Contemporary Midwinter Pottery

One of the great skills in collecting is the ability to keep one step ahead of the market by knowing what the next big collectable name will be. In recent years the products of the Midwinter Pottery have become much sought after. There are clearly two reasons for this interest. Firstly, the Midwinter pottery was at the forefront of British ceramics during the 1950s and ‘60s, producing modern shapes and patterns for a new market. Furthermore, as the prices for Art Deco ceramics have increased, the ordinary collector has started to look at the post-war period for good quality examples of pottery. Midwinter presents the collector with a good range of choice with many different shapes, patterns and fancies. Whilst prices have steadily risen for the early hand-painted wares from the ‘fifties, Midwinter items from the seventies remain low. Fortunately it is not too late to build up a modest collection.

The Midwinter Pottery, established in 1910, came to the forefront of British design during the early 1950s when the company launched an outstanding range of contemporary tablewares to a British public desperate for something new, colourful and pleasing to the eye. As soon as restrictions on the sale of brand new goods was lifted in the UK, Midwinter captured the market with their audacious and abstract patterns that suited the younger generation and reflected the modern interior.

This significant change in design strategy was implemented by Roy Midwinter. He had previously experienced some hostility from North American buyers towards the floral patterns that the company typically produced. The US wanted something new and advised Roy Midwinter to visit the West Coast of America to look at the latest tablewares by American designers such as Eva Zeisel and Russell Wright. Having done this, he decided that, once restrictions were lifted, Midwinter should produce a similar version for both the export trade and the British market.

The first range, Stylecraft, launched in 1953, was decorated with many hand-painted and printed patterns. Stylecraft was a complete break away from the heavy Art Deco shapes. The majority of the patterns were created by Jessie Tait, who had joined the company during the late 1940s. Her patterns included ‘Fiesta’, ‘Ming Tree’ and ‘Primavera’ (pictured above). One of the most popular Stylecraft patterns was ‘Riviera’ by Hugh Casson – future President of the Royal Academy – based on sketches that he had made in France. The ‘Riviera’ pattern and the subsequent version called ‘Cannes’, on the ‘Fashion’ shape, are highly sought after by collectors. Initially the Stylecraft range was ridiculed by other pottery manufacturers, whose main products were more traditional, but when sales proved outstanding competitors began to copy the Midwinter look.

According to Roy Midwinter, the reason for the success of the company was that it was fashion-led, creating the need to maintain market share by introducing new shapes and patterns. In 1955 the ‘Fashion’ shape was introduced, decorated with outstanding patterns such as Flower Mist and Festival, designed by Jessie Tait. One of the most outstanding Fashion patterns was ‘Zambesi’, which proved very popular and was copied by several manufacturers. During the latter part of the ‘fifties Jessie Tait created the audacious pattern called the ‘Gay Gobbler’, quite a rarity and much sought after today. Several patterns designed by the young designer and future tycoon Terence Conran were produced on the Fashion shape, including ‘Plant Life’, ‘Chequers’, ‘Nature Study’ and ‘Salad Ware’. Some of the most eagerly sought after items originate from this period. Fortunately for collectors, Conran’s name was included on the company backstamp!

With such an impact on the market and increased orders from all over the world, Roy Midwinter turned to the development of a new practical shape that could take printed decoration, as hand-painted decoration was proving too costly. The new ‘Fine’ shape was launched in 1962. Jessie Tait produced many of the important designs such as ‘Spanish Garden’, ‘Mexican’ and ‘Sienna’. At the same time a number of successful patterns were developed by Eve Midwinter, which included ‘Roselle’, ‘Bella Vista’ and ‘Tango’. A number of freelance designs were also produced and these include ‘Focus’ by Barbara Brown and ‘Eden’ by Nigel Wilde.

As the company moved into the late ‘sixties it developed a number of shapes including MQ2, launched in 1968. This range did not prove successful and was withdrawn after a couple of years. In 1968 Midwinter was purchased by J&G Meakin and two years later both were taken over by Josiah Wedgwood and Sons Ltd.

In 1972 Midwinter introduced the ‘Stonehenge’ shape, which featured a distinctive oatmeal glaze called ‘Creation’, developed by Eve Midwinter. Her patterns were quite diverse, but the outstanding, most sought-after examples are her ‘Sun’, ‘Moon’ and ‘Earth’ patterns. While her ‘Wild Oats’ pattern was one of the best-selling designs in the company’s history, at present it is not in demand from the collector. Subsequent designs were submitted during the early ‘eighties, including ‘Invitation’ by Eve Midwinter and others by a number of young designers such as Carol Lovatt and Angela Atkinson.

During the early 1980s Eve Midwinter introduced a soft and feminine shape called ‘Style’, decorated with a number of pastel patterns, such as ‘Carnival’ and ‘Calypso’, on a ‘Confetti’ glaze. Unfortunately, due to manufacturing problems, the range was in production for only a few years. The next shape developed by Eve Midwinter was ‘Reflex’, based on a Wedgwood shape. It was launched circa 1986 with a number of patterns including ‘Quatro’, ‘Montmartre’, ‘Symphony’ and ‘Rhapsody’. During this period a number of unusual patterns were produced, such as a series of items decorated with Roland Rat, London Buses and a range called ‘Good Morning.’ These were not produced in such great quantities and are quite rare.

In 1987 Wedgwood closed the Midwinter Pottery. With such an interesting history and commitment over a thirty-year period to innovative design, of both pattern and shape, it is little wonder that today Midwinter stands out, way above the mediocre pottery that followed its lead. Midwinter pottery is already firmly established as one of the next big collectable names and will, without doubt, continue to be highly sought-after as more collectors become aware of it and explore its stylistic development.