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The Grand International Building of 1851
Factory: T. J. & J. Mayer
White earthenware, moulded and decorated underglaze with a multicolour transfer print. Circular. On top of lid 'The Grand International Building of 1851', with white surround inscribed 'THE GRAND INTERNATIONAL BUILDING OF 1851' and 'For the Exhibition of Art and Industry of all Nations.'; black key plate.
History note: Possibly bought from Stanley Woolston, Cambridge, on 28 October 1924
Dr J.W.L. Glaisher Bequest
Diameter: 12.7 cm
Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1928-12-07) by Glaisher, J. W. L., Dr
19th Century, Mid-Late
Victoria I
Circa
1851
-
1900
Lids for pots of bears' grease and various kinds of fish and meat paste were mass-produced from the 1840s. The earliest examples decorated with multicolour underglaze transfer-prints were probably made about 1847 by F. & R. Pratt of Fenton, who employed Jesse Austin (1806-79), the best-known engraver of pot-lid designs. T.J. & J. Mayer of Burslem must have adopted the technique by October 1850, when their customer Cross & Blackwell patented this view of the Crystal Palace. By the time that the Great Exhibition opened on 1 May 1851, both Pratt and Mayer had brought out commemorative pot-lids illustrating the interior and exterior of the building and the opening ceremony. See GPL.221-1918 for Mayer's pot-lid with a view of the interior. Multicolour underglaze transfer-printing enabled polychrome decoration to be executed without hand-painting. Separate line engravings were made for the black or brown outlines, and stipple engravings for each primary colour in the design. The transfers printed from them were placed on the once-fired lid one after the other with the 'keyplate' for the outlines last. Then the lid was glazed and fired again. The success of the finished product depended on the quality of the engraved plates, and the degree of care exercised in aligning the transfers.
Decoration
clear
Glaze
white
Earthenware
Moulding
: White earthenware, moulded and decorated underglaze with a multicolour transfer print, black key plate
Glazing (coating)
Accession number: GPL.220-1928
Primary reference Number: 14924
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Applied Arts
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "The Grand International Building of 1851" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/14924 Accessed: 2025-05-24 00:59:47
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/14924
|title=The Grand International Building of 1851
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-05-24 00:59:47|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:
https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-14924
To use this as a simple code embed, copy this string:
<div class="text-center">
<figure class="figure">
<img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/aa/aa19/GPL_220_1928_282_29.jpg"
alt="The Grand International Building of 1851"
class="img-fluid" />
<figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">The Grand International Building of 1851</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
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