown to become one of the largest in the area. Then in 1835 Henry Doulton, son of John, joined the company and it expanded rapidly by making sanitary ware which allowed Henry to proceed with more artistic ceramic products. In the 1860s he established an art pottery studio and employed George Tinworth, a young sculptor, who produced a range of decorative ceramics including figures of chubby children and anthropomorphic animals. He also made portrait figures of royalty, military men and fashionable ladies.

Since then, a number of gifted artists have worked for Royal Doulton and continued the tradition of highly collectable and decorative figurines. Many of them are made in limited edition series, for example, Age of Chivalry, Dancers of the World, Fairytale Princesses, Queens of the Realm, etc.

If you collect, or are thinking of collecting, these figurines you will probably want a good price guide. The Charlton Standard Catalogue of Royal Doulton Figurines, Seventh Edition, is one of the best available. It covers the history of Royal Doulton, gives advice on building a collection and care and repair. There is information on how the figures are made, limited editions, variations, in fact, just about all the background information the collector needs.

However, the most important part of the book is its price guide. Most figures have a good black and white photograph with information on the designer, height, colour, date and description. Prices are given in sterling, as well as US and Canadian dollars. A minority of figures are shown in colour as well as black and white. Doulton Lambeth figures are arranged by designer, others by HN, AIL, Classique and M series. Additionally, there is a section at the back that lists the figures in series like the Age of Chivalry, Childhood Days, Disney Princess, etc. The excellent index is arranged under the name of the figure.

Overall this is an excellent book for any collector of Royal Doulton figurines and probably the only one a collector needs.

The Charlton Standard Catalogue of Royal Doulton Figurines, Seventh Edition
Author: Jean Dale, Published: October 2000, ISBN: 0-88968-217-8, 484 pages, 

Price: U.K. - £19.95, U.S. - $24.95, Canada - $29.95
Distributed in the U.K. by Books Systems Plus

Picture above left: King Charles by Royal Doulton.

© Copyright Carol Fisher

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