Book Synopsis
This book, the first comprehensive study of this important and well known country pottery in 100 years, has in excess of 200 studio quality pot illustrations as well as important and largely unpublished archive material. The Fishley pottery was a core influence on the work of the Studio Pottery pioneer, Michael Cardew, and was highly regarded by the Japanese master, Hamada Shoji as well as Bernard Leach of St Ives fame. The continuation of the family's pottery tradition into the twentieth century by William Fishley Holland is also covered in the first independent study of the latter's work at Clevedon in Somerset in the period 1921-1969.
ISBN: 0-97809550315-4-0
Size, Specifications and Contents:
- Softback, 24 x 17 cms
- 144 pages in full colour
- £25 plus £3 postage and packing
| Part I |
The Making of a Tradition
- The North Devon earthenware tradition: a snapshot of the roots of the tradition from which the Fremington Pottery sprang.
- The Fishleys, a farming and potting family: sets the scene as to how the Fishleys came to establish themselves at Combrew, with information on the layout of the Pottery and its land holdings.
- The Fremington Pottery at the start of the 20th century: based upon accounts in Fifty years a potter, a recreation of day to day operations together with comprehensive coverage of day to day earthenwares.
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| Part II |
Some Sgraffito Artists
- The Potter designers / Decorative techniques and firing / The family workshops: an overview of the organisation of traditional Devon potteries, including information on design and decoration.
- The Fishleys: a comprehensively illustrated review of the work of George Fishley and his sons Edmund and Robert, with particular emphasis on the working career of his grandson Edwin Beer Fishley.
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| Part III |
Survival and Revival
- An illustrated review of the move of William Fishley Holland from Fremington, initially to Braunton and thence to Clevedon in Somerset. This includes coverage of the work of his daughter Isobel who emerges as a skilled modeller, and his son George Tonkin Holland, a fine thrower in his own right.
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| Part VI |
Contemporary Slipware Case Studies
- A series of interviews with contemporary slipware potters to illustrate issues of techniques, materials & approaches. Includes conversations with Harry Juniper, Clive Bowen, Philip Leach and Doug Fitch.
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| Part V |
Appendices
- Marks and monograms / Decorations and motifs / Mottoes and rhymes: an illustrated overview of the wider North Devon decorative tradition.
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This important specialised title is launched on the 50th anniversary of Fifty years a potter the autobiography of William Fishley Holland published by Pottery Quarterly in 1958.
Images from the Fishleys of Fremington show, at Museum of Barnstaple, North Devon, 6th September to 8th November 2008
