The Vine Pottery Birks Rawlins & Co. by Peter Goodfellow (2006, Hardcover)

The author Peter Goodfellow is a descendant of the Birks family of the Vine Pottery which began in Stoke-upon-Trent in 1894 with the collaboration of Lawrence Arthur Birks and Charles Frederick Goodfellow. As a result the author has produced a sumptuous manuscript of academic proportions in a story of connection and association with some of the most influential potters North Staffordshire has produced among whom are Minton, Spode, Louis Solon, Copeland, Frederick Rhead, and his daughter Charlotte Rhead.

Under the name Goodfellow Birks & Co, later Birks Rawlins & Co, the company produced the beautiful Persindo Porcelain, an ivory ceramic with Middle Eastern decoration by the former Minton designer Edmund G Reuter. Skill of pate-sur-pate and tubelining were employed fruitfully designed and created by family members earning the company many exhibition awards and the patronage of Queen Mary

This is a comprehensive and lavishly illustrated book wherein the author has provided us with a deep professional and personal insight of an exciting period of creativity in Potteries' artistic design. It is a delight to read and fills a gap in Potteries' heritage. At £35 it is worth every penny to collectors and historians alike Published by the prestigious Antique Collectors' Club available from the author via Potteries Museum