Sherwood Pottery 1949 - 1953/54

 Let's start at the beginning.

Front L to R: Brown brothers, Cameron (Snr), Neil and Jack with Vivien (Jack’s daughter) and Cameron Jnr perched behind them. Neil's dog is a Scottish Terrier named Sandy. 

Cam Jnr believes this photo was taken in the summer of 1950 before he started school. He thinks it was a Sunday because Jack, who was very religious, was dressed in his Sunday best.

Coming home from the war in 1947 with wife Dorothy and baby Cam, Cameron Snr briefly worked at the Waitakere Brick Works with his father and two brothers before joining Crown Lynn. He managed to get jobs for brothers, Jack and Neil there. In about 1949 Cameron left Crown Lynn, briefly working at a timber yard. He, along with Dorothy and little Cam Jnr moved a couple of old army huts from Waitakere Brick Works to a piece of land on Bethells Road opposite the old school house. One hut was for making the moulds and casting them. The second was where they displayed the finished products for sale. Using second-hand bricks, Cameron built a small oil kiln, and from humble beginnings the Sherwood Pottery story began.  

Waitakere was one of the happiest times for the family. The slip cast pieces were modelled by Cameron and decorated by Dorothy. Cam Jnr says, “They [his parents] were visionaries in their own right,” and I absolutely agree.

Gail Henry writes her book, New Zealand Pottery - Commercial and Collectable about an 'Art Deco Jug with an inset handle.' I've seen very few of these styled jugs. On the base is written Cam and Dorothy Brown or their initials plus a funny little symbol. None of the examples I've seen have, 'Sherwood' on them.

     

Egyptian themed inset handle jug - photos courtesy of a collector

Cameron and Dorothy were thrilled to receive their first commercial order from Brownson Jewellers. These were for blue mustard pots to line silver condiment sets. (Anyone notice the coincidental 'link' between the Brown family and the jewellery company?) From small beginnings Cameron began modelling their own style of miniature toby jugs, which Dorothy painted. 

Below are comments from a clipping from New Zealand Ceramics, the Crown Lynn publicity magazine, from May 1968. Cameron Brown talks about the original name, ‘Sherwood Pottery’.

New Zealand Ceramics, the Crown Lynn publicity magazine, from May 1968.

“We specialised in Toby jugs, styled after characters in the Robin Hood tales,” he said. “So, we called the business Sherwood Potteries. We were quite successful, but we soon decided to revamp our image. We changed the name to Titian Potteries, shifted to better premises, in Henderson, and began making art pottery and ovenware.”

Miniature Sherwood Tobys - Robin Hood, Maid Marion, Friar Tuck and Little John

Speaking to my father Ron Alexander, he remembers two army huts for making pottery, and the brick kiln. The huts had louvre windows and Cameron asked my father, who was an eighteen year old apprentice builder at the time, to replace the louvres with glass in wooden frames. My father removed the windows no problem, and put in the replacements. However, when it came to nailing them, he was too close to the panes and every one cracked. Cameron Snr could see how embarrassed my father was and told him not to worry. A good lesson my father never forgot, and he's 91 years old now.

Early Sherwood examples that didn't go into production were the Field Marshall Montgomery character jugs that were made for his brothers, the miniature Gypsy Meg, a footed trinket box and the Falstaff mug. 

 

Gypsy Meg (with missing handle)

Jack Brown's Trinket box. Dated 28/3/51. Jack created the slip for this box and once fired his younger brother Cameron painted the flowers on the lid.

 

A one-off Falstaff toby jug. A copy of a common Japanese example.

In my early days of collecting Sherwood Pottery and Titian Studio pieces I was thrilled to have found a bearded Falstaff toby just like the one pictured in the New Zealand Pottery website. It was only after speaking with Cam Brown Jnr I was told there was only one example made by his father. The purpose of which was to show his competency and skills to a prospective distributor. An easy way to tell if you are looking at character toby jugs is to look at the base. If it appears pale yellow, it's probably Japanese.

They were in full production by 1950 with Cameron designing slip cast plaster moulds and making up his own clay slip. After the pieces’ first firing, Dorothy would fettle and decorate them in various colourful glazes before being re-fired. They’d have the third firing once the clear glaze had been applied.

With Cameron’s imagination and mould-making abilities and Dorothy’s decorating skills, they began producing outstanding pieces unrivalled in their day. They only sold to wholesalers, distributors and retailers.

Many of the original Sherwood pieces aren't marked, including the original Robin Hood miniatures pictured above. This does make it difficult for collectors. Is it, or isn't it?? Unmarked examples include the Maid Marion miniature Toby jug, the Goldfish Jug and the Moon Jug. Hopefully my blogs will help with identification. 

 

            Maid Marion                                  Goldfish Jug                                        Moon Jug

  

            Maid Marion           Goldfish Jug (Yellow) - Andrew Clifford                  Moon Jug

I'm aware of gold coloured Nautilus on a Coral vase that has S.V.2 on the base. This may mean Sherwood Vase number Two. However, until more pieces show up especially S.V.1 one can only guess.

 

S.V.2 Nautilus on Coral vase - photos courtesy of Ben Allam

Some of the early pieces, that were decorated by Dorothy, have Sherwood hand-painted on the base. For example, the Blue Boy and Pinkie Wall vase.

 

  Blue Boy and Pinkie Wall Vase - 'Sherwood, Waitakere, NZ' on reverse. 

A small number of pieces are not only hand-painted on the base but also named. These include the Age of Innocence figurine and the The Fortune Teller. 

 

Age of Innocence by Sherwood - from Cam & Bev Brown's private collection.

 
'The Fortune Teller' by Sherwood

The Fortune Teller is a very special piece which deserved its own story. I've dedicated a full blog to this lovely figurine and the history behind it. You can read it here. 

 

Sherwood Pinecone Vase and Scallop Shell Vases (with base stamps)

The brown pinecone vase blows me away every time I pick it up. The edges of the cone are so crisp you almost expect to be pricked. After 1957 they were numbered with product code - V.106 on the base of the pine needle bunches.

 

White Boy - photos courtesy of a collector

Only a very small number of the White Boy figurines survived the firing which was a huge disappointment to the Browns. Mrs Bedgood of Mt. Roskill, the wife of an electrician, had intended using them for lamp bases. This was in appoximately 1951.

  

Barrel Tobacco Jar with Ashtray Lid - photos courtesy of a collector

It's difficult to know the exact date of when the name changed from Sherwood Pottery to Titian Studio, however, after many discussions with Cam Jnr, and in aging of various pieces we feel it was between 1953/1954. An old 1955/56 invoice book shows the name, 'Titian' was in use in the old army sheds on Bethells Road, in Waitakere before their move to Henderson in 1957. 

Invoice dated 7th November 1955

This invoice is made out to Trevor Eady Ltd from Cam Brown (Titian Pottery Studio) for the purchase of a dozen Fantail wall vases and a dozen Rose wall vases in assorted colours. It took a bit of deciphering but the circled writing reads, 'including taxes CTB'.

Thanks for taking the time to read this blog. In this busy world it can be hard to find time to sit down, with a cuppa, or a glass of something soothing, and truly relax. I try to make my blogs not only interesting to read but also a feast of pretty pictures. My hope is when you've finished reading this post, and maybe clicked into some of my other blog posts, you'll feel you've learnt something new or feel more informed and ready when next out adventuring into antique shops, second hand shops and op shops. 

Happy days,

Louise

 

©Louise de Varga 2022 - Content and pictures in this blog 

Goldfish Jug with handle and spout